Poison Ivy (1992)
Average Rating: 4.9/10
Reviews Counted: 27
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 17
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 4.7/10
Critic Reviews: 8
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 6
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 2.7/5
User Ratings: 45,838
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
May 8, 1992 Wide
Nov 2, 1999
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Cast
-
Drew Barrymore
Ivy -
Sara Gilbert
Sylvie Cooper -
Tom Skerritt
Darryl Cooper -
Cheryl Ladd
Georgie Cooper -
Alan Stock
Bob -
Jeanne Sakata
Isabelle -
Angel Broadhurst
Death Rocker -
Warren Burton
Max -
Randall Caldwell
Truck Driver -
Leonardo DiCaprio
1st Guy -
Tony Ervolina
Man on Screen -
Michael Goldner
Man in Car -
Charles Hayward
Tiny -
Julie Jay
Nurse Behind Desk -
Billy Charles Kanes
James -
Lawrence Levy
Jeff -
E.J. Moore
Kid -
Mary Gordon Murray
M.D. -
Lisa Passero
Lisa -
J.B. Quon
Another Kid -
Sandy Roth Ruben
Estelle -
Tom Ruben
Roofer -
Charla Sampsel
Orderly -
Tim Winters
Old Man
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All Critics (27) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (10) | Rotten (17) | DVD (8)
Unfortunate thesps take it all very seriously, while technical aspects are emptily polished.
Drew Barrymore stars in a melodrama that borders on high-class kiddie porn.
Its willingness to take risks, and its insights into the frailties and confusions of teenage friendships, lift the film right out of the rut.
Top CriticWhy settle for the usual walk around the exploitation block when Shea offers a wild ride with the top down into uncharted territory?
For the most part the actors' work seems incomplete because their characters are cut off before they can fully blossom.
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.
Ambiguous and intriguing.
Offbeat and compelling neo-noir.
Poison Ivy strikes a pleasing balance between emotion and ambiguity.
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
Sinsiter and savvy psychodrama
Sleazy teen thriller isn't as much fun as it should be
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?
I'm still transfixed by little Gertie's devilish deeds!
Audience Reviews for Poison Ivy
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