No one will describe 1999’s Cruel Intentions as a good movie, because it isn’t. The script is uneven, and at times it feels more bratty than sexy. But there’s something quite fearless about it, especially when the cast utterly devote themselves to playing mostly irredeemable characters. Sarah Michelle Gellar is positively Machiavellian as Kathryn, and Ryan Philippe is decent as her playboy brother Sebastian. It also helps that Philippe and Reese Witherspoon, who play love interests in the film, were dating in real life as well.
It’s believable that these characters – who are up-to-their-eyeballs wealthy and could have anything they possibly want – have become so bored with life that the only way to make it fun is to play with the lives of others. Cruel Intentions (1999) was bold and transgressive in a time where we didn’t really get teen movies like this. The TV show, however, is the opposite – for a show supposedly about sex and twisted games, it feels remarkably tame.
Cruel Intentions the TV show is trying to be its own thing, with some similar moving pieces but here the debased games play out within the spheres of Greek life. This makes sense as Greek life in college is often the backdrop for all things depraved and debauched. The three main players are Caroline (Sarah Catherine Hook), Lucien (Zac Burgess) and Annie (Savannah Lee Smith). Caroline and Lucien are step-siblings – the Kathryn and Sebastian of this world essentially – and Annie is the bet between them. Annie is the daughter of the vice president of the United States, and Caroline wants her to pledge for her sorority even though she’s a legacy at another. This is where Lucien comes in. He needs to seduce Annie and bring her into the fold, and of course if he manages to get her to sleep with him, then he gets the reward of taking Caroline into his bed.
Besides the similar premise, the show isn’t trying to be the exact same as the movie, with most of the characters fairly different in comparison. Hook’s Caroline is more vulnerable than Gellar’s Kathryn, and there are moments where we get to see beneath the hard shell she’s constructed around herself. However, while she’s manipulative, she isn’t really cruel, which means the general conceit of the show has failed to gain any sort of traction when our most villainous character feels more lamb than wolf.
I understand what they were trying to go for with Burgess’ Lucien, with that mullet hairstyle and having him swan about in hippie attire. However, the costuming and look of the character makes Lucien feel a bit too juvenile, and just not believable as this debonair character that’s managed to seduce so many women so easily. There are moments of spark here and there, and I can sort of see the potential in those moments, but the writing and tepid set pieces doesn’t give Burgess much opportunity to really sell us on his character. What makes things worse is that Burgess and Smith have next to no chemistry together. Lucien’s relationship with Annie is integral to his character growth and eventual redemption arc, but this never manifests because this version of Annie lacks the cunning so present in Witherspoon’s Annette. Despite being one of the main characters, she’s probably the most underdeveloped character of the three.
Sara Silva plays Cece, Caroline’s second in command in the sorority, and basically handles everything for Caroline but with very little reward. Caroline’s exploitation of Cece is the cruelest thing in the show, and Silva makes Cece relatable and easy to root for. What’s fascinating is how the minor characters are the ones who end up being more interesting as the show goes on. In a show with so many rancid characters, Scott (Khobe Clarke) is one of few who is morally decent for the most part, even though he’s flawed. Clarke has such charisma has an actor, adding layers to a character that could have very easily become one-dimensional in lesser hands.
Where the show truly fails is that despite its packaging of taboo themes, it’s just utterly boring. The costuming also fails to convince the viewer that we’re watching the lives of the wealthy elite. Look at shows like Gossip Girl or movies like Clueless – everything looks and feels expensive. In Cruel Intentions (2024), the vibe is more meretricious than luxurious, and that’s the cruelest thing of all.
REVIEW SCORE: 2/5
