Cruel Intentions (1999)
77%RT Audience Score: 81%
Awards & Nominations: 8 wins & 14 nominations
This darkly comic drama and its attractive young cast are easy on the eyes, but uneven performances and an uninspired script conspire to foil Cruel Intentions
Cruel Intentions” is the perfect movie to watch when you want to see rich, beautiful people do terrible things to each other. It’s like “Gossip Girl” on steroids, with Sarah Michelle Gellar as the ultimate queen bee and Ryan Phillippe as the ultimate bad boy. And let’s not forget Reese Witherspoon, who brings a touch of sweetness to the proceedings. Sure, it’s not exactly high art, but who cares when you’re having this much fun?
Production Company(ies)
Rossen Films,
Distributor
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Columbia Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
Indoor Pool, Biltmore Hotel – 506 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong sexual dialogue and sexual situations involving teens, language and drug use
Year of Release
1999
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:NA
-
Runtime:1h 37m
-
Language(s):English, Vietnamese, French
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 5, 1999 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 3, 1999
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair, Louise Fletcher, Joshua Jackson, directed by Roger Kumble, written by Roger Kumble, produced by Neal H Moritz, drama, R rating, box office gross $38.6M, reviewed by Kristy Puchko, Kevin Thomas, Andrew Sarris, Richard Schickel, Rod Dreher, Jami Bernard, Alix Turner, Tim Brayton, EJ Moreno, Andrew Gruttadaro, Lauren Veneziani, sexual conquest, wager, Seventeen Magazine, sexual purity, sexual dialogue, Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, SDDS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR, Flat (1.85:1), Annette, Sebastian, Kathryn, Cecile Caldwell, Blaine Tuttle, Helen Rosemond, sexual thriller, provocative, step siblings, headmaster, interplay, storytelling, intrigue, contrived, romantic comedy, demented, funny, dramatic, underrated, Selma Blair, Cecile, cruel, uncaring, clever script, horror movies, MCU movies, Netflix series, TV shows, renewed, cancelled, horror movies of all time, accessibility
Worldwide gross: $76,347,426
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $137,045,758
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 879
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 14,945,012
US/Canada gross: $38,773,785
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $69,600,025
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 921
US/Canada opening weekend: $13,020,565
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $23,372,277
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 575
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $10,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $18,847,793
Production budget ranking: 1,392
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $10,149,536
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $108,048,429
ROI to date (est.): 373%
ROI ranking: 364
Ryan Phillippe – Sebastian Valmont
Reese Witherspoon – Annette Hargrove
Selma Blair – Cecile Caldwell
Louise Fletcher – Helen Rosemond
Joshua Jackson – Blaine Tuttle
Director – Roger Kumble
Producer – Neal H. Moritz
Writer – Roger Kumble
Director(s)
Roger Kumble
Writer(s)
Roger Kumble
Producer(s)
Neal H. Moritz
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
8 wins & 14 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (114) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (62) | Rotten (52)
20 years later, you can see the charm that made Witherspoon a star, appreciate Blair’s comedic splendor, and recognize that Phillippe was handsome and is also in this movie.
March 27, 2019
Kristy Puchko
Pajiba
TOP CRITIC
Cruel Intentions is a stretch for all concerned, including the targeted audience, one that pays off handsomely–and works for older moviegoers as well.
March 21, 2019
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
At this infantile level of appraisal, I suspect that Ms. Gellar and Mr. Phillippe may have a harder time next summer than last.
March 21, 2019
Andrew Sarris
Observer
TOP CRITIC
Our fascination with this tale has always derived from its cool portrayal of utter amorality, which Kumble and his cast nicely energize with their heedless, youthful intensity.
March 21, 2019
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The misbegotten Cruel Intentions serves up great glittering gobs of cheap, without the thrills.
March 21, 2019
Rod Dreher
New York Post
TOP CRITIC
It’s easy to see why the director thought his Cliff Notes approach to literature would work.
March 21, 2019 | Rating: 2/4
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
A black comedy of manners (or romantic comedy/drama) relocated from 1780s France to 1990s USA, directed by Roger Kumble.
February 10, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/5
Alix Turner
Ready Steady Cut
Gellar’s hambone Machiavellian turn is so utterly fearless and showy that there really isn’t a single scene of the film that she’s in that isn’t completely delightful.
April 13, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/5
Tim Brayton
Alternate Ending
With a sharp script and even sharper acting, it’s a pleasure to watch this sexy game of chess unfold.
April 13, 2019
EJ Moreno
Flickering Myth
Cruel Intentions is a crass, shocking, somehow delightful film that takes the teen movie of the late ’90s and turns the sex, deceit, and offensiveness to 11.
March 26, 2019
Andrew Gruttadaro
The Ringer
Cruel Intentions is a 90s cult classic with impeccable performances by all of its leads and a film that has been talked about since it first debuted in 1999.
March 25, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Lauren Veneziani
WBAL-TV (Baltimore)
An erotic, raunchy, and deliriously campy drama…
March 22, 2019
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed…
Plot
Kathryn Merteuil and Sebastian Valmont are seductive, manipulative step-siblings who get what they want when they want it. Kathryn makes a bet with Sebastian: Sebastian must bed Annette, daughter of the headmaster at their school, before the end of summer break. Annette has stated that she would wait until love and marriage to sleep with a man. If Kathryn wins, she gets Sebastian’s vintage 1959 Jaguar Roadster. If Sebastian wins, he gets Kathryn, the only girl he knows he’ll never have. Also in play is Cecile, a naïve girl whose mother had enlisted Kathryn to help her fit in at her new school. However, Kathryn (with Sebastian’s help) plans to ruin Cecile’s reputation as revenge on Kat’s ex-boyfriend, who left her for Cecile.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Sarah Michelle Gellar delivers a “cruel, uncaring performance” as Kathryn in Cruel Intentions, according to one audience review.
Roger-Kumble.jpg
