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Review

Based on the 18th century French novel "Les Liaisons Dangereuses," the story of cynical rich people’s manipulations of the innocent has been transported to present-day New York City and the aristocratic leads being spoiled Upper East Side rich kids.

Valmont (sexy, pouty-lipped beauty Ryan Phillippe) and Merteuil (Sara Michelle Gellar) are callous stepsiblings who enjoy the art of seduction, corruption and emotional destruction. They set up a wager for Valmont to seduce a goody-goody virgin (a wonderfully wide-eyed Reese Witherspoon) The prize for success? Sex with his step-sister. Or, as Gellar so eloquently puts it: "I'll fuck your brains out".

Filled with great looking clothes, cars and teen bodies along with witty dialogue, a fine soundtrack and just the right tone of cold-blooded evil, it's pulled off quite nicely.

The relentlessly heterosexual story does feature a gay character - Joshua Jackson (Dawson's Creek) plays Blaine Tuttle, Valmont’s gay friend who has a hip look and is just as mischievous as Valmont, especially when the two plot a scheme to blackmail a homophobic closeted gay football player. It's a fun small role that could have been expanded. On the major plus side however, Gellar and Selma Blair's tongue-crossed lip-lock had many a teenage boy (not to mention lipstick-loving lesbians) in a heated sweat. And for the boys - can Ryan be any more beautiful? Sigh...he married Reese in real-life after meeting on set.

As a remake it's pretty decent;
as camp trash for the new millennium it's nearly unbeatable.