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intereact!Director: Roger Kumble
Actors: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair, and Louise Fletcher
Rated: R (Restricted)
Retail Price (not our price): $14.94
Release Date: 1999-08-03
Theatrical Release Date: 1999-03-05
Studio: Sony Pictures
Run Time: 97 minutes
Format: Array
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Discs: 1
Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) Amazon.com
This modern-day teen update of Les Liaisons Dangereuses suffered at the hands of both critics and moviegoers thanks to its sumptuous ad campaign, which hyped the film as an arch, highly sexual, faux-serious drama (not unlike the successful, Oscar-nominated Dangerous Liaisons). In fact, this intermittently successful sudser plays like high comedy for its first two-thirds, as its two evil heroes, rich stepsiblings Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe), blithely ruin lives and reputations with hearts as black as coal. Kathryn wants revenge on a boyfriend who dumped her, so she befriends his new intended, the gawky Cecile (Selma Blair), and gets Sebastian to deflower the innocent virgin. The meat of the game, though, lies in Sebastian's seduction of good girl Annette (a down-to-earth Reese Witherspoon), who's written a nationally published essay entitled "Why I Choose to Wait." If he fails, Kathryn gets his precious vintage convertible; if he wins, he gets Kathryn--in the sack. When the movie sticks to the merry ruination of Kathryn and Sebastian's pawns, it's highly enjoyable: Gellar in particular is a two-faced manipulator extraordinaire, and Phillippe, usually a black hole, manages some fun as a hipster Eurotrash stud. Most pleasantly surprising of all is Witherspoon, who puts a remarkably self-assured spin on a character usually considered vulnerable and tortured (see Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Liaisons). Unfortunately, writer-director Roger Kumble undermines everything he's built up with a false ending that's true to neither the reconceived characters nor the original story--revenge is a dish best served cold, not cooked up with unnecessary plot twists. --Mark Englehart
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5
1) Frivolous reinterpretation of Les Liaisons Dangereuse, done very well. [Rating: 4 out of 5]
For a movie on a really tight budget, using (at the time) B list talent, this one's done well. Les Liaisons Dangereuse is the precursor text, and updating it to late 20th century Manhattan does not damage the story at all -- the societies (pre-Revolutionary France and modern urban-extravagant culture) are eerily similar. The production values are high, the talent is well cast and works well within their roles, and the script is pretty solid. For a teen targeted puff piece of film, this one turned out to attract the attention of others.2) Dangerous Liaisons Still Dangerous and Still Riveting [Rating: 4 out of 5]
Amazon has already provided the plot so I won't rehash the details here. The surprise is in the actors. When actors will be measured against Faye Dunaway, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer they better be pretty damn good. To my great shock Sarah Michelle Geller, Reese Witherspoon, and Ryan Phillipe prove up to the task. They may not be quite as interesting as the more sophisticated cast of the older movie but they are very, very impressive. Sarah Michelle Geller. in particular, is a revelation. I would not have believed that she could play a role this nuanced, and this unlikable, with complete conviction. But she succeeds totally as the serpentine enitity who encourages the corruption in everyone around her.Witherspoon is the "good girl" but she is smart and strong and eventually turns the tables on the Geller character with grim determination.Phillipe is surprisingly effect as the upperclass preppie romeo/who is a completely repulsive character until he finds redemption by revealing himself in all his spiritual ugliness to the one he loves.I think this movie was more interesting because I had seen the older film. I would strongly suggest getting both to heighten your enjoyment of each version of the story.Parenthetically, Geller was exceptionally alluring in this project, a quality that I never saw in her other work.3) Playing the game. [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Cruel Intentions is a movie you have to see to believe. Sarah Michelle Gellar has never been more bitchy and Reese Witherspoon has never been more pure. Both of these beauties bring strength and humor to their roles and Ryan Philippe became a heartthrob after this movie was released, although he doesn't quite have much range as an actor then. This film is all about playing wicked games on the innocent which is Witherspoon's character, secrets come out and vengence is seeked. This film is sorta campy but very enjoyable. Can you say guilty pleasure? This is a must-see. Enjoy!4) If you enjoy watching misery... [Rating: 4 out of 5]
The DVD includes scenes/dialogue that got edited in the airline/TV version that I saw previously. Sarah Michelle Gellar (I keep thinking 'Buffy' whenever I see her...) looks great in every scene and there are a few chuckles, but for the most part, it's a relatively dark plot with a few surprises and a lot of heartache...5) Delightfully cruel [Rating: 4 out of 5]
First-time director Roger Kumble concocts a wickedly attractive update of Dangerous Liaisons, this time set among rich and spoiled Manhattan teenagers. The screenplay is interesting, the settings are sumptuous and beautiful and the actors shine--with the exception of a sorely miscast Selma Blair, who looks like a thirty-year-old woman playing a five-year-old girl.