Topics: Film and TV, Nostalgia, Entertainment, Amazon Prime
The 1990s was the peak of cult classic teen drama films and TV shows, which is a major reason why fans of this era are so protective of them.
One of the most iconic films from this golden age is Cruel Intentions, a tale about wealthy step-siblings who go to great lengths to seduce and manipulate their new headmaster’s daughter.
The 1999 film served as a modern retelling of the French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and starred Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, and Ryan Phillippe. It’s now considered a cult classic, and not just because of all the '90s icons in its cast, two of whom tied the knot in real life; it also spawned a prequel, a sequel, and a musical.
A TV adaptation has been in the works for years. A pilot set 17 years after the events of the film was produced by NBC in 2016, and Gellar signed on to star in the show. However, the pilot was not picked up and it remains unaired.
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But now, the film has been given the reboot treatment in the form of a TV show on a streaming platform. Unfortunately, viewers have panned the series as ‘shallow and uninspired’.
The Amazon Prime version, which stars Sarah Catherine Hook, Zac Burgess, and Savannah Lee Smith, has a underwhelming 36 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from critics.
Comments left by viewers have been savage.
“The show doesn’t work on many levels, but the worst of it is that the writing is so uninspired, shallow and generic,” said one disappointed commenter.
“Don’t waste your time on this. It’s a cheap imitation of a timeless classic. Stick to the original movie and you will get far more in every department. The acting is wooden, and the plot isn’t improved upon. It is a fail, through and through", another disgruntled viewer shared.
Someone else wrote on X: “The Cruel Intentions reboot is so incredibly bad.”
Another shared: “That Cruel Intentions show is really cringe and it doesn’t compare to the original I fear… I tried.”
However not all of the audience reviews were tragic.
“Just finished Cruel Intentions and i’m going to need that season 2 renewal by the end of next week,” one fan demanded.
Similarly someone else posted: “Finally finished the Cruel Intentions series and I NEED ANOTHER SEASON ASAP.”
And someone else compared the TV reboot to another beloved classic.
“Ngl Cruel Intentions delivered everything the Gossip Girl reboot was supposed to…”
