Poison Ivy - 1992

Drew Barrymore as Ivy

Today is a sick day. My body aches and I feel feverish all over. What better to do than lie in bed, drink retarded amounts of green tea and watch a terrible 90s movie? I've seen the film stills all over tumblr like its some cult phenomenon, but can it really live up to that title?

Poison Ivy stars Drew Barrymore as Ivy, a hot, blonde, badass skank who befriends Sylvie (Sarah Cooper), the rebellious loner with a rich family. Ivy and Sylvie connect over their love of being badass, shopping and cool hair, and quickly become best friends. When its shown that Ivy is living in a less-than-stable household, Sylvie and family invite Ivy to stay with them.

Ivy quickly takes an eerie liking to Sylvie's mother (Cheryl Ladd) while also maintaining a secretive American Beauty-style relationship with Sylvie's father (Tom Skerritt), including gratuitous sex scenes! She manipulates the whole family to get what she wants, but one thing stands in the way - The mother. Ivy decides to push Sylvie's mother off of the roof, framing it as suicide, so that she can slowly take the mother's place (creepy but predictable). Sylvie, meanwhile, seems oblivious until Ivy attempts to kill her in a car crash!? WOAH!

Predictably, Ivy cascades into a world of madness and literally tries to replace Sylvie's mother. She falls off the roof and dies in a similar fashion. The end.

When the film started, I wasn't expecting such a dramatic story. I expected a very cutesy, angsty, grrls coming of age story in mind, especially with the heartwarming music and cute narration. There were even stereotypical 90s girl bonding staples, like "blood sisters" getting righteous tattoos. Without delving into it too much, it was an unexpected, not-always-great story with some suspenseful and even erotic elements. It wasn't great, but I wouldn't pass it up completely, even if it's just to marvel at the excellent 90s fashions... Drew Barrymore was totally stylish!

On that note, here are some stills;