Cruel Intentions
Starring
Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon
Rating
Rating within genre
Rated
R for adult language, sex-related material, and brief violence
Directed by
Roger Kumble
Written by
Roger Kumble
Genre
Romantic drama
Film
Color; 1 hr. 35 min.
Date of Release
1999
Filming Locations
Manhattan, NY (USA)
Long Island, NY (USA)
Los Angeles, CA (USA)
Toronto, Ontario (Canada)
Synopsis
A young man named Sebastian and his step-sister, Kathryn, both extremely wealthy and high class, are masters of seduction. Beginning their senior year of high school, they make a bet....Sebastian has to seduce a girl named Annette, who has just transferred to their school from Kansas City. The challenge is that she's publically sworn that she won't have sex until marriage. If Sebastian fails and Kathryn wins, she gets his beautiful and expensive car. If he wins, he gets to have her. But when true love hits him dead on, and he falls for Annette...all bets are off.
Summary
I really liked 'Cruel Intentions'. I own it and have seen it quite a few times. It's a remake of 'Deadly Liaisons', a film made not too long ago that was supposed to take place in the 18th century....this remake has simply updated it. Ryan Phillippe was really great, and did an outstanding job. Reese Witherspoon was also good, and this is the only movie I've ever seen where I actually liked Sarah Michelle Gellar's acting, and wasn't fighting the urge to laugh at her. She was perfect! I also really liked Josh Jackson and Eric Mabius - they make an interesting couple (only partially sarcastic). Actually they really did do a good job. Both looked cute, and that scene where Phillippe caught the two of them in bed is hysterical. Mabius is going "give me my underwear!" and Jackson says "don't get all huffy." It's so funny.
The movie was cool and well done, and the ending was emotional and almost made me cry (and I never cry during films, so that's a tough obstacle to overcome). The theme music was great....or was it the theme? I don't know, but that one tune that kept playing throughout the movie was amazing. A strong beat with bell-sounding things in the background. I loved it. And in the very end where Sarah gets busted, they play Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve. Definitely an awesome soundtrack. Did I like it? Yes. Will everyone? Of course not. It's one of those flicks you have to either really love the actors, or really be into that genre.
Notable Quotes
"Think about your father. Do you know what it would do to him if he found out his pride and joy was a fudge-packer?" -- Sebastian
"I think I'll go take my new car for a ride." -- Kathryn
"The only thing you're going to be riding is me." -- Sebastian
"You could be a model. It's too bad you're not sexy." -- Sebastian
"I can be sexy!" -- Cecile
"Right." -- Sebastian
"The second he came he'd be like what the hell are you doing? I'm not a fag! You tell anyone about this and I'll kick your ass! The only reason I let him keep up this charade is because the man has a mouth like a Hoover." -- Blaine
"My advice is to sleep with as many people as possible." -- Kathryn
"But that would make me a slut. Wouldn't it?" -- Cecile
"Cecile, everybody does it. It's just that no one talks about it." -- Kathryn
"Wow, so it's kinda like a secret society!" -- Cecile
"Well, that's one way of looking at it." -- Kathryn
"It's just that...Cecile's so young, and he's so -" -- Kathryn
"So black!" -- Mrs. Caldwell
"So I take out my dick, okay? And I shove it right in her face. And I'm standing there like, what the hell is this - grandma holding a birthday present? Suck it, you dumb bitch!" -- Greg
Reviews
Stygian Films: "...a decent remake of Dangerous Liaisons. This movie is beautiful, evil, and well made. The acting was really good, though at times a bit overdone. These are definitely the best roles I've ever seen Sarah and Ryan in...though their corrupt personalities were a little extreme at quite a few times. It's like....down boy, it'll all be okay!"
Roger Ebert: "...until the end, it's smart and merciless in the tradition of the original story."
IMDB user: "I have recently seen the movie "Cruel Intentions," and let me say it is one of the best films I've seen in a long while. This is the most beautiful, wicked film since "Wild Things," and though that may not impress some people, oh well. I thought it was incredible."
Rough Cut: "The film, following almost exactly along the lines of the now-famed French novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, succeeds in creating sexy seductions and unthinkably destructive behavior."
San Francisco Chronicle: "The shock value in this case comes from the outrageous, sexually explicit dialogue that writer-director Roger Kumble puts in the mouths of babes Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe as they connive to destroy the virginal Reese Witherspoon."
Orlando Weekly: "...Cruel Intentions sets course with a wickedly fun tone."
Cast List
Ryan Phillippe.....................Sebastian Valmont
Sarah Michelle....................Kathryn
Reese Witherspoon.............Annette
Selma Blair.........................Cecile Caldwell
Sean Patrick Thomas..........Ronald
Joshua Jackson...................Blaine
Eric Mabius........................Greg McConnell
Christine Baranski...............Mrs. Caldwell
In the game of seduction, there is only one rule:
Never fall in love.
Also recommended
Dangerous Liaisons
Wild Things
Chasing Amy
Pictures taken from Yahoo! under "Cruel Intentions" and The Black Circle of Eric Mabius
Please also visit The Official Cruel Intentions Site