Cruel Intentions reboot improves on the iconic movie in one key way

Sebastian himself lives for drama, gay in all but his actual identity, while Kathyrn's scathing put-downs, not to mention her iconic lewks, are the stuff that gay dreams are made of. That's before we even get to the scene where she teaches Cecile Caldwell how to kiss – a lip-locking smooch that made Demi Lovato realise she's queer (as revealed via EW). Celebrities. They're just like us.

But upon rewatching Cruel Intentions, it becomes clear that the film is just as homophobic as it is gay. Much of that homophobia comes from Kathryn's lips, which, when not producing saliva at an alarming rate, are very '90s in their bigotry. It's Kathryn though, and she says it all with such delectable arrogance that we have no choice but to stan still.

Then there's Joshua Jackson's Blaine. Fresh off Dawson's Creek, our beloved Pacey played the OG Demon Twink who has an affair with a "straight" bro (Ugly Betty’s boss Eric Mabius) because he “has a mouth like a hoover”. So, a relatable gay character? Check. Yet, it's hard not to look back and see how these two admittedly iconic characters are also raging stereotypes; the closeted jock and the bitchy queen.

So far, so '90s, but what's worse is how their affair is weaponised as something shameful that Sebastian uses in his quest to sleep with Reese Witherspoon's Annette (and eventually Kathryn).

Prime Video's new Cruel Intentions reboot follows a similar template. Once again, two super-rich step-siblings are super horny for each other. This time, it's Caroline Merteuil (Sarah Catherine Hook) and Lucien Belmont (Zac Burgess), who are essentially Kathryn and Sebastian again in all but name.

An innocent virgin ends up becoming the subject of their bet again too, Savannah Lee Smith's Annie Grover, but this time around, some things have changed (and mostly for the better).

Sara Silva, who replaces Selma Blair with a similarly named character, brings much more depth to the CeCe role, pushing past "dumb" stereotypes with a naive yet still capable take on Kathryn's best friend. However, it's a parallel storyline where the gays take centre stage that captivates most, and that's because this is where Prime Video's reboot expands most effectively on the original.

Early on, we're introduced to Blaise Powell (John Harlan Kim), the new version of Jackson's Blaine. He's not besties with Lucien though. Instead, he's in tight cahoots with Khobe Clarke's Scott Russell, a simple doofus who channels the Cecile of yesteryear with an often bewildering lack of common sense. And when I say "tight cahoots", what I actually mean is they're getting it on.

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Scott isn't out, just like his jock counterpart Greg McConnell wasn't in the original film. But with more time available here, not to mention years of progress when it comes to queer representation on screen, this new Cruel Intentions actually gives the pair some agency of their own. Well, not so much Scott, but that's a deliberate choice.

Scott is so dumb that he brought a spoon to the Super Bowl. Scott is so dumb that when he goes for a blood test, he asks for time to study. Scott is so dumb that he'll stare at orange juice for 20 minutes because the box says 'Concentrate".

And that's handy for Blaise because it means he can manipulate Scott into doing whatever he wants, be it taking a naughty position behind closed doors or positioning him in a seat of power at their university, thereby securing some power for himself. In both respects, this Cruel Intentions is an improvement on the original.

Hearing Blaise say something like "I love seeing a powerful man on his knees" is one thing, but actually seeing him hook up instead of just cutting away is instantly far beyond what the original film would have shown. There, Blaine's hook-ups were talked about, but never seen (aside from one brief fumble under the sheets before Sebastian caught them out and proceeded to get his blackmail on).

However, the majority of the show's sex scenes remain hetero-heavy because the two leads identify as such. Still, that doesn't stop both Blaise and Scott from playing key roles in the wider narrative as we follow their relationship across all eight episodes of season 1.

Is Scott in denial about his queerness or does he just really not understand? Is Blaise actually in love with this curly-haired boy or is he just twirling him around his little finger? Watching these young men navigate their feelings while also working their way around the various power plays on campus is honestly far more than I ever expected from a reboot like this.

Could there be more depth still? Absolutely, although that's not entirely the show's fault. Blaise and Scott could have easily taken centre stage, and that would have made for a much better and more original show. But this is a reboot of Cruel Intentions, not a new gay series, so the fact it still takes time to explore classism and how frat culture impacts queer men is commendable.

Even when the writing leans into "evil gay" tropes that portray Blaise in a less-than-favourable light, it's made clear that he's just trying to survive in a cutthroat world where those with less money are more oppressed than any actual minorities. The fact that this is explored through an Asian character is especially interesting (and long overdue if we look at wider examples of gay Asian men on screen, who remain few and far between).

Without spoiling too much, things don't exactly go the way Blaise hopes for in the final episode, but that's true for everyone by the end. No one's happy in this hellscape world they find themselves in, no matter how much sex or money they might have, so it's not like the gays in particular are being punished in that regard.

The new Cruel Intentions isn't perfect. In fact, it falls short often. But there's something to be said for the show's willingness to depict gays going at it often too. Whether they're chasing power or chasing sex, they're much more integral to the story this time around than they ever were in the original, a formative yet sadly not-quite-perfect film.

Cruel Intentions is available to stream now on Prime Video.

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