Cruel Intentions Review
by "David Wilcock" (david DOT wilcock AT btinternet DOT com)June 28th, 1999
Cruel Intentions
Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon. Directed By Roger Kumble
Running Time: 1 hour 35 minutes.
(Columbia Pictures)
The new brat packers continue to hit the screens with his updating of Dangerous Liasons, which was last seen on the screen starring Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close. Now we get Geller and Phillippe in the starring roles, which is certainly 'different,' and not entirely successful. Geller plays Kathryn, who makes a bet with her Sebastian (Phillippe) that he won't be able to bed virgin Annette (Witherspoon,) who wishes to wait until marriage. If Kathryn wins, she gets Phillippe's car, if not, Phillippe gets Kathryn. Unfortunately for Sebastian, he starts getting feelings for Annette, and isn't sure he can carry on with the bet. And Kathryn has another agenda of her own, involving Cecile (Selma Blair) and her mother, played by Christine Baranski.
Cruel Intentions is a well executed experiment that provides plenty of entertainment for your money. Gellar is on the ball as the bitchy Kathryn, she's acts like all the bitchy girls you knew at school, only worse. The way she goes from her false, happy outlook to the disgust inside is nothing original, but well played by Gellar. It is sometimes difficult to believe this is the same character who plays the sweeter than sweet Buffy on the popular television series, and is a rewarding performance. Witherspoon has a low key role, but gives a nice performance, if a little underwhelming. She gets the job done, though, and the audience feels for her as she gets played as a stooge by Gellar and Phillippe. Phillippe, sadly, is less successful, his acting a little stiff. He is rather evil, but his performance could have been stronger. The real surprise in this film is the outstanding Selma Blair as a little girl discovering sex, her performance is very well performed, and all of her scenes work.
Apart from the above average acting, there's little else in Cruel Intentions that distinguishes it from other brat pack movies. There's the usual selection of rock music making up the soundtrack, and some 'hip' incidental music. The film goes at a cracking pace to make sure no attention is lost from the largely teenage audience, and the film is over blidingly fast. This is a shame, because with a little more time the characters could have been more rounded. Instead, we're just expected to believe that Gellar is a bitch and nothing else. Phillippe, near the end of the film, gets some development to his character, but by then it's too late. Again, only Selma Blair gets any character development during the film.
The direction by Kumble is largely straight forward, but the pace is quick and interest is maintained. Kumble also adapted the script, and the Gen-Xer script isn't nearly as embarrassing as it could have been, and is surprisingly adult and sensible, if a little two dimensional. Unfortunately, a Dawsons Creek cast member pops up as Sebastians gay friend, but thankfully he's not in the film for long.
Overall, Cruel Intentions is a nice film with some good laughs and fun twists. There's nothing original here, and the story has been done many times before. And when leaving the cinema, the film will probably leave your mind after a couple of minutes. But while it's lasting, Cruel Intentions is a fun ride.
RATING=*** OUT OF *****
A David Wilcock Review ©1999
DAVID WILCOCK
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