It’s Been 25 Years Since Raunchy Masterpiece ‘Cruel Intentions’ Redefined Teen Films

Like any millennial worth their salt, ’90s cinema still holds a place in my heart. The nostalgia alone is enough to have me revisiting some of my favorite films from that era. Teen dramas are still among some of my favorite guilty pleasure movies.

Who doesn’t love a cringey monologue and equally embarrassing over-acting? Cruel Intentions turns 25 this year and boy do I feel old … The infamous teen drama changed everything we know about the genre and it’s time to appreciate the masterpiece.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Cruel Intentions paved the way for ’90s teen cinema and remains a classic even to those born after its release. The aesthetic, the fashion, the acting, the soundtrack … there are too many amazing things to celebrate about this film. The film was a loose adaptation of the banned 18th-century French novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos titled Les Liaisons Dangereuses. 

Les Liaisons Dangereuses focuses on two people who were former lovers and now enjoy ruining the lives of those around them through promises of love and a lot of promiscuity. The Marquise de Merteuil challenges the Vicomte de Valmont to seduce a teen named Cécile de Volanges, destroying her plans to marry advantageously.

Cruel Intentions adapts the novel to high society New York City where boarding school queen bee Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) challenges her stepbrother Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillipe) to seduce the new headmaster’s daughter, Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon). Annette has recently penned an essay for Seventeen Magazine about saving her virginity for marriage, and Kathryn is looking to ruin her reputation before the school year begins.

The film focuses on the dark and twisted minds of the step-siblings and how they manipulate those around them to rule their wealthy domain. If Sebastian beds Annette, Kathryn will finally have sex with him (gross). If he fails, she’ll win Sebastian’s prized possession: his vintage Jaguar XK140.

Deliciously Cruel

Cruel Intentions is wickedly sexy and Sarah Michelle Gellar shines as the evil and manipulative Kathryn, a complete reversal from her tenure as the heroic Buffy Summers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Indeed, it’s shocking that SMG hasn’t been given another deliciously villainous role since when she so clearly excels at it. Her taboo attraction and fixation on her stepbrother becomes her undoing, while Sebastian also faces karmic retribution for his slimy actions. The film’s risque storyline and incredibly wicked characters still inspire teen films today. 

Sarah Michelle Gellar opened up about her thoughts on Cruel Intentions with Entertainment Tonight,

“I mean, Cruel was exciting because, for me, I look for things that’ll make an impact and something that’s different. And teen movies at that point were teen movies. We were coming out of a John Hughes era and moving into these sort of frothy, romantic comedies, and to take material like Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and give it to teens and that material, it was sort of the first of its kind. It was daring and edgy, and some people were against the movie and didn’t think it was a good idea, [But] I think we always knew that we were doing something really cool.”

The privileged step-siblings are hateable, but it’s hard to be mad when Gellar and Phillipe so completely nail their characters. I, for one, will be rewatching the film to transport myself back to that era. Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got “Bitter Sweet Symphony” by The Verve on repeat …

(featured image: Columbia Pictures)

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