In a strange coincidence, the ’80s live again in two April movies based on books by literary heavy hitters, and they even share a star. Both have colorful characters, disjointed narratives, and Jon Foster, but which you’ll prefer depends on lots of things — including how you feel about Chris Isaak.

The Authors
Ellis’ first novel, Less Than Zero, vaulted him to the forefront of a literary generation of bad boys. But it was American Psycho that brought widespread notoriety, a book about a yuppie serial killer so violent and misogynistic that it was dropped by Simon & Schuster before being picked up by Vintage, becoming a literary scandal and a bestseller.

Chabon’s The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and his second novel, Wonder Boys, were critical and commercial hits. But it was The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, about two comic book writers and their most famous creation, that cemented his reputation and won the Pulitzer Prize. In 2007, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union also made the bestseller list.

The Track Records
Ellis’ Less Than Zero was loosely adapted in a 1987 movie starring Andrew McCarthy, Robert Downey Jr, and Jami Gertz. The anti-John Hughes film may seem dated, but at the time actually had some bite, and it was a huge hit. His ultraviolent opus American Psycho was turned into a 2000 movie starring Christian Bale, and his sophomore novel, The Rules of Attraction, became a limp college binge in 2002, with James Van Der Beek and Jessica Biel. Officially a mixed bag.

Chabon’s already hit theaters, too, with Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire starring in a 2000 adaptation of Wonder Boys, which was nominated for four Golden Globes and three Academy Awards. (The Yiddish Policeman’s Union is in preproduction to be adapted by the Coen brothers.)

The Sources
The Informers came out in 1994 but is set in familiar Ellis territory: the beaches and nightclubs of early ’80s Los Angeles, where the empty sex and designer drugs tend to be served together. Rather than a novel, it’s a collection of stories, and the film follows the source material — instead of a single narrative, it’s made up of seven connected stories told over the course of a week.

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is Chabon’s debut novel, a coming-of-age story about a fresh college graduate who ends up in a bisexual love triangle with the charming Arthur and Phlox, an oddball librarian, set against the unlikely romantic backdrop of Steel City.

The Casts
The Informers has a huge powerhouse lineup, with Kim Basinger, Billy Bob Thornton, Winona Ryder, Chris Isaak, comeback darling Mickey Rourke, and Brad Renfro in the last role before his death. It also stars relative newcomer Jon Foster, only worth mentioning because oddly enough, he also plays Art Bechstein, the sensitive protagonist of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh costars Mena Suvari as Phlox and Sienna Miller as Jane Bellwether, an aristocratic beauty slumming with a biker, played by Peter Sarsgaard. (Miller got in trouble with the locals while filming, calling it “Shitsburgh” and telling a reporter “pity me” for being stuck there.)

Advanced reactions to early screenings have been mixed for both, and in the end the decision to see Pittsburgh on April 10 or Informers on April 24 is completely subjective — do you like your literary adaptations debauched and nihilistic or wistful and bittersweet? I’ll probably be seeing both.

Tags: mickey rourke, mysteries of pittsburgh, the informers