Poison Ivy (1992)

Too much of everything

To me, this movie is perfection.

Strong and Moving!

Simply Perfect

Poison Ivy marks Drew Barrymore's return to the big screen, and it's an impressive comeback, as a sexy seductress. Poison Ivy is a by the numbers Fatal Attraction type of movie, with some small thrills, shock moments, plus some tame sex scenes, as mistakenly implied to the viewer by it's R rating, one brief moment including Skeritt and Drew, doing it in the buff, which probably was more more wise, considering the age difference. Too we have a frank scene near the start, where a dog is roadkill, another scene that warrants the R. On the whole, the movie is a lot of fun, where viewers will mostly be captured by Barrymore's performance. Oh, how she has grown up. She befriends an introverted but very opinionated girl, Sylvie (Rosanne's Sarah Gilbert, who very good here) and worms her way into her rich household. The movie's fun as to see what Barrymore has in store next. Cheryl Ladd as Sylvie's ailing mother, doesn't have much to say but it's a memorable and respectful performance, probably the film's best while Skeritt as Sylvie's Dad is Skeritt, just how we usually like him. The film does have suspense here and there, and the shot with Ladd pushed off the balcony falling to her quicker doom, was wonderfully and impressively shot, an experimental shot, you could call it. The dog fetching scene between Barrymore and Gilbert was annoying, and there were some predictable moments, like foreseeing that car car crash, that had Barrymore running off in Daddy's pride and joy with Sylvie, and after the crash, turning the blame on the other, though the latter wasn't predicted. Poison Ivy isn't anything special, which in the thriller genre of this type, I've seen better, but it's quite fun nevertheless, at times, dangerous fun too. Million dollar question: Can you spot Leo?

A horrible script horribly acted makes for a horrible movie. That sums up Poison Ivy. The story, in addition to being quite stupid, is incredibly boring. There's no drama, no excitement. Everything is sadly predictable. And sadly terrible. There's also no passion in this supposed erotic thriller. Sparks don't fly, the whole thing is rather tame. After setting up its rather absurd premise the movie fizzles out very, very quickly. It's a movie which never comes alive.So what's the story? Well, there's this teenage girl Sylvie. She's a bit of a weirdo, a total loner, no friends to be seen anywhere. Then we meet another girl. She's the trashy Lolita type. And she's a real mystery, doesn't even have a name. Sylvie calls her Ivy, that name sticks and before you know it Ivy has moved in with Sylvie's family. Never mind that they know absolutely nothing about this girl. Also don't mind the fact that spending a few minutes with this girl is enough to see that she quite clearly pings the crazy meter. No, they just let her move in and assume everyone will live happily ever after. But Ivy is a bad, bad girl. So she spins her web of deceit and Sylvie and her parents fall right into the trap. Unfortunately nothing about this proves to be at all entertaining and the movie goes from bad to worse to much, much worse.Along with the lousy story we get rather lousy acting. Drew Barrymore plays Ivy and never convinces as the teenage seductress. She comes across as a child trying real hard to be an adult and failing quite miserably at it. Sara Gilbert also shows a lack of maturity in the role of Sylvie. I suppose it's Sylvie we're supposed to sympathize with after Ivy starts screwing things up but the way Gilbert plays the part it's real hard to feel anything for the character. She comes across as a petulant, and rather clueless, brat. The adults in the movie fare no better. Playing Sylvie's not so dear old Dad is Tom Skerritt who never for a moment seems comfortable. He delivers his lines in such a forced, unnatural way it's rather jarring. Meanwhile Cheryl Ladd spends the movie in a drug-induced haze playing Sylvie's very ill mother. Well at least she has something of an excuse for being so lifeless. The movie as a whole has no life, no spark or sizzle. It's a painful slog, thoroughly undramatic, most of the time quite laughable. The story is dumb, the dialogue is atrocious, the performances are wretched. This movie is poisonous indeed.

The always challenging transition from adorable child performer to sexy adult star was achieved flamboyantly by actress Drew Barrymore with this erotic drama that unfolds like a paranoia-drenched Lolita also known as Ivy.Poison Ivy is a thriller directed by Katt Shea. Andy Ruben wrote Melissa Goddard's story into the screenplay. It stars Drew Barrymore, Sara Gilbert, Tom Skerritt and Cheryl Ladd.Sylvie Cooper is a misanthropic student at a private high school for children of the privileged. While calling in a phony bomb threat to the TV station where her father, Darryl is a producer, Sylvia attracts the attention of Ivy. Ivy is an orphan from a poor family, attending the school on a scholarship. She and Sylvia quickly become best friends, and Ivy eventually moves out of her aunt's home and into the Cooper household. Ivy covets the Coopers' lavish lifestyle and luxuries, so she begins plotting to kill Sylvie's ailing mother Georgie, then seduce the alcoholic Darryl and frame Sylvie for the crime, thus taking over the Cooper house. This film strikes a pleasing balance between emotion and ambiguity.Also,it is arty-trashy exploitation film is an amalgam of Fatal Attraction, Stepfather, and Pasolini's Teorema, in all of which the order of a middle-class is disrupted by a depraved interloper, if only the script were better.Despite of its willingness to take risks, and its insights into the frailties and confusions of teenage friendships, lift the film right out of the rut due to decent acting from the cast especially Drew Barrymore.Her fans will enjoy this film.

Drew Barrymore plays Ivy a young teenager who befriends a dysfunctional girl from a wealthy dysfunctional family. Drew comes across as a far too innocent type to be a scheming seductress who lures her friends father (Tom Skerrit) into a pedophilia relationship whilst causing havoc to her friend and her mother.This film did have its moments of intrigue and suspense. Fans of Drew Barrymore may find it somewhat entertaining. The Lolita theme and teen angst aspects will no doubt attract a wider audience.I give it three stars as Drew manages well to uphold her family acting dynasty.