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Post by StevePulaski on Sept 28, 2018 10:41:42 GMT -5
Cruel Intentions (1999) Directed by: Roger Kumble Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe. Rating: ★★★ Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) is a rich Manhattan kid who lives in a luxurious mansion with his stepsister Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar). His reputation amongst his peers is a manipulative smooth-talker with little on his mind besides having sex. His intentions are at one point called "dishonorable," maybe even cruel. Kathryn is an equally manipulative, sometimes appallingly caustic minx who uses Sebastian to bring down Cecile (Selma Blair) after she inadvertently loses her boyfriend to the sweet but dim girl. Sebastian goes along with it, for he pines for his stepsister and finds her demands tricky to refuse. Kathryn later tasks him with a greater ultimatum: deflower Annette (Reese Witherspoon), the virginal daughter of the new headmaster of their private school. Annette has written a piece for Seventeen magazine praising the virtues of premarital virginity, and Kathryn is convinced she'll be one of the few Sebastian can't successfully bed. If she's right, he gives her the keys to his car. If he's right, Kathryn is all his. "You can put it anywhere," she even tells him.
Based on Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' famous story Dangerous Liaisons from 1792, Cruel Intentions is an unapologetic piece of nineties pulp, as contemptible as it is irresistible. Similar to Kathryn's Machiavellian ways, the words of writer/director Roger Kumble's screenplay carry a cynical edge that arrest you like a guilty pleasure of a daytime soap-opera. But the pleasure from Cruel Intentions is anything but guilty. It's a seriously enjoyable walk down the valley of amorality and selfishness embraced by spoiled-rotten prep-school kids.
One of the first reasons it manages to be successful is, yes, thanks to its performances. The film is Sarah Michelle Gellar's finest hour as an actress. She slinks into the role of a conniving seductress who knows her power over her externally confident but internally feeble stepbrother. The combination of Gellar's cold stare and line-delivery are on-point, and in turn heighten the suspense of a film as well as its alternative, pop rock score. Reese Witherspoon breaks out of what could've been an unforgiving, passive role into one that shows emotional depth at the appropriate moments, and Selma Blair handles her character's silliness in a believably understated manner. The weaker link is Ryan Phillippe, mostly due the recurring clunkiness of his line-delivery. At times, it adds to the character he's playing; at others, it risks undermining the mood of the entire film.
Against all odds, however, the film proceeds not only on the strengths of its cast but the writing and directorial skills of Kumble. His screenplay moves along at a comfortable pace with prolific but well-written events that avoid precluding any of the fun that might've been lost if the film became too entangled in its own plot. Cruel Intentions is a solid example of what could be considered as a film defined by its characters as opposed to one where plot and events define the characters. Sebastian and Kathryn are so frequently scheming and acting, remaining active agents to move the story and sequence of events along at a workable pace. A misstep for Kumble would've been to have too many events connect the characters like an anthology setting up various pitfalls in the form of continuity and conventional realism. Instead, his focus is retained on his subjects; where it should be and where it always resides.
The only time Kumble makes a misstep is the way he handles the character of Ronald, played by Sean Patrick Thomas, Cecile's black cello instructor. There's an unfortunately realistic yet awkwardly handled argument involving Ronald and Cecile's mother than invites racial implications in an egregiously hamfisted way. When Ronald is then brought back into the narrative late in the third act, his return feels perfunctory and vaguely hopeless given his entire existence as a plaything for Kathryn. Indeed, Cecile fits the same bill, but at least she is given more to do and interactions with her aren't so mutually exclusive.
The term "watchable" often applies to a film that's either satisfyingly average or inoffensively mediocre. When I say Cruel Intentions is very "watchable," what do I mean? Precisely neither in the aforementioned classical sense. I mean it's engrossing on the level it wants to be, enhanced by themes of lust, ego, privilege, and self-indulgence, all of which modestly explored by pleasing to the base-level senses. Even if you walk into the film skeptical and emerge with the mindset of it being "better than you thought," that still says a lot about Cruel Intentions. At some points in its story, it could've gone down routes that would've been very, very bad for all involved.
Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair, Sean Patrick Thomas, and Christine Baranski. Directed by: Roger Kumble.
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Post by StevePulaski on Sept 28, 2018 10:42:10 GMT -5
Cruel Intentions 2 (2000) Directed by: Roger Kumble The devious step-siblings, Sebastian and Kathryn, reunite again in Cruel Intentions 2. Rating: ★★½ Sebastian Valmont (Robin Dunne) is a rich kid who transfers to Manchester Preparatory in lieu of moving in with his new stepmother (Mimi Rogers) and stepsister Kathryn Merteuil (Amy Adams). His reputation amongst his peers back home is that he's an elusive troublemaker, but he has packed up his life and transferred schools with a clean record (thanks to some backhanded deals involving the wiping of his permanent record). Kathryn, however, is a manipulative, sometimes appallingly caustic minx who tries to bring down the sweet but slow Cherie (Keri Lynn Pratt) due to her greater fortune and personal desire to corrupt those around her. Sebastian, on the other hand, pines for Danielle (Sarah Thompson), the virginal daughter of the headmaster of their private school. Danielle exudes innocence wherever she goes, and her conflicting signals seem to attract Sebastian even more. Kathryn is convinced she'll be one of the ones Sebastian can't successfully bed. If this summary sounds familiar to you, kindly revisit my Cruel Intentions review and tell me if I've appeared to plagiarize myself.
