Cruel Intentions (1999)

Director:

Roger Kumble

Writers (WGA):

Choderlos de Laclos (novel)
Roger Kumble (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 March 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

In the game of seduction, There is only one rule: Never fall in love

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Virgin | Bet | Jaguar | Love | Revenge

Awards:

6 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Sarah Michelle Gellar	...	Kathryn Merteuil
Ryan Phillippe	...	Sebastian Valmont
Reese Witherspoon	...	Annette Hargrove
Selma Blair	...	Cecile Caldwell
Louise Fletcher	...	Helen Rosemond
Joshua Jackson	...	Blaine Tuttle
Eric Mabius	...	Greg McConnell
Sean Patrick Thomas	...	Ronald Clifford
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Dr. Greenbaum
Christine Baranski	...	Bunny Caldwell
Alaina Reed Hall	...	Nurse
Deborah Offner	...	Mrs. Michalak
Tara Reid	...	Marci Greenbaum
Herta Ware	...	Mrs. Sugarman
Hiep Thi Le	...	Mai-Lee

Also Known As:

Cruel Inventions (USA) (working title)
Eiskalte Engel (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Juegos sexuales (Argentina) (Peru) [es]
Cruel Intentions - prima regola: non innamorarsi (Italy) [it]
Crueles intenciones (Spain) [es]
En djävulsk romans (Sweden) [sv]
Erotika paihnidia (Greece) [el]
Estranhas Ligações (Portugal) [pt]
Juegos sexuales (Sexual games) (Mexico) [es]
Julmia aikeita (Finland) [fi]
Kegyetlen játékok (Hungary) [hu]
Seduction Games (Israel: English title) [en]
Segundas Intenções (Brazil) [pt]
Seks oyunlari (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Sex Games (Denmark) [da]
Sexe intentions (France) [fr]
Sexual Provocation (Belgium: English title) [en]
The Temptation More Beautiful Than a Love (South Korea) [ko]
Un pari cruel (Canada: French title) [fr]
Velmi nebezpecné známosti (Czech Republic) [cs]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual dialogue and sexual situations involving teens, language and drug use.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Vietnamese | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #36155) | Iceland:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Malaysia:18SX | Germany:12 (cut TV version) | Singapore:R(A) (cut) | Philippines:PG-13 | Ireland:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Brazil:18 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Mexico:C | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The kissing scene between Sarah Michelle Gellar and Selma Blair, ranked the film at #32 on Entertainment Weekly's "The 50 Sexiest Movies Ever" (issue #1023, November 28, 2008).

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Sebastian drives home after going to lunch with Clorissa, he makes a U-turn which forces the taxis behind to stop. However, they start honking when his car goes right - this was obviously planned because there was no reason to assume he would U-turn.

Quotes:

[Cecile returns home in the morning with her clothes rumpled and hair disheveled]
Bunny Caldwell: Jesus Christ, where have you been?
Cecile Caldwell: Shopping.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "I Love the '90s: Part Deux" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Money Hungry

Sexy

This movie gives a sexy, sensual twist to the stereotypical "teen flick." It communicates a new idea of sexuality amongst present-day teenagers, rather than the "bang her and leave her" mentality that is most commonly portrayed. I think the cast was very well chosen, and the dynamics of the cast were amazing. There weren't too many "no names" or "B list" actors, but on the other hand there weren't too many "A listers," which would have thrown the focus off the plot. The music used in the movie was perfect because it accentuated the tone of the movie.

I give "Cruel intentions" a "10" because it is a saucy love story without all the corniness of normal movies.