Editorial Reviews:
Synopsis
In the erotically charged thriller "Poison Ivy," Drew Barrymore turns in a heated performance as a sly teenage seductress who befriends fellow troubled student Sara Gilbert, then seeks to insinuate her way into her family through devious methods. Tom Skerritt and Cheryl Ladd play Gilbert's parents; with Leonardo DiCaprio. Then, in "Poison Ivy 2: Lily," Ivy herself may be gone, but the erotic diaries she left behind are found by naive art student Alyssa Milano, who is inspired by them to pursue her sexual interests. A flirtation with an older, married professor, however, draws her into a dangerous affair with potentially fatal consequences. Scorching sequel, marked by Milano's revealing nude scenes, also stars Johnathon Schaech, Xander. Then, in "Poison Ivy: The New Seduction," Violet, Ivy's evil sister, does it with regularity, seducing fathers, boyfriends and anyone else in order to get her manipulative way. Scorching third entry in this hit series stars Jaime Pressly, Megan Edwards,Greg Vaughan, and Michael Des Barres. Also includes "Poison Ivy." 3 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English.
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Alyssa Milano plays Lily, a Good Girl who moves to LA to attend art school and discovers a secret diary belonging to Ivy, from the previous movie. (That plot point alone should warn you that Poison Ivy 2 bears, at best, a distant resemblance to the original, and more's the pity.) Inspired by Ivy's "philosophy" of pushing all boundaries, Lily decides to explore the dark side of herself, which basically boils down to her chasing after a petulant, self-absorbed sculptor (Johnathon Schaech) and in turn being chased by her leacherous, self-absorbed art teacher. The point of movies like Ivy 2 is to have some fun, a few thrills, and we're done, thank you very much. But the filmmakers felt obliged to lard this thing up with ponderous pretension and Artistic Angst. The result is sort of a cross between Bikini Med School and La Notte, with a happy ending tacked on. Bleh. Milano tries her best to inject a little life and humanity into the proceedings, but it's an uphill climb all the way. --Geof Miller
