Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Member since:11.07.2000
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Yesterday I paid a visit to a friend and noticed he had a new pile of dvd's. As I sifted through I noticed Cruel Intentions 2. Now I knew it existed but hadn't heard much about so I thought I'd take a look.
All I can say is I want 83 minutes of my life back now please!
Cruel Intentions 2 started life as a televsion series called Manchester Prep. The show was based on the Cruel Intentions film. Now probably due to the fact that the show wasn't any good and that most US TV networks are quite reserved in their censorship rules, needless to say it didn't get aired. So instead of being consigned to the vaults the footage has instead been edited to film length and passed off as a sequal.
Let me just say I liked the first film. I have it on dvd and thought it was an entertaining film that had it's toungue firmly in it's cheek for the most part. It was also quite sexy and had some good young leads. I'd imagine it also helped that two of the cast members were sleeping together off screen as well. Imagine my surprise that this sequel was
actually written and directed by the same man responsible for the first film. That mans name is Roger Kumble.
The story is the same as the first film with only a few slight changes. The rougish Sebastian (Robin Dunne) is sent to New York to live with his father and stepmother in a lavish house. Here he encounters his wicked but sexy step-sister Kathryn (Amy Adams). He also attends a new school called Manchester Prep where everybody is a bit snobbish and has money. Here he falls in love with the innocent daughter of the headmaster, Danielle is an innocent young woman and the feeling is mutual. However Kathryn vows to interfere and make the couples life a bit more difficult.
Everything about this film is very low grade, it plays a fine line between being tongue in cheek and just plain awful. More often than not it falls on the wrong side. It looks like a TV show, the sets are pretty dull throughout but the biggest insult is the acting and the script. Robin Dunne is frankly awful in his role. One scene requires him to be in a shower when two girls come and share it. His reaction is to stammer his words and when the girls go topless he starts flapping his mouth like a goldfish. Strange behaviour for a boy who's meant to be a sexual animal. The shower scene plays a like a low grade porn movie without the porn. Choice dialogue includes:-
GIRL "So Sebastian how are you finding Manchester Prep ?" SEBASTIAN "It's very hard"
You can guess where she look in the direction of.
GIRL "It sure is-down boy!"
At other times Dunne just doesn't cut it in the sexual stakes. I think that sometimes the best sexual characters aer the one who have something that appeals to the male as well as the female. At least Ryan Phillipe had something alluring. Dunne has all the charisma of wood.
Amy Adams plays the role of Kathryn in a way over the top way. Shes bitchy but almost too bitchy. You couldn't care less about her and the way she goes about her business is completely silly.
Sarah Thompson is passable and doesn't get saddled with as many awful scenes as her co-stars. Still she still lacks any real emotion.
As for the rest of the cast. Well Mimi Rodgers pops up as the mother and frankly she must be desparate. There's also a girl who is incredibly stupid, annoying and cliched. Add to that stereotyped butlers straight out of the Ask Jeeves advert, the asian maid and the indian servant who can't speak a word of english and just grins then you have it all.
Maybe I'm being unfair on the cast as the direction is just as bad. At one point Rodger winks here eye which is cheesy enough but you get a little twinkle sound effect just to push it over the edge. In fact you don't have to see this movie at all, just imagine the original but without the class, budget, cast and devoid of any quality.
I've really strugles to write about this film as I really can't remember much about it and it was less than 24 hours since I watched it.
Word to the wise for the male readers. You may have heard lots about the shower scene. It's incredibly over-rated, not really sexy and all you see is two pairs of breasts on two girls who can't act. just to make things worse it's capped off by a shower gel/cumshot joke.
Roger Kumble- was it your cruel intention to completely ruin your mildly decent work on your debut film? If so you have succeeded with honours. I just hope you've done a better job with the Cameron Diaz/Thomas Jane film The Sweetest Thing due in 2002.
If I could give this a zero reating I would believe me.
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
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Advantages: it was watchable in a funny sort of way Disadvantages: The quality of acting didn't compare to the original, Repeated quotes from the first film
jenni_a 29.04.2003 (29.04.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Cruel Intentions 2 (DVD)
Advantages: it was watchable in a funny sort of way Disadvantages: The quality of acting didn't compare to the original, Repeated quotes from the first film
jenni_a 29.04.2003 (29.04.2003)
·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Cruel Intentions 2 (DVD)
Advantages: Some funny moments, good chemistry between the female leads. Disadvantages: Gross-Out humour might not be to everybody's taste.
damncoldnightdotnet 04.05.2004 (04.05.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Sweetest Thing (DVD)
![Cruel Intentions 2 - Manchester Prep [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78497932.jpg "Cruel Intentions 2 - Manchester Prep [DVD]")
Jul 12th, 2001
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