“Cruel Intentions 2” (2000) is a prequel to “Cruel Intentions” (1999). [It’s not really important that you have seen the first movie as “Cruel Intentions 2” Stands on its own.]
Sebastian Valmont (Robin Dunne) is a bad boy and the son of a womanizing father. Sebastian has been kicked out of school. His mother is in rehab and his father has married a very wealthy lady in New York. Sebastian moves to New York with his father’s new wife and daughter.
His new stepsister Kathryn Merteuil (Amy Adams) lives in a huge mansion that is the size of an apartment building. She gets a five-figure allowance and is constantly cruel to the servants.
She is a doyen in the art of manipulation. Evan as a sophomore she is class president. She lives to manipulate and to strike pain, suffering, and sometimes pleasure in others.
Sebastian is attempting to clean up his act. He has learned from his past and wants to start anew. Moving to New York and attending the exclusive private school Manchester Prep will give him a new chance.
Kathryn sends in a set of sexy twins in an attempt to tempt Sebastian.
But Kathryn doesn’t like him and sets out to destroy him. Sebastian meets Danielle Sherman (Sarah Thompson) who is the headmaster’s daughter. He tries to make a good impression on her. Later she tells him that she is a virgin and that she knows that he has had lots of women in the past. Sebastian tells her that they should go slow and he won’t force her into anything.
Meanwhile Kathryn is busy trying to make Sebastian cheat on Danielle. She arranges a pair of twins to walk in on Sebastian while he’s taking a shower. They strip of their robes and shower in the nude with him. They tell him about all the wild sex he will miss if he dates Danielle.
Kathryn is completely unredeemable. She is sexually manipulating her teachers, accept the gay ones, and forcing her friends and enemies into awkward sexual encounters.
TRIVIA:
- Although "Cruel Intentions 2" is a prequel it has a completely different cast than the first movie. In some ways the movie is crueller and more fun than the first.
- The movie is not a simple remake of the first movie the way the first "Cruel Intentions" was a modern remake of Dangerous Laisons (although still a very good movie). "Cruel Intentions 2" further explores Kathryn Merteuil's personality.
- The movie showing the history of Kathryn and Sebastian becoming cruel contradicts with some of the events of Cruel Intentions 1; for example in the original movie Sebastian called Kathryn’s mother a gold-digger, implying Kathryn and her mother were originally poor and they entered into their wealthy lifestyle after her mother wed Sebastian’s father, however this movie shows Kathryn being the daughter of a wealthy socialite while Sebastian is from a poor background, with his father working as a Sailor.
- The Cruel Intentions movies are based on the 1782 French novel “Les liaisons dangereuses” by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. “Les Liaisons dangereuses was made into the 1988 film “Dangerous Liaisons”.
- In the French novel Kathryn Merteuil’s character is named Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil and Sebastian’s character is based on the Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont.
- Cruel Intentions 2 was originally planned to be an American comedy-drama television series titled Manchester Prep which was cancelled after three episodes had been filmed. It was written and directed by Roger Kumble.