Cruel Intentions (1999)

48% of critics liked it
(77 reviews)
79% of users liked it
(411,710 ratings)

In an adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) are step-brother and step-sister living in Manhattan. With their absent parents travelling in Europe, the wealthy pair have the family penthouse… More In an adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) are step-brother and step-sister living in Manhattan. With their absent parents travelling in Europe, the wealthy pair have the family penthouse to themselves as they while away their summer break before beginning senior year at a private high school. Sebastian, bad-boy lothario, has apparently slept with all the girls in town and appears numb to it all. Kathryn, who appears to be the good girl class president, is actually far more amoral and malicious than Sebastian, but maintains appearances to the contrary. When she is dumped by her boyfriend, Court Reynolds (Charlie O'Connell), for the innocent Cecile Caldwell (Selma Blair), she schemes revenge by destroying Cecile's reputation. She challenges Sebastian to deflower Cecile and transform her into a tramp to humiliate Court. Sebastian isn't as interested as Cecile -- she's spent her whole life in a Catholic girl's school and presents no challenge. The girl who has caught his attention is Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon), the new headmaster's daughter. Annette had written an article for Seventeen Magazine on her plans to stay a virgin until she finds her one true love. Kathryn makes a wager. If Sebastian fails to lure Annette into bed before the summer is over, Kathryn gets his car. If he succeeds, Sebastian gets Kathryn, whom he wants anyway. Sebastian accepts the bet, but Annette turns out to be more than either of them bargained for. ~ Ron Wells, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Roger Kumble
Written By: Roger Kumble
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Mar 5, 1999 Wide
On DVD: Aug 3, 1999
Studio: Columbia Pictures

Critic Reviews

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
What's both depressing and impressive about Cruel Intentions is the profound misanthropy of its meaning.
B.J. Sigesmund, Newsweek
You won't be able to resist the film's ribaldry and cynicism. Kids these days!
Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle
You sometimes have to giggle at this movie the way you do when you catch 4-year-olds playing dress-up in front of Mom's closet.
Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle
It is maliciously entertaining, up to a point.
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
This is the filmic answer to a pack of Spice Girl cards.
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Rarely has a film elicited more raucous unintended laughter.
Sarah Wenk, Common Sense Media
Dangerous Liaisons among rich NYC teens.
Christopher Smith, Bangor Daily News (Maine)
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.
James Plath, Movie Metropolis
An earnest but overreaching kiddie version of Dangerous Liaisons.
David Noh, Film Journal International
Every bit of the original's nastiness is retained but none of its wit or elegance.
, Time Out
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.
Ron Wells, Film Threat
In the end, the whole shebang comes off like a bunch of snotty, rich white kids screwing each other and screwing each other over.
Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
First-time helmer/writer Roger Kumble starts off on the right foot, but stumbles along the way.
Dragan Antulov, Draxblog Movie Reviews
[This] 'guilty pleasure' ends guilty of not living up to its potential.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
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.
John R. McEwen, Film Quips Online
Egads.
James Rocchi, Netflix
Cruel Intentions is vapid and mean -- in a good way.
Kevin N. Laforest, Montreal Film Journal
Kumble doesn't dumb down the themes of the novel too much, he just gives them a refreshing, flashy feel Dawson's Creek-style.
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
Despite its highly descriptive dialogue, Cruel Intentions features no nudity ... I doubt teenage boys will be satisfied just to hear Buffy talk dirty.
James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
The movie never gets past a crucial structural flaw: Behavior that would have scandalized pre-Revolutionary France would scarcely raise an eyebrow among today's drug-dazed and sex-crazed Upper East Side crowd.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jeff "

