Fleur de poison

Nabokov's Lolita used the affections of a fawning, elderly man (her stepfather) for her own purposes--which never amounted to much more than sex and cash. It only figures that today's Lolita would be dressed to kill, literally. As Drew Barrymore plays her here, she's a sexy homicidal figure with maternal delusions. "Poison Ivy" begins rather endearingly, with high school outcast Sara Gilbert (looking like the modern equivalent of a teen beatnik) befriended by a striking blonde student with lots o' leg and a fake tattoo. This wanton woman-child has no name; Gilbert calls her "Ivy" and Barrymore likes that ("It gives me the opportunity to start over," she says). The tone of the picture shifts however before the midway point, with Ivy infiltrating Gilbert's dysfunctional household and seducing dad Tom Skerritt (doing terrific work). Gilbert's narration--and the surreal jumble which becomes the hectic climax--is rather off-putting, but there's a great deal of worth in Barrymore's solid performance. The film is stylish on a low-budget and is actually steamier than "Nine 1/2 Weeks". Yet, it's really two different pictures struggling within the context of one. A stronger screenplay might've brought the two halves together, although, as the director, Katt Shea Ruben manages to come up with a commendable amount of incidents both amusing and titillating. ** from ****

It would be the easiest thing to simply dismiss this film as yet another sleazy erotic melodrama (which it undoubtedly is), but the result is too intriguing, and too offbeat, to be ignored. Although this film will disappoint those who are expecting a well-made thriller or even an explicitly erotic movie because it's tame and practically suspenseless, it has an air of weirdness and morbidity that places it slightly above most of the run-of-the-mill entries in this genre. The performances are mostly one-note but convincing enough. Visually, it's a grim, underproduced film, but it does have a "special" atmosphere.

Drew Barrymore performs excellent in this movie, she plays the role of a seductress quite well, from the first scene with her friend's dad to the last seen. The most Important is the way the characters are portrayed, the direction is superb.

By all rights this should have been yet another R-rated sex and violence flick about a piece of immoral jailbait having her wicked way with everyone around her, but the directing and acting are good enough to make it more effective than most, even touching. The atmosphere is almost haunting, and the relationships between the characters (especially the two teenage girl leads) are well developed enough to hold your interest.

Sara Gilbert gives the film a sympathetic center, she's excellent as a bright, likeable high school girl who finds herself in far over her head when she befriends poor little bad girl Drew Barrymore. Her misery and frustration as Barrymore takes over her family, her life, even her dog are moving enough to make the flimsy story work. Barrymore wasn't much of an actress at that age (still isn't, in my opinion), but she's very effective nonetheless. She doesn't need to act, she needs to do what she does, look sexy. Really, really sexy, like it's all she ever thinks about. Cheryl Ladd also does surprisingly well as Gilbert's slowly dying mother.

The movie also has moments of an almost haunting quality. The score is lovely, alternately passionate and strangely moody, and gives the film enough emotional intensity to make me forgive its many flaws. Even Barrymore kissing Gilbert. Eeeew.

First, I have to say that I seriously enjoyed this film. These 90s dark twisted thrillers are extremely appealing to me. I was mesmerized by Drew Barrymore's character. From the minute she appears you sort of intuit that she has ulterior motives for every little thing she does until it becomes obvious what her intentions really are. I was fascinated by her performance, because you don't usually get to see her play these type of characters and she does it incredibly well. I kept thinking about her character in Never Been Kissed, reflecting on her abilities to interpret such polar opposites. She completely steals the film with her intoxicating and sensual presence, spreading her poison all across the other characters, who at first are clearly charmed by her bewitching personality.

I was rather surprised by some of the sex scenes involved, I was not expecting them to have such an explicit tone, but I assume that is to shock viewers and to show how far Ivy was willing to go to get what she wanted. Sara Gilbert and Tom Skerritt played their parts really well, adding even more depth to Barrymore's own performance.

I loved the ending, it was a satisfying conclusion and it made me want to watch the other Poison Ivy entries, but somehow I doubt they will match the rather morbid intensity and sinister atmosphere of this one.