Fab cast and very compelling plot . def a cult classic and a big reflection of the 90s level of talent young actors had . must see !

I never have cared for Ryan Phillipe or Sarah Michell Gellar , but I heard the premise of the movie from a friend and remembered that my High School had a bunch of girls who had a "Slam Book" . It was the predisesor of cyber bulling! But it was as damaging to the people that they wrote about as Cyber Bulling is in this modern age! This movie is very twisted and shows how a group of Rich kids are generally spoiled brats! This movie actually made me dislike Phillipe and Gellar even more! The soundtrack is incredible for this movie, but the plot is mentally twisted! Who would screw their stepsister ? That's just too screwed up for words! But their little bet screwed them both! Reese gets the vintage Jaguar, Phillipe gets killed, and Gellar ends up in rehab! The only reason I'm really reviewing this at all is the "Slam Book" and it's replacement by the internet and social media shows that people are just mean to each other, mostly I think it's just jealousy!

(Originally reviewed: 16/03/2017) An interesting premise, but after the first half, which is admittedly interesting, it boils down to some laughable melodrama and an atrocious conclusion. The acting is actually mostly decent from Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillipe but Reese Wetherspoon who plays the principals daughter is merely passable, and there are some really awful performances from the talentless Selma Blair, who is always on her back these day's or giving out pleasure, but can't be competent enough to show believable emotion to a jock that is secretly a homosexual and sleepwalks through the picture doing nothing worth his hefty pay checks; and yet he's not the only one, and did we really need a small homosexual side story; because it felt very forced, as well as thing's like racism which also features and it's many clichés where the teenage girl forgives the boy and then five minutes later they've broke up again, give me a damn break.The first half is intriguing enough because it had an involving narrative; it did establish character's well, and has some decent dialogue during this period, but it fails to capitalise on its interesting build up and instead opts to turn into a predictable romantic story, with one of the stupidest last twenty or so minutes in recent film history. Luckily the picture has some positives though; there are some sexy moments, including two women locking lips, and the sexual vibe of the picture between some of the characters is effective, and I did like the look of the picture, its shot well and appropriately set.However some of the dialogue later on is laughably bad, there is some unintentionally embarrassing sequences, including Blair jumping on Phillipe and him pushing her off the bed, and a hilariously bad sequence where Tara Reid of American Pie has been duped by Phillipe, and is screaming to her mother on the phone and is constantly screaming loudly; and it didn't come off as it should of; it was just hilarious, which happened one too many times in a picture that should not be this funny. The writing completely suckers the actor's upon its idea to have a confrontation scene that has pretty much, no depth and makes little sense, it results in Phillipe been hit in the legs by a moving car, and then there's the remembering him sequence at the end, and you know the rest, not only is it uninspired and unoriginal, it's borderline ridiculous. The makers never gets its tone right either and never sticks to its sense of humour very well, and it becomes completely joyless for the most part.Roger Kumble's direction may be decent, but his screenplay from just after the hour mark is an unintentional joke, just like his film, and I was hoping to like this film but it's just too melodramatic and laughable and suffers from a second half that is riddled with more clichés than Cameron's Titanic; Cruel Intentions is simply a poor film that could have been a lot better.

All the leads are in top form in this modern retelling of "Dangerous Liaisons" that I really enjoyed. Plot in A Paragraph: Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian (Ryan Phillipe) two wealthy, manipulative teenage step-siblings that make an unusual bet. The stakes are high, Sebastian bets Kathryn that he can seduce the proud virgin Annette (Reese Witherspoon) who is the daughter of the schools new headmaster, before school begins in the fall. Kathryn thinks this feat impossible and quickly agrees to the wager. The stakes: if Sebastian succeeds, Kathryn must give him a night of unbridled pleasure, something's he's wanted since their parents got married. If he fails, he must forfeit his priceless 1956 Jaguar to Kathryn.This could have been awful, if not for some brilliant performances. Sarah Michelle Gellar is a revelation in a more mature role, from what we'd previously seen her in at the time. Reese Witherspoon is perfectly cast as Annette as is Ryan Phillipe as the charismatic playboy Sebastian. Selma Blair more than holds her own as Cecile, and Christine Baranski is as brilliant as always as Cecile's protective mother.