Cruel Intentions is a pretty interesting teen drama comedy. I wasn't sure about wanting to see it, however I finally did, and was surprised. The film has a good enough cast that keeps the material working, and the cast deliver some good performances. The film is both funny and… More
Cruel Intentions is a pretty interesting teen drama comedy. I wasn't sure about wanting to see it, however I finally did, and was surprised. The film has a good enough cast that keeps the material working, and the cast deliver some good performances. The film is both funny and demented and at times dramatic, and the film is fairly underrated. The film is of course not perfect, but for what it is, it manages to be a good, entertaining hour and a half. What made this film worth watching was Selma Blair as Cecile; she definitely gave the funniest performance of all. Sarah Michelle Gellar was great as Kathryn. She really gave a cruel, uncaring performance, and she definitely delivered in that respect. Cruel Intentions is a well made teen film that is much better than one might think. The film is funny, and has a good cast at hand. I enjoyed many of the cast here, and I thought they each brought something special to the screen. There are things that could've been done better, but for what it is, Cruel Intentions works well enough to keep you interested and entertained, sure the film at times is so-so, but there are plenty of good things going on-screen to enjoy. This is a different and refreshing type of teen comedy/drama film, and like I said, I didn't expect to like it. The cast make this film watchable, and add to that a pretty clever script, and you have a good little film. There are plenty of good, memorable moments on-screen, with plenty of funny bits. An underrated film.
Letitia L

Captured our imaginations when we were teenagers.
Bethany M

Heartbreaking! Exceptional acting from all the cast. One of my all time favourite films!
Nadira I

My friend recommend this movie to me at first and then I decided to check it out. It is not a new movie, but yet there is something very cool about it. Ryan Phillippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar played the antagonists very well and Reese Witherspoon as Annette is successful in bringing… More
My friend recommend this movie to me at first and then I decided to check it out. It is not a new movie, but yet there is something very cool about it. Ryan Phillippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar played the antagonists very well and Reese Witherspoon as Annette is successful in bringing the innocent-sense of the character. The soundtrack is the best and the ending is satisfying.
Jani H

"Introduce her to your world of sex, drugs and... what else do you do?" There's something about this movie that makes it a "thumbs up" for me. I've seen it a couple of times on a period of ten years and have enjoyed it on both times. I don't know… More
"Introduce her to your world of sex, drugs and... what else do you do?" There's something about this movie that makes it a "thumbs up" for me. I've seen it a couple of times on a period of ten years and have enjoyed it on both times. I don't know if it's the manipulation or seduction between the main characters that makes this film stand. Everything starts with a bet between two rich, spoiled and good looking (can they be other than that?) school students. The social elite wants to play and no ones feelings are safe. The cast of 'Cruel Intentions' is like a "who's who" of late 90's teen actors. Some of 'em have done a successful career (Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar) and some have bombed (Joshua Jackson and Tara Reid). But my God! I like 'em all! I don't have a privileged past life or anything like that but watching these play these little yuppie bastards is lots of fun. And the actors manage to perform well, which may come as a surprise. It did to me at the first time. 'Cruel Intentions' is based on a 200 year old French novel. Stephen Frears and Milos Forman, just to name a few, have done their own adaptations 10 years before this one, which is directed by Roger Kumble. His career has been shit after this. I mean it... Shit. Just watch his filmography on this site. The film is well written and the story develops nicely with some surprising twists. In the end, even though hearts do get broken, love will stand tall. But do they deserve to get it? 'Cruel Intentions' ends with one of the best songs ever made: Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve. That song is a reason alone to watch this film.
Nicki M

This is an old favourite of mine. Have had it on DVD for ages - saw the blu ray going for $13 and decided it was too good to pass up. I put the movie on just to check out the transfer, but as usual got sucked into watching the whole thing. Though it's obviously dated a little,… More
This is an old favourite of mine. Have had it on DVD for ages - saw the blu ray going for $13 and decided it was too good to pass up. I put the movie on just to check out the transfer, but as usual got sucked into watching the whole thing. Though it's obviously dated a little, it is still a really good film, still find it moving and enjoy watching it, and the ending with Katherine and Annette always makes me a little teary. The whole cast is excellent here. I think it may be Sarah Michelle Gellar's best role outside of Buffy - she really is horrible as the manipulative and cruel Katherine - yet so beautiful and compelling, totally convincing that she could pull so many people into her web. Reese Wtiherspoon is just so cute here as is Selma Blair - both looking really young and vulnerable. Ryan Phillippe and Sean Patrick Thomas are also well cast. Visually the movie is very striking. Though it is a teen film, it looks quite sophisticated and rises above what you would normally expect from this type of movie. Impressive.
Spencer S

This is some serious teenager drama. Not exactly sure how I should feel about this movie, but it definitely is still wiggling in my brain.
Lorenzo v

