Cruel Intentions [Blu-ray] starring
Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe,
Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair
"A Cat And Mouse Game!"
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 Sebastians seduction of good girl
Annette (a down-to-earth Reese Witherspoon), whos 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 Sebastians
pawns, its 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 hes
built up with a false ending thats 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
"Cruel Intentions" is a delicious cat and mouse game between two
teenagers living the high life on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The movie
depicts how two step-siblings play mental games with one another with the
intention of destroying the other. I have to admit this is a fun movie
because it's always neat to watch those that are rich who have nothing to
do but to destroy people's lives. The movie is well-known for the excellent
acting by its leads. Sarah Michelle Gellar (from TV's "All My Children" and
the "Buffy" series) and Ryan Phillippe star as the dastardly duo. The bet
the two make is that if Sebastian (Phillippe) beds the headmistress'
daughter of the school that Kathryn (Geller) attends, Sebastian can then
bed Kathryn. If not Kathryn gets Sebastian's most prized toy. The
headmistress' daughter is played by future Oscar winner and wife of
Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon. The DVD comes with a collectable booklet
and a ton of bonuses including 6 deleted scenes, audio commenatary,
music videos, and trailer, plus much more. Subtitles are in english and
language is 5.1 Dolby Digital. There are also two fantastic sequels to this
film called "Cruel Intentions 2" and "Cruel Intentions 3" that are just as
good as the original. NBC News says the film is "a wild, daring new spin on
the classic tale of love and betrayal".
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