Cruel Intentions

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. As a big movie buff, I always see the latest movies on opening night, but I got a chance to see this one months before it will be released. Sarah Michelle Gellar is a stunning actress, and portrays Kathryn extremely well. Her character is evil and cunning, and is delivered with such grace and perfection... Ryan Phillippe is excellent as well, and he portrays Sebastian Valmont with as much talent as the lovely Ms. Gellar. They work very well together, as they did in their last movie together, "I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER"

Reese Witherspoon gives a nice performance as well, and Selma Blair's acting is worthy of as much recognition as Ms. Gellar's.

Anyway, I should stop ranting about the cast... the story is a great update of "Dangerous Liaisons," with a perfect mix of satire, wit, and drama. Writer Roger Kumble certainly has a sick sense of humor, and I applaud him for that. 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.

I have recently been seeing a psychiatrist about a few troubles. In one of his sessions, he bought up about the movie Cruel Intentions, which I absolutely loved. He said he loved the start of the movie where the evil Sebastian says to the Psychologist `You have beautiful legs, I would love to photograph them'. This then sets the tone for one of the best teen films that the world has seen. Based on the movie Dangerous Liaisons, Cruel Intentions goes down as one of my top five favourite films of all-time.

A sex-obsessed rich boy Sebastian sets out to win his greatest "conquest" - a girl who has proclaimed in a Teen magazine that she will wait until marriage to lose her virginity. The teen is egged on by his sister, Catherine, an evil scheming girl in her own right. The two have a wager on whether Sebastian can achieve his conquest. If he wins, he gets a night of bliss with his stepsister, if she wins, she keeps his most prided possession, his Jaguar convertible!

Well this is a brilliant backstabbing, bitchy, love and hate war movie. I cannot remember a movie like it in my time. The theme of the movie was priceless. Having two rich hobnob kids toying with various people's emotions in their neighborhood was just great. In fact it is not at all silly to think that this does not happen in real life, because if you don't believe that then you are very naïve.

There are many people who need to be praised for this classic movie. Director Roger Kumble did a great job in bringing this movie to our screens. He added so many little `steamy' pieces to this movie that it was never going to fail. Then you have the producer Neal H. Moritz who also allowed this film to shine. He gave this film all the right production touches, which I can only praise.

Then you have the wonderful cast that was assembled for Cruel Intentions. The main star for this film would have to be the gorgeous Sarah Michelle Gellar. She was outstanding as the horrible Catherine. Her character while at times was extremely hard to like, she was almost too hard to not want to like. I mean she was every guy's fantasy. Sexually liberated (and not afraid to admit it), then all she wanted to do is screw up all her enemies at the same time. Then you have the patronising and ‘stud man' Sebastian, played by Hollywood hunk Ryan Philippe. His performance in this film was also first class. I thought his character was a lot more likable then Catherine's, but you could sometimes want to strangle him for the way he screws with people, just like his stepsister does, and then still seemingly gets more women dying to be with him.

Other cast members just help to make this film an extraordinary viewing experience. Reese Witherspoon is fantastic as the pure and innocent, Annette. She helps to balance the sour bitchy side of the cast, with her friendly almost sickening goody goody side. I am looking forward to seeing Witherspoon in the comedy, Legally Blonde, directed by new Australian director Robert Luketic. Selma Blair was also very good in her role as the dumb and very naïve Cecil. The kissing scene that she has with Gellar was one of the highlights of the film, with the kiss being voted the best onscreen kiss a few years ago.

Then this film has another great side to it, that of the soundtrack. It has so many great songs on it. Placebos tune `Every me, Every you' helps start this movie off, then you get songs such as Colorblind by Counting Crows and the classy, Bitter Sweet Symphony, by the Verve. This would have to be one of the world's most popular soundtracks from where I view it.

In conclusion, Cruel Intentions is a film I can say I love and that I can learn from. People in real life do use people and do hurt them. I know this because I was involved in such a scenario not so long ago. Nothing was ever happy until it was a fight and scrag. I will go as far to admit that I was confronted with a real life Catherine, a person who was such a goody goody on the outside, but the real person on the inside is a person that loves to cause trouble and will go out of her way to do it. Anyone who is like that is a real low-life in my view. Get swept up in the nasty love triangle, ‘Cruel Intentions'!

Rating: 5 Stars or 10/10

For exactly two-thirds of its 97 minute running time, "Cruel Intentions" scores as a nasty-minded, wryly satiric and even mildly courageous teen update of "Dangerous Liaisons." But, like so many movies with one eye cocked towards the boxoffice, "Cruel Intentions" loses its nerve and settles ultimately for comfortable, safe and hopelessly dull conventionality. Ryan Phillippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar portray a wicked pair of step siblings who operate together to prey sexually upon unsuspecting victims, manipulating others to achieve their goals of personal conquest and revenge. It's refreshing to encounter protagonists who make no excuses for their amorality and instead allow themselves to be completely guided by their own self-serving impulses, totally unmindful of the consequences to others. Their schemes are acted out with a callous gleefulness and self-absorbed relish that raises the film to a level of surprisingly sophisticated satire and audacity. But, when Sebastian encounters his ultimate challenge - a midwestern virgin played by Reese Witherspoon, who has publicly declared in a magazine her decision to wait for true love before offering herself to a man - he falls under her charms and suddenly transforms from coldhearted predator to mushheaded romantic. This is the major problem with the film. Sebastian is valid and interesting as a character as long as he stays within the realm of sly manipulator and acerbic scoundrel. When he is called upon to function as a dashing romantic figure, he loses both credibility and uniqueness - and the film itself goes into a freefall tailspin. For, as Sebastian undergoes his sudden conversion, all the sharply satiric wit simply drains out of the film. We're ultimately left with little more than unconvincing melodrama, inappropriately tragic overtures and a silly evildoers-do-not-prosper resolution. What a pity to see yet another in a long line of movies that start out with bright promise, but which finally end up renaging on their initial courageousness, leaving the audience in perpetual frustration.

This film (based on the 1988 hit 'Dangerous Liasons' starring Glenn Close, Michelle Pfieffer and John Malkovich) is a great movie intended for the older teenagers, and stars fine young acting talent.

Rich kid Kathryn ('Buffy The Vampire Slayer's Sarah Michelle Gellar) bets her equally jaded step-brother Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe; 'I Know What You Did Last Summer', which co-starred Sarah) that he can't seduce good girl, and virgin, Annette (played by Ryan's real-life wife Reese Witherspoon).

Along the way, Kathryn tries to help sexually-inexperienced Cecile (Selma Blair) get some action in her life, while she starts screwing Cecile's ex-music instructor! Sound weird? It is. It's basically about 2 rich snobs who mess with the lives of those around them, just because their lives get boring.

This film also stars Joshua Jackson ('The Skulls', 'Urban Legend', TV's 'Dawson's Creek) as Sebastian's gay best friend, who also gets involved in the use or be used storyline. Fellow teen-movie star Tara Reid ('Urban Legend', 'American Pie') also has a small role, as Sebastian's psychiatrists's daughter.

This film is pretty intense and deals with sex, drugs, seduction and alienation in a brave, way that makes it appealing to all teenagers. Not for the light hearted, more daring than anything like 'She's All That' and 'Never Been Kissed', but it's still good fun!

This came out at the movies when I was 14 and let me tell you, it was the hottest thing to ever be shown at the movies in our lifetime! You could either sneak in or wait for the VHS. What a time. Watching it 23 years later I feel it really holds up. The precursor to Gossip Girl and the like, this really set a tone and I'm all for it.