Cruel Intentions is Prime Video’s newest and sexiest show, paying homage to the original source material by upping the ante and creating even more risque scenarios for the characters at the center of the story.
While the movie version pushed boundaries in 1999 by featuring a kiss between Cecelia (Selma Blair) and Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) — as well as palpable sexual chemistry between step-siblings Kathryn and Sebastian (Ryan Phillipe) — the new television show honors the film and the 1700s novel it’s based on by taking even bigger swings in the twisted and sexy ballpark.
While the show does not fully live up to the film in many respects, it does turn up the heat between the main trio and the surrounding characters. Caroline (Sarah Catherine Hook) is a woman on a mission to recruit Annie Grover (Savannah Lee Smith), the daughter of the U.S. vice president. To do that, Caroline — the equivalent of SMG’s Kathryn Merteuil from the ’99 movie — must use her assets to persuade her step-brother Lucien (Zac Burgess) to seduce Annie and deliver her on a silver platter to Delta Phi Pi. If he can do that, Caroline will give Lucien what he has always wanted: her.
This follows the same general storyline from the original film in that the step-siblings are, as Chappell Roan would put it, “hot to go” for each other. I don’t care how old or sexperienced experienced you are, a will-they-won’t-they dynamic will always be hot.
From their very first interaction in a flashback, the show sets up Caroline and Lucien as a pair that will edge and tease you until the very end. From there, the story jumps to the present day and shows that they are wholly comfortable with each other. Considering one of the first scenes set in the present involves Caroline making the indecent proposal to Lucien as he is in the shower — and pointing out his boner — the show does not shy away from this flirtation.
The will-they-wont-they between Caroline and Lucien is just one layer to this sexy onion — possibly the least sexy vegetable but follow the train of thought — as the show also brings in a naughty but entirely welcome storyline where the step-siblings use filmed sex as a currency between them. Here, there is no such thing as a metaphorical “spank bank.” It’s real and it exists on Caroline’s phone.
By far, the hottest part of the show is Lucien’s obsession with filming his sexual encounters to send to Caroline. In keeping with the twistedness of the dynamic, Caroline knows just how sexually promiscuous her step-brother is and uses his conquests to get herself off. When she’s in the mood and has a spare moment — which is rare considering she’s running sorority recruitment — Caroline will turn the videos on and watch.
It’s sex, yes, but it’s also sexy.
There’s also Caroline’s use of sex as a tool that makes the show even more steamy. When Caroline’s bestie and No. 2 Cece (Sara Silva) falls for a professor on campus — so much so that she is missing Delta Phi events — Caroline, ever the ruthless queen bee, steps in and puts an end to it. No man is going to distract her No. 2.
Rather than have a conversation (what fun is that?!) Caroline goes straight to the source and has sex with Professor Hardwick (Sean Patrick Thomas) just to report him to the school’s ethics board. During this sexual encounter, Lucien also walks in on them, adding to the titillation.
The bad news here is that aside from showing some seriously sexy moments, Cruel Intentions doesn’t do much more than tee up its audience for sexual frustration. But then again, maybe that’s all you need to light your own fire.
It’s not the sexiest show of 2024 but it crosses into the hot and steamy, for sure.
All eight episodes of Cruel Intentions Season 1 are available to steam stream on Prime Video.
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