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48 comments in total

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25 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
Better than it should be, 12 March 1999
Author: (otter_c@ix.netcom.com) from Mountain View, Ca.

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.

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15 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Good Teenage Drama., 9 December 2001
Author: famousgir1 from London,England

Poison Ivy is a good teenage drama movie, starring Sara Gilbert and Drew Barrymore, who both give great performances here. Barrymore plays Ivy a young and wild teen, who lives with her aunt. When she ends up moving in with her friend, Sylvie played by Gilbert, Ivy slowly and seductively works her way into the lives of her 'new' family. The movie has some weird moments, but most of the time it's good and keeps you interested in the plot and the characters.

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16 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :-
"Lolita" in the '90s, 29 June 2001

Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca

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 ****

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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Haunting & darkly erotic tale of teen alienation, 15 January 2007

Author: asgardsrei1 from Deutschland

Drew Barrymore turns in the most memorable performance of her career, in this strange, beautifully filmed tale of betrayal and teenage alienation. The introverted Sylvie meets the mysterious Ivy at the posh private school they attend, and become fast friends. It seems Sylvie idolizes Ivy just a bit, for her beauty and fearless, outgoing style. And Ivy, coming from a broken home, begins to envy Sylvies life, as Sylvie lives in a gorgeous home, and has a mother and father who care deeply for her. The tale is more sad than suspenseful, and this is more of a teen drama than 'an erotic thriller. The friendship that develops between the two girls is done in a very believable way, and it is sad when things begin to go wrong, and it becomes clear that Ivy has some deep emotional problems. The plot here is not so original, but so many elements elevate 'Poison ivy' above other films of this type. The acting all around is impressive; Cheryl Ladd is beautifully fragile as the sick, bed-ridden mother, and the relationship that develops between her and her daughter's mysterious friend is touching, as the two look very similar. It is obvious that when 'Georgie' looks at 'Ivy' she is reminded of her own youth, and her own days of being wild. And this is how the connection develops between the mother and Ivy. The daughter unfortunately is unable to connect with her own mom, as the two are so different. 'Gerorgie,' like Ivy, is blond, pretty, and glamorous, while Sylvie is mousy-haired and wears glasses. This causes immediate, but subtle tension between the two girls from the outset. Tom Skeritt is perfect as the brooding, wounded husband, who feels abandoned by a wife who has given up on living. This fact makes him easy prey for Ivy as well, whose desire to become a part of this family soon escalates to a disturbing level. Sara Gilbert is likewise perfectly cast as the shy but intelligent Sylvie. So much attention is paid to small details, which is so important with films of this sort. Ivy's tattoo, which turns out to be fake, and the Egyptian eye that is shaved into Sylvie's scalp, gives these characters depth. The film possesses a strong, atmospheric tone, and Ivy's strange, childlike sexuality has an almost hypnotic quality about it. The background music as well, is lush, and darkly romantic. And many scenes are absolute eye candy, and truly erotic. Among them, the scene where Tom Skeritt's character 'takes' Ivy on the hood of his Mercedes in the forest, while the rain pours down and that haunting melody plays; classic. And the film succeeds in being erotic without being very graphic, and this is not easy to accomplish. I was lucky to see this in the theater, and was happy to find the DVD, which contains both versions of the movie, the theatrical, 'R' rated version, and a slightly more graphic unrated edition. There were some sequels to this, that were released straight to video, and are, not surprisingly, terrible exploitation trash that has nothing to do with this legitimate film. 'Poison Ivy" is an above average 'teen angst' film, and deals effectively with it's subject matter. Recommended, especially for fans of Drew Barrymore. Fans who are only familiar with her more recent films will be amazed at how great she is, and how amazing she looks, in this very special film.

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10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Morbid, intriguing, trashy., 11 December 1999

Author: gridoon

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.

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9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
A movie that's more about loneliness than it is an erotic thriller, 27 November 1999

Author: Firefly-28

I really enjoyed the two main characters in the movie - Cooper ( played by Sara Gilbert ) and Ivy ( Drew Barrymore is brilliant in this character ). The film focuses on there friendship and feeling alone as a teenager. I really liked the dialogue between the characters. Especially when Ivy meets Cooper's mother ( played by Cheryl Ladd ) and talks about her own mother and how she flinched every time she touched her and how she died long before she really did. It's just great. Ivy's loneliness soon starts to evaporate as she gains a mother in Chery Ladd, a friend in Sara Gilbert, but then she sets her eyes on Cooper's father ( played by Tom Skerrit ) and wants him in an intimate way. And this is where the movie starts to get erotic as she seduces her best friend's father. But Cooper is starting to see Ivy's evil intentions .....

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8 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Pretty spooky, 29 November 2006

Author: jamiecostelo58 from United Kingdom

Poison Ivy simply tells the story of a young girl who definitely gets what she wants and even resorts to murder if needs be. All four of the main characters you can develop some feeling for, and you could even feel sorry for Drew Barrymore's Ivy, although I did feel as if sometimes some characters were simply failing to believe what was pretty obvious to everyone else.

