I didn't go into this film with any high hopes; all I wanted was an enjoyable thriller, but unfortunately this film falls just short of that mark. The film takes obvious influence from any number of films revolving around a callous interloper gaining a family's trust before showing their true colours - but this one doesn't work well, principally because the characters are not believable and most of the action is boring. Most of the film feels like a soap opera anyway and is more tiresome than thrilling. The story focuses on Ivy; a 'free spirit' scholarship student living with her aunt. She meets Sylvie Cooper; a weird friendless kid with rich parents and a big house. Ivy and Sylvie become friends and eventually this leads to Ivy staying in Sylvie's house with her parents - her dad, a wealthy TV presenter and her mother who is sick. However, it soon becomes apparent that Ivy has alternative motives and begins scheming her way into each family member's lives.
The film somehow manages to be predictable and pointless. It's generally obvious what is going to happen way before it does, and yet the film doesn't really seem to have anywhere to go. The central character is far too ambiguous also and her motives don't have any grounding, which makes the film difficult to get on with. Drew Barrymore gives a sketchy performance in the lead role; at times she is effective, but at others she looks embarrassed with the clunky script that does the film no favours. She stars opposite Sara Gilbert; who is weird enough to make her role believable and Tom Skeritt, who gives a decent performance. The film uses a narrator for much of the duration and that plot device really just sums the lazy writing of this film up. The final nail in the coffin for me was the way that most of the focus is put on Ivy and the father character as this results in lots of tedium. The only time the film ever really approaches some interest is when it focuses on the relationship between the girls, and that is not exactly fascinating. There are plenty of films like this one that are much better than this one; meaning bothering with Poison Ivy is pointless.
The film somehow manages to be predictable and pointless. It's generally obvious what is going to happen way before it does, and yet the film doesn't really seem to have anywhere to go. The central character is far too ambiguous also and her motives don't have any grounding, which makes the film difficult to get on with. Drew Barrymore gives a sketchy performance in the lead role; at times she is effective, but at others she looks embarrassed with the clunky script that does the film no favours. She stars opposite Sara Gilbert; who is weird enough to make her role believable and Tom Skeritt, who gives a decent performance. The film uses a narrator for much of the duration and that plot device really just sums the lazy writing of this film up. The final nail in the coffin for me was the way that most of the focus is put on Ivy and the father character as this results in lots of tedium. The only time the film ever really approaches some interest is when it focuses on the relationship between the girls, and that is not exactly fascinating. There are plenty of films like this one that are much better than this one; meaning bothering with Poison Ivy is pointless.