Hop onto Gay Twitter on any given day and, within minutes, you’ll scroll past a “Ryan Phillippe’s butt in Cruel Intentions made me gay” meme. It’s as inevitable as taxes!
But(t) what is Cruel Intentions’ queer legacy beyond Ryan Phillippe’s finest ass(ets)? The Cruel Intentions extended universe turns out to be as gay as Andy Cohen showing Vice President Kamala Harris “Padam, Padam” in front of Stonewall during NYC Pride Weekend. And, come on, that’s the gayest sentence we’ve ever typed. We’re talking Lesbian sexual awakenings! Baby Amy Adams! Christine freakin’ Baranski!
Cruel Intentions had it all.
The film centers on super-rich step-siblings Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian (Ryan Phillipe), who both want and hate each other. Kathryn bets Sebastian that he can’t seduce the NYC prep school’s most eligible virgin, Annette (Reese Witherspoon). If Kathryn wins, she gets Sebastian’s 1956 Jaguar XK140; If Sebastian wins, Kathryn will finally let him have sex with her. Either way, someone/something is getting ridden.
There’s also a subplot involving Selma Blair’s dim-bulb Celeste, who Kathryn wants revenge on for stealing her summer boyfriend. Sebastian wins the bet, becomes a good person, falls in love with Annette, and—*spoiler alert!*—dies. Kathryn is dethroned when her dirty deeds are exposed to the entire school. Just another day on the Upper East Side.
(It must be noted that there are many dated, problematic elements of 1999’s Cruel Intentions, including blatant homophobia, revenge porn, and various versions of sexual misconduct. Celebrating this film for its queer bona fides does not mean we ignore those very-’90s plot points which simply do not fly in 2023.)
With the recent announcement of the cast of the Cruel Intentions TV series on Amazon, we took a deep dive into everything that makes the world of Cruel Intentions part of the queer canon.
BoylesqueBubble
Wasn’t there just an article on your website bitching and moaning about straight men and gay characters they’re playing? But suddenly here’s an actor you’ve rubbed one out to for decades and he gets a pass? Did you forget he played a gay teenager on a soap opera? Make sure you drag him like you did the other “gay for pay” actors just to be fair. Your news writers are a goddamn shameful joke!
Then the “writer” after starting the article as a sexual objectification of Ryan’s ass, goes on to write about the “problematic” aspects of the film. Can’t have it both ways, dumbass!
HI CAM!
nm4047
Not sure AI is considered a writer.
Mister P
If Ryan Phillipe is gay for pay. I’ll pay
Huron132
I had no idea there was 2 sequels. I don’t think I’ll ever go out of my way to see them, it’s amazing that there is not an original idea in Hollywood. Someone needs to go back to entertaining new ideas!
LumpyPillows
Ryan and I dated right after I saw “Cruel Intentions”. It was a crazy, sordid love affair that lasted almost a year. Shame he never actually knew about it.