CRUEL INTENTIONS (1999) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1999 Ted Prigge
Director: Roger Krumble Writer: Roger Krumble (based on the novel "Les Liasons Dangereuses" by Cholderos de Laclos) Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair, Joshua Jackson, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eric Mabius, Louise Fletcher, Christine Baranski, Tara Reid, Swoosie Kurtz
We've been overly munundated with many things, but most recently, it's been teen movies, which fall into either updates of 80s slasher movies or 80s John Hughes movies. Neither of them have actually spawned anything even remotely good (the worst case, so far, being the dreaded 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'), but last year a film came out that was intensely enjoyable all without being actually good. That was 'Wild Things,' the trashy, B-movie with a vengeance John MacNaughton flick that came out last year that was, yes, a pretty terrible movie, but was so gleefully nonchalant in its trashiness that it took on a thumbs-up worthy guilty pleasure facade. I'm, however, not going to compare that film to this one; the only thing these two films have in common is an air of sexual openness that actually goes to help the film rather than detract from. 'Wild Things,' after all, was trash; it had a silly story that would have made its way to either a soft core direct to video release or a less-steamy made-for-TV USA movie. 'Cruel Intentions,' on the other hand, boasts not only strong, but incredible source material: freakin' 'Les Liasons Dangereuses,' for Christ's sake -- the same story that has inspired at least one opera, a play, and a couple of film adaptations (the most notable being the terrific 1988 Stephen Frears' flick, 'Dangerous Liasons,' a favorite of mine). So y'all should basically know the story - that of two mischievous aristocrats who plot to devirginize a virgin while also plotting Machiavellian humiliations for others who have humiliated them.
It should come as no shock to you that this is a modernized story, taking place in the upper crust of Manhattan society, with the main characters being spoiled teenagers who live in a world devoid of adult supervision (could this be a satire?). The two main characters are basically the same: one Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Philippe) and the obscure object of his desire, Kathryn Merteuil-Valmont (Sarah Michelle Gellar), his attractive, sex-kitten stepsister. The two love to humiliate others as they plot revenge on others, and even as the film begins, Sebastian has gotten back at his over-charging shrink (Swoosie Kurtz - an in-joke; she was in 'Dangerous Liasons'), and Kathryn has already figured out her chief goal: to deflower the girl who has stolen the heart of her most recent boyfriend, the ignorant and overall stupid Cecille (Selma Blair). She calls on Sebastian to seduce her, but he's already up for destroying the credibility of another: Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon), a perpendicular teen who has gone so far as to write a column in 'Seventeen' about how she'll resist the, uh, urge until after marriage, and, as it just so happens, is spending a month or two at their aunt's estate. The two make a bet: if he can't seduce Annette and succeed within a certain amount of time, she wins his beloved car; if he does, he can have her ('You can put it wherever you want' is her deal-closer).
Refreshingly enough, the story follows the same basic plot elements, and even provides many of the same characters of the original, including Cecille's music teacher/love interest (Sean Patrick Thomas) and Sebastian's friend (Joshua Jackson) who's sleeping with a pawn in the story (Eric Mabius). And it has the same basic plot structure: as Sebastian successfully woos Annette, he accidentally falls in love with her, as a so-called ironic twist. Big difference, though: in the original story (and '88 film), this is handled to near perfection. No big theatrics, no cornball emotions; its subtlety seems real, and it never felt like the character was being betrayed at all. That has been replaced here by, well, cornball emotions and spell-out-the-theme scenes which stand out as annoyingly preachy and mechanical. Whenever a scene comes up where Sebastian is either around Annette when he realizes he loves her or is dealing with it, it's head-nodding time, and by the end, it has reached a climax that feels horribly contrived and fake, not to mention hilariously condescending. The big confrontation between Sebastian and Cecille's lover, in fact, is awfully executed: all three characters involved just seem to stumble upon eachother at the same time in a city the size of New York, and its conclusion is atrociously rote. Following it is the worst part of all: a sequence so horribly preachy and moralistic that I couldn't believe they seriously used a) slow motion photography at those key moments, or b) that darned song, which just spells out the theme (for the record, it's the Verve's otherwise nifty 'Bittersweet Symphony'). I hate to keep up with the comparisons, but just watch the ending of 'Dangerous Liaisons' - the booing and the tear destroying the touted face - and you'll see how hackneyed and, well, terrible this one is (just one annoying side comment: did they actually have to title the memoirs?).
But other than the downhill escalation the film takes at around the hour mark, 'Cruel Intentions' isn't all that bad. Its blunt portrayal of wicked, egotistical teens is mighty refreshing, and its crude sexual humor is downright hilarious (Sebastian and Kathryn's sexual repartee is quite giggle-inducing). Even its otherwise-considered offensive elements - its handling of interracial relationships, two flat-out gay characters, and a lengthy, controversial lesbian kiss between Gellar and Blair (the camera just closes right in on it and holds for, oh, 30 seconds, showing tongue and all) - aren't so offensive as they are neat 90s twists on the story, just to give it some extra umph along the way. Even the acting's not bad. We all know the Witherspoon's a talented actress, but here she's the best thing about the movie: she gives her character a surprising amount of depth - after you hear about her and first meet her, she's hardly what you'd expect. Gellar...well, she's since grown on me from those days when my female friend made me watch episodes of 'Swan's Crossing' with her, thus destroying any intense likeability I may have ever had for her. But here, she's nice and icy, hardly to the point Glenn Close was once upon a time, but at least she gives it the old college try (and nearly succeeds - maybe some work towards the end would have helped her a bit, but go ahead and blame the writer on this one). Philippe is also slowly growing on me, what since 'Last Summer' and '54,' but he's still not there. His giddy detachment in the opening hour are nice, but his attempt at a transformation is astoundingly inept and little more than a descent into soap opera acting, terrible delivery of terrible lines and all.
The rest of the cast is merely fine, with kudos going to Joshua Jackson for his now trademark nonchalantness of line delivery and defames going to Selma Blair who overacts her goofy part so much that I nearly dreaded every time her character appeared on screen. And the direction is nicely sleek and even a bit on the sexy side now and then. Do I think this was a successful adaptation of a great piece of literature? Well, maybe. Is it a good film, though? Yeah, I'd say so. I'd even go as far as to give it a recommendation, basically because this film knows that it's basically trashy, romance novel stuff and not the deeper stuff of a great French novel. As it was fun to watch Malkovich and Close toy with people in 'Dangeous Liasons' (I'll forever have the image of Malkovich writing to his beloved Pfieffer on the posterior of a courtesan embroidered on my membrane), it's fun to watch Philippe and Gellar do the same to the characters in this film. But what made 'Dangeous Liasons' worth it all was the third act, where Malkovich really fell in love, really blew it, and Close was finally exposed (again, great final shot - I can't mention that enough). Here, it's not unlike watching, well, teenagers do the same material: you don't feel anywhere near the same about the ending; you're too busy going 'aw, aren't they cute as they try their darndest at tough source material.' Well, they gave it the old high school try, but this will always be a teen adaptation and never just an adaptation. Sorry, guys.
MY RATING (out of 4): ***
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