Lascivious blackmailers and inveterate immoralists, these characters behave despicably, but the movie affects a tone of urbane detachment which puts sex in its proper perspective.
Comment
06/24/06
Cruel Intentions (1999)
47
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:76
Fresh:36
Rotten:40
Average Rating:5.3/10
Consensus: Even in a slick package and an attractive cast, the movie succumbs to bad acting and a bad script.
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Director Roger Kumble transfers the DANGEROUS LIASONS tale to Manhattan, where wealthy prep school student Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) bets her stepbrother Sebastian (Ryan Phillipe) that he... [More]
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair
Director: Roger Kumble
Reviews for Cruel Intentions
Top CriticA clever reworking of a literary classic.
03/05/02
Not quite as clever as it thinks it is, but still oozing more dark wit than most teen movies can dream of.
01/01/00
Top CriticDeliciously cunning.
01/01/00
Click to read the article
08/07/08
What's both depressing and impressive about Cruel Intentions is the profound misanthropy of its meaning.
02/08/08
You won't be able to resist the film's ribaldry and cynicism. Kids these days!
02/08/08
The film's cheat ending aside, this arch, ridiculous movie heaves, sweats and steams, and for the most part, it delivers what its title promises.
08/01/07
Every bit of the original's nastiness is retained but none of its wit or elegance.
01/09/07
In the end, the whole shebang comes off like a bunch of snotty, rich white kids screwing each other and screwing each other over.
12/06/05
You sometimes have to giggle at this movie the way you do when you catch 4-year-olds playing dress-up in front of Mom's closet.
07/21/05
First-time helmer/writer Roger Kumble starts off on the right foot, but stumbles along the way.
04/09/05
[This] 'guilty pleasure' ends guilty of not living up to its potential.
03/30/05
The movie's cinematography, set design, and costume design are all extremely elegant, and the beautiful young actors are shown off to maximum effect, like expensively bred horses.
06/24/03
Click to read the article
05/14/03
Egads.
02/08/03
Cruel Intentions is vapid and mean -- in a good way.
11/07/02
Kumble doesn't dumb down the themes of the novel too much, he just gives them a refreshing, flashy feel Dawson's Creek-style.
09/10/02
Despite its highly descriptive dialogue, Cruel Intentions features no nudity ... I doubt teenage boys will be satisfied just to hear Buffy talk dirty.
09/06/02
The movie never gets past a crucial structural flaw: Behavior that would have scandalized pre-Revolutionary France would scarcely raise an eyebrow among today's drug-dazed and sex-crazed Upper East Side crowd.
06/23/02
Latest News for Cruel Intentions
June 12, 2007:
Is "Fletch Won" Back On Again?
Last thing we heard about a new "Fletch" flick was that "Scrubs" creator Bill Lawrence would direct and (probably) Zach Braff would star. Well, forget all that. More...
November 21, 2005:
Another Exclusive Clip from "Just Friends"
Those of you who can't wait two days to see Ryan Reynolds in a fat suit can check out another exclusive clip here, courtesy of IGN FilmForce. More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
RT on YouTube 
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
RT on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
Competitions
Get the Flixster App Now
Download it from iTunes and get Tomatometer scores straight to your iPhone.
RSS Feeds
