Sebastian  (Ryan Phillippe) and Kathryn(Buffy's Sarah Michelle Gellar) are 17 year old step brother and sister......though their relationship is perhaps a little more "involved" than that of most siblings.  With a new girl in town Sebastian's desire to bed as many debutants as possible is charged even more with the lovely and virginal [by choice] Heather (Phillippe's actual offscreen Love Resse Witherspoon).   She comes to town having published an article in Girlfriend about how she plans to wait til she is married, not unless Sebastian gets his way with her :-)

So here's the bet between brother and sister....If Sebastian fails to get Heather in the sack, He must give Kathryn his 1956 Jaguar Roadster...but if HE wins Kathyrn must give herself to him....something he has wanted, ever since their parents got together....

While Sebastian plans his seduction of Heather, Kathryn is working on her pet project, to destroy Celest(Selma Blair).  You see Celest inadvertently won the heart of Kathryn's former boyfriend, Kirk, and now Kathryn wants revenge.  But rather than seek out and destroy Kirk, she goes for the next best thing. 

Unlike your conventional teen flick, Cruel benefits not only from a knockout main cast, but also a fabulous supporting cast, ranging from Cybill's Chrisine Barinski as Celists imposing mother, to Swoozi Kurtz, who simply shines during her short, but pivitol bit in the opening sequence as Sebastian's overcharging Psychiatrist.

At the time of its initial release, this film was accused of being discriminatory against Gays, and lesbians (as both themes are worked into the story, in very funny ways)   Though never forceful or explicit in it's depiction, it none the less caused the usual hoo har from the do-gooders of the world. 

Considering the black and biting humour in this film, and believe me it has real bite, it's obvious these people simply didn't "get it", or didn't want to..... You can relate this type of humour to that of another great sleaze piece, Wild Things, Though Cruel is not quite as over the top, it's has a little more sophistication. 

SO HOW DOES THIS TRANSFER HOLD UP?

Columbia have once again delivered the goods and come up with a reference quality image.  Presented in all it's FULL 16:9 Glory, this DVD simply shines.  Colours are rich and vibrant, with great use of orange throughout, and a fair amount of shadowing has been intentionally used.  The idea being to give the picture a more natural look, particularly during indoor scenes, of which there are many. It's very sharp looking almost three dimensional at times, though I'd say the superb looking Urban Legend "just" beats it in this department.  This is also an RSDL DVD and the layer change is between ch 22 and 23 (just after Kathryn throws a vase at the door)

As for the sound, though not the designed for a full system workout, it still sounds great, when considering this is mostly dialogue driven...Music is constantly used throughout and composer Edward Shearmur has come with a less the conventional set piece, that suits the mood of this film down to a tea with it quirky beats.  The front sound stage is the most used area, with the rears being used to thicken up the sound (ambience).   Though no bullets ricochet from the rears, it's still a very enjoyable mix.

As this is a CTHV Collector's Edition, one would expect a plethora of extra goodies, and you get just that...

We are treated to a feature length commentary by so many involved in the making of this film it'd take too long to list them, suffice to say even with so many people trying to speak, it's still a fun and informative commentary. (they even talk about some sequences which were Censored by USA's MPAA....this cut version is the one released world wide) it would have been nice of Columbia to have released this to DVD in it's uncut glory, but we would have probably lost the running commentary, and it seems as though what was excised from the film really doesn't effect the story, it was just the MPAA being their inconsistent and irrational self)

And for your viewing pleasure,
- is a theatrical trailer presented in 4:3 with Dolby 5.1 sound,
- a 6 minute featurette (that just starts getting going as it stops (doh)), 
- 5 great & very funny deleted scenes, which are introduced by director Roger Kumble, explaining their cutting
- 2 music Videos - Marcy Playground terrific "coming up from behind"  AND Placebos equally good Every Me and Every you
- cast and crew filmographies
- French subtitles are also available for the featurette (and unusual yet welcome addition appearing on the latest CTHV DVDs)

Anyone after a little extra sleaze, with the dollop of finesse, will NOT want to pass this movie up, and those after another reference quality DVD won't want to either   (just leave your conscience at the door and enjoy)...HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Review Equipment
TV: Pioneer SD-T50W1 (16:9 RPTV)
DVD: Pioneer DV717  (using RGB outputs)
Receiver: Marantz SR870 & Sony SDP-EP9ES
Speakers:-
     Fronts: B&W 602
     Centre: B&W CDMC-SE
     Rears: Jamo Magic 14
     Subby: M&K V125 

- reviewed 10th October 1999