This new Netflix interpretation of Dangerous Liaisons is the who-knows-how-many-eth adaptation of a book I’ve never read. I have seen the big US release from 1988 and the “modern” reinterpretation Cruel Intentions (I can change/I can change/I can change) but I don’t remember all the details so I don’t know how close this new flick adheres to anything.

That said, it’s set in the modern age of social media and follows the super hot influencers as they play catty rich bitch games with the lower classes (i.e. the unwashed masses with less clout).

Yeah, this film’s self-satisfied angle is reimagining the French aristocracy and/or the idle rich as social media influencers. I mean… sure, I guess that could work. Though the idle rich are bad enough, now we have to deal with this new breed of vacuous apes.

Anyhow, I made the mistake of watching the default English dub of this French flick and the voice over actors are pretty heinous. I recommend subtitles… assuming the original actors are any more tolerable.

I didn’t care for this adaptation and it’s super cringe elite snobbery. I’m sure they are taking this idle cruelty from the source material but it really felt desperate and fake, too over-the-top mustache twirling bored in this adaptation.

I guess some of the characters are ok and the come-uppance at the end wasn’t too bad. And, despite myself, I kind of felt the resolutions were ok… even if they were being live-streamed so the audience could post their heart emojis. Ugh… could they self-sabotage their message of change and true love? But I guess that’s in-line with the message of the film?

I was very bored and very eye-rolley with this over-the-top take on an old story. In that it worked a little at the end is all I’ll give it credit for. I’m sure someone could make a deep and meaningful social media interpetation/take-down, but it wasn’t this attempt.

Score: 64