Cruel Intentions 2 is essentially a remake of the first film. Originally conceived and subsequently shot as Manchester Prep, a primetime series on Fox loosely based off the 1999 sleeper hit, the soon-cancelled show was reworked into a film using the footage of the three episodes that had been shot. This Frankenstein-creation was then sustained with sequences of nudity and other colorful language in order to reach the 84 minute mark to be considered a feature-length film. For a project that essentially underwent the kind of mending and stitching unseen by anything aside from ragdolls and dog-toys, the film is lucky it's as in as good of a shape as it is. It's nice to see some studios still have standards for their lame-duck creations.
If you're in search of a serviceable, trashy, and unapologetically cheap sequel to the Ryan Phillipe/Sarah Michelle Gellar time capsule, Cruel Intentions 2 tickles that spot in your soul, however large or small, that craves such sleaze. The equivalent of fast-food in how airy, unhealthy, and slight it is as a whole, the film does satisfy your cravings in the way you'd expect or perhaps not expect given how low your expectations would understandably be for something like this. The actors slither into their roles and rise to the level demanded by the screenplay. The relatively low-cost ambiance and surrounding mood complement the comparably aqueous tone of the entire project when contrasted with the original film. And then there's the rollercoaster of drama and petty intentions that turn the characters into a gaggle of contemptible worms.
When I say Cruel Intentions 2 is more of a remake than a prequel, I mean just that. Consider the way the film opens, with Sebastian pulling a fast one on his principal by humiliating his wife in a sequence that's a deliberate callback to the opening of the first film (though its predecessor was much more suspenseful). Then there's Cherie, who is so dim and air-headed she could serve as the sister to Selma Blair's Cecile, and it's clear both her and Adams' Kathryn have gotten kissing lessons in the dark from Gellar and Blair (a raunchy horseback scene makes up for such lame pecking). Finally, how many sweet, do-gooder daughters of wealthy headmasters who enjoy flaunting their virginity are there in this world? Are Danielle and Annette Hargrove in some kind of club or secret society?
The sordid qualities of Cruel Intentions 2 are the only reason why someone would be captivated by its rehashed premise. For me, it's the same reason why shows like Jerry Springer and Maury still captivate me during the middle of the day, their very presence and timeslot on TV reminding me I should be doing something better and more productive with my time. The point I'm trying to make is the value of a sequel to Cruel Intentions comes with the project's firm grasp on its identity. It knows what it is from top to bottom, and that's largely because it's bolstered by writer/director Roger Kumble, reporting for duty once again on his modernization of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' Dangerous Liaisons. On that note, enjoyment of this somewhat likable sequel will vary. I'm on the outlier side.
Starring: Robin Dunne, Amy Adams, Sarah Thompson, Keri Lynn Pratt, Mimi Rogers, Barry Flatman, and David McIlwraith. Directed by: Roger Kumble.
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Post by StevePulaski on Sept 28, 2018 10:43:24 GMT -5
Cruel Intentions 3 (2004) Directed by: Scott Ziehl Rating: ★ Cruel Intentions 3 is as appalling as it brainless. An artless gimmick one could believe was written as Just Another Teen Thriller™ before being reworked and sold as the third and final sequel in a franchise that didn't even need a sequel. So far gone from the contemptible acts of Kathryn and Sebastian, screenwriter Rhett Reese (who wrote the second film) seems to think we want a miserably lukewarm, unerotic stockpile of undeveloped characters and underwhelming plot. Rarely have I sat through a film and hopelessly remarked at the whole lot of nothing I just sat through. This, dear reader, was one of those times.
The film ever-so-loosely connects itself to the previous two efforts by positioning Kristina Anapau as Cassidy Merteuil, Kathryn's cousin. This might've worked if Anapau had any of the devilish sensibilities as Sarah Michelle Gellar or at least maneuvered through the part as well as Amy Adams, but she's a victim of her own limitations on top of bad writing. She is, however, just as manipulative as her cousin, getting entangled with Jason and Patrick (Kerr Smith and Nathan Wetherington), the college bad-boys who she positions against one another. Jason has to seduce a woman already in a committed relationship while Patrick is tasked to seduce a woman engaged who claims to be madly in love with her fiancé.
All of this should be fun, but it isn't. Reese doesn't allow us the pleasure of getting to know the women Jason and Patrick are so adamant on seducing, and any conversations the men have are perfunctory or formless. The shaky directorial hand of Scott Ziehl doesn't help either. It's undoubtedly a challenge to juggle multiple characters with several conflicting motives and methods of deceit, which makes Roger Kumble's accomplishments all the more laudable. He conducted both Cruel Intentions films with a mostly seamless style that made you forget how difficult it was to follow ongoing stories with subplots. In retrospect, I think that's why Cruel Intentions 2 still earned enough praise to surprise me and my admittedly low expectations.
Cruel Intentions 3 doesn't have that same element of surprise and efficiency. It's an aggressively cheap and cheap-looking film with serious flaws in characterization and just general interest. Why are the two women Jason and Patrick court so special and integral to the plot? Why am I not given enough information about these characters to care? And finally, why does Cassidy feel like she herself is acting the part of an unstoppable queen bitch instead of being the part? Cruel Intentions 3 is worse than bad; it's a phony carbon-copy.
Starring: Kerr Smith, Nathan Wetherington, Kristina Anapau, Natalie Ramsey, Melissa Yvonne Lewis, and Tom Parker. Directed by: Scott Ziehl.
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