Cruel Intentions (1999)

Two vicious step-siblings of an elite Manhattan prep school make a wager: to deflower the new headmaster's daughter before the start of term.

Director:

Roger Kumble

Writers:

Choderlos de Laclos (novel), Roger Kumble (screenplay)

Stars:

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon

7 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 (as Alaina Reed Hall)
Deborah Offner	...	Mrs. Michalak
Tara Reid	...	Marci Greenbaum
Herta Ware	...	Mrs. Sugarman
Hiep Thi Le	...	Mai-Lee

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

seduction | female female kiss | seductive woman | casual sex | sex scene | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Vietnamese French

Release Date:

5 March 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cruel Inventions

Filming Locations:

225 Central Park West, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,020,565, 7 March 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$38,328,567

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$75,902,208

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation,Cruel Productions LLC,Newmarket Capital Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was originally called "Cruel Inventions", but test audiences thought that made it sound like a science fiction film, so the name changed before it was released.

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Goofs

When Sebastian goes up to the glass in his therapist's office you can see marks from when he hit his forehead against it in previous takes

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Quotes

Annette: I don't know. Relationships seem too distracting. I'd rather concentrate on my studies.

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Alternate Versions

Besides the Missing Scenes on the DVD there are 4 more missing scenes:

• in one scene Sebastian can be seen leaving the swimming pool just after Annette left it. We learn now that he wasn't wearing a bathing suit
• another scene shows Kathryn getting mad at her housekeeper, Mai-Lee. Mai-Lee accidently hurts Kathryn while doing her toe nails and Kathryn yells at her in Vietnamese
• a third scene is from the end of the movie, when Kathryn and Annette meet each other in the bathroom of Manchester. Only a minor change of dialogue takes place here though
• finally and most interestingly there is the alternate ending scene. Sebastian still gets hit by a car, but not because of saving Annette. He just stops fighting when he sees her standing across the street and gets hit when he crosses it. This scene is probably changed to the version as it appears in the movie because his death is more heroic that way.

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Connections

Version of Les liaisons dangereuses (1959)

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Soundtracks

Money Hungry
Written and Performed by Marc Ferrari and Karen McAuley
Courtesy of Master Source
Published by Red Engine Music/American Shamrock Music

User Reviews

Scandalously Ruthless

I'm writing on this movie because there is probably no bigger afficionado on this subject than myself. I've seen this movie thousands of times and must say that it is exquisite. The portrayal of Valmont by Ryan Phillippe is magnificent, and its intriguing to know that the object of his affection, Annette (Reese Witherspoon), is his real life wife. Sarah Michelle Gellar does easily the best acting of her career, not that that says too much. The story is one that has been done many times over (Dangerous Liaisons, Valmont), however, this was an excellent adaptation to this age group and these current times. The fact that the 20 somethings are portraying 17 year old kids is unnoticeable because of the great acting and the portrayal of the story. Phillippe is easily the highlight of the film with his slick portrayal of Valmont. His disregard for others feelings and emotions is ruthless. The piece is without comparison of the trend of terrible teen movies made in the late 90's-early 00-01. This is the only one that takes a serious storyline and portrays it with enough maturity to appeal not only to teens but older audiences as well. The one problem I do have with the movie is the way that Sebastian turns from so evil and wicked to this love sick kid at the end of the film. When you see the deleted scenes on the DVD, you see the original cut of the climatic scene between Valmont and Merteuil. In this scene rather than walk out in near tears, Valmont slaps Kathryn and demands her end of the bet, before he is finally denied and then leaves. This would be a much better scene than the one used. It goes along with the entire idea of the character and when he turns to a sap you feel like Sebastian is turning to a sappy wimp. The film is still an excellent piece and should be regarded as an admirable adaptation of the novel "Les Liasons Dangereuse".