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
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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 CriticNot 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 CriticA clever reworking of a literary classic.
03/05/02
Deliciously cunning.
01/01/00
One can be especially glad that they are not really teens, and that this cruel tale is only a movie.
01/01/00
Top CriticRoger Kumble has assembled not just stars, but talent who lend the material and characters the depth they deserve.
01/01/00
You won't be able to resist the film's ribaldry and cynicism. Kids these days!
02/08/08
You may not like what you see, but you will enjoy it.
01/01/00
A sly, silly, mostly well-crafted diversion that's no trash classic, but has little to apologize for.
01/01/00
Cruel Intentions is the dirtiest-minded American movie in recent memory -- and an honestly corrupt entertaining picture is never anything to sneeze at.
01/01/00
Solid dialogue, luscious characters, great comic relief, and an admittedly classic story give it wings above the standard teen-oriented dreck on the market.
01/01/00
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
The themes are intact, and for some fans of the original story, that should be all that matters.
01/01/00
Though writer-director Roger Kumble doesn't fully exploit this conceit, Cruel Intentions is still briskly enjoyable, what people might call a 'guilty pleasure' -- only it's the sort of film that would mock anyone who felt guilt in pleasure.
01/01/00
Witty, raunchy!
01/01/00
What an ingenious concept.
01/01/00
Entertaining. Engaging. A calculated guilty pleasure.
01/01/00
Nasty, profane and wickedly entertaining!
01/01/00
Top CriticThe movie as a whole sometimes pushes its own limits and, truth be said, it is pretty sleazy at times. But, it's enjoyable in a trashy, Wild Things kind of way.
02/27/01
Cruel Intentions is vapid and mean -- in a good way.
11/07/02
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