Sex Intentions on Prime Video: a harmless remake (review)

This new version in 8 episodes is not missed. She just doesn't have much to add.

Merteuil and Valmont are back! 250 years after its publication, Dangerous Liaisons continue to inspire Hollywood production. It must be said that the story of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, told by the society of his time, still surprisingly applies to our current society. Roger Kumble understood this well when writing (and producing) his Sex Intentionsin 1999, transposing the sensual intrigues of the French aristocracy into the heart of Upper New York.

25 years later and after many aborted revival attempts (a pilot with Sarah Michelle Gellar– rejected by NBC – had even been filmed in 2015), Prime Video is attempting the pure and simple remake. A serial adaptation in 8 episodes, which resumes Sex Intentionssometimes shot for shot. We find pell-mell the famous vintage car, the cross around his neck filled with cocaine, the room with the 19th century sofa, the seducer's curls… Ultimate wink: Sean Patrick Thomaswho played Cecil's (Selma Blair) music teacher in the original film, returns here to play another teacher…

The real evolution of the series lies in its location. While the film took place during the summer holidays, before high school resumed, the Prime Video version of Sex Intentions takes place within a private university on the east coast, and mainly in the famous elitist fraternities and sororities, which rule the roost on campus. The opportunity for the series to denounce the nepotism linked to these organizations which perpetuate social inequalities in America? Don't push either!

Sex Intentionsit is first and foremost a new Gossip Girl (we find the same producer at the helm, Sarah Goodman), where the golden youth of Washington clash, have fun and obviously fall in love. The Kappa, Sigma and other Delta are just a decorum of a teen series seriously devoid of imagination or inventiveness. These Cruel Intentions 2024 brings nothing new to the 1999 film and would even be significantly less biting. Seeking to use the same elements of unease, the same taboo mechanisms, the series suddenly becomes a little cheesy. Even nice. The evolution of morals has happened there and what seemed sexy, biting, even shocking 25 years ago, sounds almost banal today.

So what’s the point? This repetition of Sex Intentions was probably not necessary. But it was well produced. Rhythmic and well-dialogued, it benefits above all from the presence of a new angelically poisonous face. In the shoes of this intractable but endearing Caroline Merteuil, Sarah Catherine Hook (crossed in First Kill on Netflix) pulls out of the game and manages to slip languorously into the silk sheets of Sarah Michelle Gellar. A small feat when we know to what extent Kathryn Merteuil from 1999 left her mark on pop culture.

Sex Intentions, season 1 in 8 episodes on Prime Video since November 21, 2024.