Here is the fourth screen
adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a
novel derided centuries ago as ''a picture of the most odious
immorality.'' Director Roger Kumble treats its plot as the
framework for a glossy exploitation film; he's less concerned
with exploring the souls of cynical libertines than with
plumbing the nuances of teenage lesbian tongue-kissing.
Phillippe's Valmont and Gellar's Merteuil are bratty Manhattan
step-siblings who lay a carnal wager over whether he can waste
the chastity of Reese Witherspoon's little miss. Cruel Intentions is
odious, sure, but its first hour is so zippily titillating as to
make for tasty trash. Viewers eager to gobble more of the same
can tune in to the film's TV spin-off, Manchester Prep, this
fall. C+
Originally posted Aug 06, 1999Published in issue #497 Aug 06, 1999Order article reprints
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