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.
Cruel Intentions (1999)
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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... 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 can't deflower the virginal Annette (Reese Witherspoon) before the school year begins. If he fails to accomplish this task, Kathryn gets his Jaguar Roadster; if he succeeds, he gets an evening of pleasure with Kathryn. [More]
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair, Sean Patrick Thomas, Louise Fletcher, Joshua Jackson, Eric Mabius, Tara Reid, Swoosie Kurtz, Christine Baranski
Director: Roger Kumble
Director: Roger Kumble
Screenwriter: Roger Kumble
Producer: Neal H. Moritz
Composer: Ed Shearmur
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Reviews for Cruel Intentions
[This] 'guilty pleasure' ends guilty of not living up to its potential.
The likes of Glenn Close and John Malkovich have given way to unconvincing actors who can't grasp the concept that roles of this complexity require more than good looks.
I fully expected it to be dumbed down beyond all recognition. I expected Dangerous Liaisons 90210. But I can admit when I'm wrong.
The incest, drug use, and sex is there for all to see; unfortunately, the mean spirited characters become downright depressing to watch, especially when intended for a teenage audience.
First-time helmer/writer Roger Kumble starts off on the right foot, but stumbles along the way.
The teen-age target audience will probably gobble Cruel Intentions right up, but for me this film boarders on creepy.
Roger Kumble has assembled not just stars, but talent who lend the material and characters the depth they deserve.
As a serious study of vapid youth, Cruel Intentions vacillates between the cynically pretentious and the shallowly silly.
A sly, silly, mostly well-crafted diversion that's no trash classic, but has little to apologize for.
It's disappointing when movies made by adults treat kids -- as characters and viewers -- with disdain.
Roger Kumble gives Cruel Intentions a darkly glossy, upscale look, but he has mixed results with his young cast.
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