Ah, the ‘90s: a time marked by an abundance of jelly bracelets and teen movies! One iconic teen movie from that time is Cruel Intentions; which was a standout film thanks to the dark bully romance plot line. It was made even more popular due to the fact that the leads actually married in real life the same year the film came out. Now that stars Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe’s kids are older, Phillippe touched on whether or not he’s cool with them watching Cruel Intentions featuring the younger version of their parents.
Cruel Intentions, of course, came out before the star couple’s children were born, so they didn’t have to really worry about the film being on their kids' radars much as they were growing up. In an interview with E!, Ryan Phillippe says he didn’t want his kids watching the film when they were younger, but now that they are older (22 and 17 years old, respectively), he’s not really sure how they would feel about seeing it. If those romance fans of the ‘90s remember, there’s some pretty spicy scenes between Philliipe and Reese Witherspoon. Here is what the Big Sky actor said exactly:
You know, I haven't checked back in with them about it now that they're both of age. I don't know if it would be creepy for them, you know? In some ways, like if I were to think about watching my parents do some of the things that their parents do in that movie, it wouldn't be the most appetizing or appealing notion.
I think it’s safe to say that most people wouldn’t want to watch a sex scene centered around their parents. While it’s cute that the real-life couple grew into their feelings over filming the dark romance, it’s still majorly uncomfortable. That, paired with the fact that Reese Witherspoon’s character was pretty much the brunt of a joke through most of Cruel Intentions, makes for a film I would assume her children would steer clear from.
In the same interview, Ryan Phillipe admits that it would embarrass him if he knew his kids had seen the full movie, and that he knows they have seen clips on social media before. Phillipe called the film a “heavy R”, saying:
You know what, I know that they've seen clips and things like on social media, that's for sure, but I don't know if they've actually watched the movie. I think it would embarrass me a little bit, you know, I still believe it very much holds up, but, it was really racy. It was really an R rated movie, heavy R.
I think if I were Ryan Phillipe or Reese Witherspoon, I’d have to have a disclaimer for my kids (even though Witherspoon helped write the film). While a lot of actors’ children have to worry about coming across a film with their parents in compromising positions, it’s relatively rare that they’d have to worry about seeing both of their parents together on screen. Hopefully they’ve been warned to stay away from the film, but you totally don’t have to! If you’re feeling a ‘90s teen romance marathon coming on, you can stream Cruel Intentions on Hulu!
