Review of Cruel Intentions (1999) by Joey Q — 19 Oct 2015

What's up with all the old movies? Don't they make anything good anymore these days? Maybe I should start reviewing TV.

Anyway, this one, Cruel Intentions, is the epitome of the 90's. It has a cast featuring Ryan Philippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair and even Tara Reid. It has a soundtrack featuring Blur, Placebo, The Cardigans, Counting Crows and Skunk Anansie, just to name a few. Everything about it summarizes the decade before 9/11.

The film tells the story (based on a book, of course -- they didn't use Marvel Comics for the main source of 'inspiration' until the 00's) of Sebastian and Katryn, two filthy rich and manipulative Manhattan stepsiblings who place bets of sexual conquest during a summer break.

Philippe is excellent as the conflicted Sebastian. Whereas Gellar's Kathryn is to-the-point and convincing, she seems stuck in a one-dimensional character. Philippe's Sebastian is more complex and he works well with what he's given in the script. His performance is great. No wonder he went on to succesful movies like Crash, Breach and The Lincoln Lawyer while Gellar followed this one up with more Buffy, the terrible "The Grudge", and about four or five dozen episodes in several mildly succesful TV series in the fifteen years that followed.

Witherspoon plays Annette, Sebastian's summer conquest. There's undeniable chemistry there, which resulted in two real-life babies and an eight year marriage, but that's beside the point. Witherspoon plays her role very well with subtle nuances here and there. Again, no surprise that she went on to bigger successes with Legally Blonde, Walk The line, Sweet Home Alabama and Mud.

When I went online to check out some background information about this movie, it stunned me that so many 'professional' critics hated it. They seem to have the most issues with (again, what's up with that?) language use and the political incorrectness of stereotyping elderly homes, gays, mixing religious symbols with drug use and so on. I for one thought all the mean-spiritedness fit well in the environment it was placed in. Oh, and of course there's the bunch of people who just despise the teenage setting of this movie, crucifying the screenwriter for transporting this sexual predator tale to innocent territory.

One thing I do agree with is the ridiculousness of actors in their twenties portraying teenagers. This seemed to be a thing for a decade or so and this movie fits right in that trend.

All in all, the criticism I have mentioned in the paragraph above is a bit unfair if you ask me. It's mostly based upon the reviewers' world view and desire for political correctness. If you just judge 'Cruel Intentions' for what it is in itself, then you will see that it's a smart, polished, well produced film. And it's still entertaining 16 years later.