Cruel Intentions Review
by Bob Bloom (cbloom AT iquest DOT net)March 4th, 1999
Cruel Intentions (1999) 3 stars out of 4. Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon and Selma Blair. Written and directed by Roger Kumble.
Kathryn and Sebastian are bored, manipulative, mean-spirited children of privilege.
The stepsibling tandem use people, playing games with their lives merely to satisfy their own whims.
The latest venture of the high society Manhattan dastardly duo is a wager. Can Sebastian seduce a young woman who, in a magazine article, claims that she will remain a virgin until marriage.
The stakes? Sebastian's vintage auto vs., to put it delicately, fulfilling his erotic fantasies concerning his stepsister. As Kathryn bluntly tells him, "You can put it anywhere you like."
If all this sounds a bit sick, well, it is. But deliciously so. For "Cruel Intentions" is a modern-dress adaptation of the classic novel "Les Liaisons Dangereuses," which was adapted into a play by Christopher Hampton and later filmed in 1988 as "Dangerous Liaisons" with Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer and Uma Thurman. Another, lesser seen 1989 French-British production called "Valmont", starred Annette Benning, Colin Firth and Meg Tilly.
And this contemporary version, written and directed by Roger Kumble, is just as wickedly sardonic, witty and cruel as its predecessors.
Kathryn and Sebastian are as hedonistic as their earlier counterparts, except they use more foul language.
What is interesting that despite the distasteful subject matter Cruel Intentions is such a well-crafted, sarcastically humorous vehicle that you can't help by admire it and Kumble's chutzpah.
And Kumble has done the unthinkable. He has transformed TV's "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" into a self-absorbed, manipulative, evil, first-class bitch.
Yep, Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as the patrician Kathryn, the evil spider who so skillfully weaves her webs of deceptions that no one can escape her machinations.
Gellar is no girl next door. She is hot, sexual, downright dirty and loving it. And she gives a strong performance, whether teasingly leading on her stepbrother, or teaching a naive young girl how to French kiss.
Geller's Kathryn is despicable and like all fine movie villains totally enthralling.
Ryan Phillippe as Sebastian easily makes the jump from an amoral predator who enjoys deflowering young girls to sincere lover who is ensnared by the charms of the innocent Annette (Pleasantville's Reese Witherspoon).
This could be Phillippe's break out role. It is a difficult transformation from heel to hero, but Phillippe manages the task.
In a supporting role as the naive young girl used by Kathryn and Sebastian, Selma Blair holds her own. She could be considered the comic relief as the awkward young woman taught to grow up too quickly.
"Cruel Intentions" is not a pleasant movie, but it is a fun one. When nastiness on the screen is done correctly, it can be entertaining. And Kumble has delivered a fine combination. You may not like what you see, but you will enjoy it.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or a
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