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Poison Ivy (1992)

tomatometer

14

Average Rating: 4.2/10
Critic Reviews: 7
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 6

No consensus yet.

audience

39

liked it
Average Rating: 2.7/5
User Ratings: 44,640

My Rating

Movie Info

The always challenging transition from adorable child performer to sexy adult star was achieved flamboyantly by actress Drew Barrymore with this erotic drama that unfolds like a paranoia-drenched Lolita (1962). Sylvie Cooper (Sara Gilbert) is a misanthropic student at a private high school for children of the privileged. While calling in a phony bomb threat to the TV station where her father, Darryl (Tom Skerritt) is a producer, Sylvia attracts the attention of Ivy (Drew Barrymore). Ivy is an

R, 1 hr. 31 min.

Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Cult Movies

Nov 2, 1999

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Cast

All Critics (27) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (10) | Rotten (17) | DVD (8)

Unfortunate thesps take it all very seriously, while technical aspects are emptily polished.

February 11, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
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Drew Barrymore stars in a melodrama that borders on high-class kiddie porn.

February 11, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
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Why settle for the usual walk around the exploitation block when Shea offers a wild ride with the top down into uncharted territory?

May 12, 2001 Comment
Rolling Stone
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For the most part the actors' work seems incomplete because their characters are cut off before they can fully blossom.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
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There is scarcely a moment in the movie when the story works as fiction; I was always aware of the casting, of the mood-setting devices, of the stylistic borrowings from Hitchcock.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Ambiguous and intriguing.

February 11, 2008 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | Comment
Empire Magazine

Offbeat and compelling neo-noir.

February 11, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

Poison Ivy strikes a pleasing balance between emotion and ambiguity.

February 11, 2008 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Shea's arty-trashy exploitation film is an amalgam of Fatal Attraction, Stepfather, and Pasolini's Teorema, in all of which the order of a middle-class is disrupted by a depraved interloper, if only the script were better

October 9, 2006 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment

Its willingness to take risks, and its insights into the frailties and confusions of teenage friendships, lift the film right out of the rut.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

Sinsiter and savvy psychodrama

July 18, 2003 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | Comment
Spirituality and Practice

Sleazy teen thriller isn't as much fun as it should be

June 26, 2003 Comment
Kalamazoo Gazette

If Drew Barrymore hadn't been so good at being bad, then this truly would have been bad. But luckily, she was good--and so it's decent. You got all that?

September 24, 2002 Comment (1)
Needcoffee.com

I'm still transfixed by little Gertie's devilish deeds!

September 17, 2002 Comment
Moviehole
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Poison Ivy

This is like a modern version of Lolita. Barrymore does a fantastic job of being the erotic femme fatale. I really loved this movie, it's thrilling and romantic at the same time. I highly recommend it.

September 6, 2010
ajv2688

Super Reviewer

Not really that great.

January 29, 2008
FilmFanatik
Tim Salmons

Super Reviewer

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