You won't be disappointed!

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

...that's the basic plot of 1992's "Poison Ivy" starring Drew Barrymore in the titular role. The movie comes from a long tradition of films about a hot little babysitter (or nanny or friend) taking control of the family by winning the hearts of the kids and seducing the husband. "The Babysitter" (1980) and "Summer Girl" (1983) are two examples, both TV films (available on youtube). In "Poison Ivy" Drew, as Ivy, plays a friend of the awkward misfit Sylvie (Sara Gilbert). Tom Skerritt plays the slowly-seduced husband and Cheryl Ladd the withering (but still beautiful) mother."Poison Ivy" is more stylized than the aforementioned examples and technically better due to a much bigger budget. One of its best highlights is its score, which is equal parts haunting, romantic, melancholic and beautiful. Speaking of melancholic, there's an element of sadness to the story because the family is so wealthy -- living on a mansion on a hill in Los Angeles (shot on location) -- but they're so spiritually bereft. It just goes to show that all the financial success and material possessions in the world can't buy happiness and love.Drew was almost 17 during filming and plays the sultry little tamale well, which brings up why people tend to look down on the film -- it's nothing more than a lethal Lolita tale with a slick garnishment and they write it off as trash exploitation. Regardless, it works for what it is; and, after all, does every film have to be "Ghandi"? Besides, "Poison Ivy" and similar films are more than just "trash exploitation". They're commentaries on the power of a woman or, more specifically, the power of a young beautiful woman. In the story, Ivy comes from a troubled past but, as a blossoming woman, she realizes the power she wields and seems to bask in it.I was involved with a church for a number of years and the granddaughter of the pastor was aged 17-22 at the time. She wasn't in Drew's league, as far as beauty goes -- not even close -- yet she still had power. She would lie about people and spread rumors and, because she was the pastor's granddaughter, some morons would believe her. She started dating a naive relative of mine, who was 19 years her senior, and it was clear that she was just interested in his money. At some point she was able to get his credit card info and bought over $17,000 worth of merchandise without him knowing it until it was too late. She did everything in her power to move into his house, but his aging mother blocked the last attempt at the last minute. His mom said that she could just see the vixen pushing her down the stairs, or something something like this, to get her out of the picture. It was even discovered that the little tart tried to buy life insurance on the guy, which was very odd. You can draw your own conclusions.My point is that these lethal Lolitas exist -- young vixens who use their beauty to cause havoc, ruin lives and take control. Trash exploitation or not, it's good fodder for a movie, particularly if it's done stylishly, like "Poison Ivy".The film runs 88 minutes and the unrated version 93 minutes, both available on the DVD.GRADE: B+

Poison Ivy is now on my favorite movie list.The reminds me of a teen drama with a thriller twist. The film starts off with Sylvie discussing Ivy as Ivy swings on a rope. A little boy then runs over to tell them that a dog has been hit by a car. As everyone there is gathered around the dog a large stick swings down on the dog. The person with the stick is Ivy. Was the kill meant for good? this shows us that this girl is slightly psychotic. The next day she and Sylvie become friends and after Ivy is given a ride home by Sylvie and her dad, Best friends. Soon she even moves in with them. But halfway into the film trying to be with the father. And even goes as far as pushing Georgie (Sylvie's mom) off the balcony and claiming it to be suicide. Sylvie becomes suspicious of Ivy when she starts humming the song Sylvie wrote for her mother. A song that was playing the day she was killed. After Ivy wreaks Georgie's car and puts Sylvie into the hospital and blames the accident on her, Sylvie is sure Ivy is no good and tries to warn her dad but he doesn't listen.Sylvie breaks out of the hospital and returns home to Ivy and her father. Sylvie flees and her dad and Ivy chase after her but her dad forces Ivy to return inside. When she goes upstairs Sylvie is there waiting and Sylvie pushes Ivy off the ledge but Ivy grabs her necklace telling her that if she goes then so does Sylvie but the necklace breaks and Ivy plummets to the ground and dies. If you're into crazy girl thriller movies then you'll love this film. I've only seen this one and The Secret Society but I plan to get them all.

Here's something Drew Barrymore might not want to put on her résumé. Poison Ivy was made just before her career started to take off, but unfortunately her performance here is so childish and clumsy that the first impression I got was not "hey, here's young Drew Barrymore" but more "hey, it's that kid from E.T making out with that kid from Roseanne", which gave the whole thing an awkward feel.At its core Poison Ivy is a run-of-the-mill erotic thriller of the kind that was all over in the early 90's, it's filled with clichés that have been explored in dozens of better movies from Single White Female to Swimming Pool; but Barrymore is unconvincing in the role of the seductive femme fatale, and as it is the scenes of awkward teen Barrymore seducing older Tom Skerritt just made me uncomfortable and felt like Skerritt is the real villain. Terrible acting from some at least somewhat talented people (Barrymore, Skerritt and Sara Gilbert are all awful - Cheryl Ladd is the only one who gives a passable performance) can almost be overlooked thanks to very solid cinematography, but as the movie progresses it's impossible to not realize how silly the whole thing is. Poison Ivy recycles every trope from every movie in its genre, but it feels like a high-school production. As it is it might be memorable as a meeting between two generations of Charlie's Angels, and little else.

DVD synopsis:One look and you can tell she's trouble. The bleached blonde hair, the pouting lips, the skirt just short enough to show off the tattoo on her thigh. But Cooper (Sara Gilbert), herself an outsider, like the newcomer's style. She befriends her and before long the loner she nicknames Ivy (Drew Barrymore) becomes part of Cooper's family. But for Ivy a handful of home comforts is not nearly enough. She becomes obsessed by desire for Cooper's father and vows that no-one, least of all Cooper's mother, is going to stop her from having him. And so the household is drawn into a web of deadly attractions where sex, lies, even murder are the weapons in a terrifying fight for survival.Well, the back of the DVD tells you enough, but let me tell you why i give this film 10/10.Drew Barrymore plays one hell of sinister character here. The title of the film portrays what this film is all about, so perfectly that I have fallen in love with this film. It will always be one of the best of its kind, for all time. Drew Barrymore is like poison here, infecting and taken over everything in her path. But to every Antagonist, there must be a Protagonist. All in all, this film has a certain passion to it and however deadly the "new friend" is, it is a beautifully told story that has a perfect beginning, middle and end. So much that I wish I had been the man to write this story for the film. 10/10 - absolutely!