An 18-year-old Barrymore shines in this role, and Cheryl Ladd is also very convincing.

A young Leonardo Di Caprio makes an appearance in a perfectly watchable (but also rather short) film, with good direction from the relatively unknown Katt Shea.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Is Drew worth an ocean of calamine lotion?, 19 April 2000
Author: Dennis Littrell (dalittrell@yahoo.com) from SoCal

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This is primarily a vehicle to exploit the generalized sensuality of Miss Drew Barrymore, an excellent actress and heir of a great acting family. Drew, who was so cuddily in E.T. when she was six years old or so, is now oh so cuddily and then some to a more varied audience. Here, as a scheming little poor girl, she seduces dad, mom and daughter (to varying degrees) before slipping into murder. She is sexy, trashy and very pretty.

Sara Gilbert (from TV's `Rosanne') plays the dweeby poor little rich girl daughter with veracity and some wit. Tom Skerrit is the father without a clue; and Cheryl Ladd, looking rather fetching despite the role, is the dreary mother. Yes, old TV stars can find work! Best scene is when Sara and Drew go to the tattoo parlor. Drew makes a few ugly remarks causing Sara to get up to leave, but Drew draws her back tenderly (to pay the tab), pulls her close, and kisses her. When the beer-bellied tattoo guy tries to join in, the girls give him an `ugh!' and split.

The slow-motion seduction of Skerrit seems a little drawn out. Even after Drew kisses and licks his cut hand, Skerrit just looks off into space in befuddlement. Later things heat up though, and then take a kinky turn when Mom, through a drug and alcohol haze, dimly notices Drew wearing her sexy dress and doing some love numbers on her husband.

Second best scene is after the funeral with Drew sleeping in Cheryl Ladd's bed where she is discovered by Sara. Drew urges her friend, the distraught daughter, to join her. Sara does. `Pretend I'm your mother,' Drew says. Sara confides to her that what she couldn't say to her mother was `I love you.' Drew kisses her head and holds her close.

What was intended here was a psychological study of a teenaged girl without much of a home or much of a family who is drawn to adopt her own family among those of her friends, and in doing so assumes the role of the mother, in toto. What we get is a semi-pornographic focus on a very sexy screen darling, a ridiculous murder, and an even more ridiculous finale, the details of which I will skip.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
A Sexy and Thrilling Teen Drama, 24 March 2005

Author: BettieTeese from Australia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Poison Ivy is appropriately titled as the lead character 'Ivy' played brilliantly by a younger,blonder and trashier looking Drew Barrymore is a conniving,deceitful bitch who moves in with her friend Sylvie Cooper (Roseanne's Sara Gilbert) and slowly begins to destroy the already messed up family.Embarking on a disturbing relationship with the older Tom Skerritt,who plays Mr Darryl Cooper,Ivy is free to move in on the guy,as his wife Mrs Cooper (Cheryl Ladd) is lying in a bed a lot of the time,and has thoughts about committing suicide,sick of her pointless life.With Mrs Cooper out of the way,Ivy seduces Mr Cooper behind her friend Sylvie's back and what happens next is chilling and disturbing as Ivy gets deeper into the life of the family and shows her true colours.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
A teenage thriller that manages to avoid the cliché. Quite underrated., 18 November 2005

Author: moviedude-72 from Australia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Poison Ivy is a beautifully filmed, atmospheric tale of teenage angst and the meltdown of a wealthy American family. It centers the seductive, manipulative teenager Ivy (played by Drew Barrymore), who wreaks havoc on her newly found wealthy, but dysfunctional family, which she basically bought her way into through her new friend the introverted Sylvie Cooper (played by Sara Gilbert). As Ivy slowly works her way into the disrupted family, she seduces Cooper's farther (played by Tom Skerritt) and goes as far as killing Cooper's ill mother, (played by Cheryl Ladd, post Charlie's Angels) and attempts to replace her.... Ivy even claims the family dog! Eventually, as the film progresses, a duel between Cooper and Ivy ensures as it becomes clear Ivy has some deep psychological problems.

First of all, Poison Ivy is admittedly, a very trashy film in some moments. Its on the verge of being an art-house, exploitation film – perhaps something along the lines of Pretty Poison, Lolita or Basic Instinct, it even bears some similarities to American Beauty, as both films exert a plot that centers a dysfunctional family on the verge of disintegration. There is a great deal of sexuality in this film, but I am going to be honest and say there is also an abundance of well-performed, written and filmed material, however it shifts gears in the last half-an hour, turning into a overly clichéd Hitchcock-style thriller, loosing its mystique and unique style it inhabited in the earlier moments. Barrymore, however, is top-notch in one of the most memorable performances of her career. Skerrit is excellent as the cynical, brooding husband, and Gilbert is likewise as the angst-ridden teenage daughter. Ladd is also dazzling in a supporting role as the fragile, disturbed mother on the verge of a breakdown.

Poison Ivy possess a very strong, erotic and hypnotic nature that lets the film rise above the average made-for-TV thriller. Perhaps could have been more effective with a less obvious ending.

9.1/10

-Luke Rowe

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