The Diva Factor
by Karen (Lady FOLC@aol.com)


Cruel Expectations

Like many Buffy fans, I recently saw Sarah Michelle Gellar's new movie, Cruel Intentions. Speaking as an avid fan of movies and of Buffy, as a lover of all things devious, and as a diva, I can sum up my reaction to this movie very simply - I loved it. It's one of my new favorite movies.

But I feel like the only one, a sole voice of fabulousness in this crazy mixed up movie-going world. Many people who have reviewed it feel that it was hard to tell if this movie was supposed to be a black comedy or a tragic love story. They were shocked at Katherine and Sebastian's apparant lack of kindness and humanity, saying their immoral actions were a jolting and unrealistic view of teenagers today.

Blah blah blah. The key to loving this movie is to not take it seriously. Those of us who live in the real world know that teenagers can be the cruelest of all age groups, and that scheming is not uncommon amongst the high school set. Big deal. This movie is not meant to be commentary on the state of America's youth. It's meant to be entertaining, and good gravy, was it ever. To me, this movie was simply an East Coast Melrose Place on a grander scale.

Note in the first paragraph, I described Cruel Intentions as Sarah Michelle Gellar's new movie. Because she is the star - she steals every scene she is in, and only once did I even remember that she was the same girl who plays my TV heroine. Sarah does a wonderful job of breaking the Buffy mold - devious, cold, uncaring, lacking any tolerance for goodness and virtue and completely devoid of warmth, showing no signs of humanity until the final scene when she finally gets her due. She's the kind of conniving, evil wench that I frankly adore. Makes me almost want to dye my hair back to dark brown. And her costuming was enough to make me declare Katherine my new love.

Ryan Phillipe does a nice job in this movie - occasionally overacting, but you could eat cake off his butt. If he were a doctor, I'd eat germs. And his lips, and that devious smile of his? They won't earn him an Oscar, but it will definitely earn him a place on my "makes Karen giggle like a school girl who's been naughty" list. Reese Witherspoon - when my best guy friend Quang saw this movie, he developed a 24-hour infatuation on her (stopped only by the news that she is engaged to Ryan and carrying his baby). She was cute. Loved her at the end. She's not one of those toothpick-thin girls, so it makes me happy to see more figure types on film. And of course, Selma Blair. I flip between finding her very amusing and downright annoying. It's the Katherine in me that finds her annoying, but she did provide many funny moments in the film. And I liked her hair color.

But you know what, no matter how much I talk about how great this movie was for sheer entertainment alone, I have yet to find anyone who enjoyed it as much as me. Is there anyone else out there? Or am I destined to walk to earth alone, like the Incredible Hulk? (I've been watching the Wedding Singer. It makes me cute.)