"In the game of seduction, There is only one rule: Never fall in love" Kathryn makes a bet that her step-brother, Sebastian, won't be able to bed Annette (a virgin, who wants to wait until love). If he loses, Kathryn gets his Jaguar, if he wins, he… More
"In the game of seduction, There is only one rule: Never fall in love" Kathryn makes a bet that her step-brother, Sebastian, won't be able to bed Annette (a virgin, who wants to wait until love). If he loses, Kathryn gets his Jaguar, if he wins, he gets Kathryn. <center>REVIEW</center> Did the world need a teen version of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses"? Writer-director Kumble's screenplay is atrocious, veering from convoluted to mildly interesting to boring to ludicrous. Phillippe and Gellar look like little kids trying to play grown-up roles while the grown-ups (Fletcher, Kurtz, Baranski) simply look embarrassed. All the characters are uninteresting and one-dimensional. The dialog is so bad at times that it appears that Kumble is doing a spoof of the de Laclos novel except that any humor is purely unintentional. Phillippe's character is supposed to be a misguided and tragic hero or something but comes across as a confused and spoiled brat.
Jennifer D

LOVED it. Better than Dangerous Liaisons actually.
Lewis C

Cruel Intentions was a big deal back when it was released, but it doesn't hold up quite as well now. It was once a shocking look at how cruel and shallow spoiled teenagers could be, but now it only reminds me that Reese Witherspoon used to have huge boobs, and that Ryan Phillippe… More
Cruel Intentions was a big deal back when it was released, but it doesn't hold up quite as well now. It was once a shocking look at how cruel and shallow spoiled teenagers could be, but now it only reminds me that Reese Witherspoon used to have huge boobs, and that Ryan Phillippe pouts way too much.
Wahida K

See what happens when you dare to reach the stars.
Jason O

"Cruel Intentions" is a strange kind of movie. Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) bets against her stepbrother Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe) that he won't be able to get Annette (Reese Witherspoon) in the bed and take her virginity away by a certain amount of time. If he… More
"Cruel Intentions" is a strange kind of movie. Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) bets against her stepbrother Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe) that he won't be able to get Annette (Reese Witherspoon) in the bed and take her virginity away by a certain amount of time. If he does, he gets Kathryn. If he doesn't, Kathryn gets his Jaguar. The reason "Cruel Intentions" is a good movie is because it's well acted. Sarah Michelle Gellar does a good job portraying the two-faced and sexy Kathryn. Reese Witherspoon does a good job of acting innocent and down to earth. And Ryan Phillippe does a good job playing as Sebastian, who can't easily make up his mind on what he should do. The story and the script are also well done for the movie. If you like good movies with some interesting twists and an intriguing plot, I recommend getting "Cruel Intentions." NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2000. Think I was just trying ot cater to the audience cause I remember I wasn't that big on this movie....after all, it never inspired me to watch the sequels.
Coxxie M

perverts take note: this movie came with a free box of tissues when it came out... yea.
Ross C

I don't think I could stand such a self-obsessed american teenage flick nowadays, but back in the 90s this was a very sexy, stylish and clever movie. Worth it for the great soundtrack and satisfying ending.
Candy R

Excellent modern version of Dangerous Liaisons. Kathryn and Sebastian are too rich and popular, so bored they play with other people's lives. Great cast.
Taylor B

Sweeeeet
Dean M

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe are brilliant as spoiled brat siblings with amoral designs on Reese Witherspoon in this teen translation of Dangerous Liaisons that ups the trash value with more bitchness than a Melrose Season. More fondly… More
Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe are brilliant as spoiled brat siblings with amoral designs on Reese Witherspoon in this teen translation of Dangerous Liaisons that ups the trash value with more bitchness than a Melrose Season. More fondly regarded for its lesbian snogging scene between Gellar and Selma Blair than any inventiveness or credibility in this script department, but you could do much worse than watch a sexy young cast fuck each other over for 90 odd minutes.
Tim S

This movie is fucking stupid and Ryan Phillipe is terrible in everything.
Luke B

Teen drama romance executed with a certain air of competence. Sturdy performances and quite sexy at times this is mighty worthy fluff.
Rachel F

Very good movie. Ryan Phillipe is so fine.