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Drew Barrymore, Sara Gilbert, Tom Skerritt, Cheryl Ladd, Alan Stock ... see more see more... , Jeanne Sakata , Angel Broadhurst , Warren Burton , Randall Caldwell , Leonardo DiCaprio , Tony Ervolina , Michael Goldner , Charles Hayward , Julie Jay , Billy Charles Kanes , Lawrence Levy , E.J. Moore , Mary Gordon Murray , Lisa Passero , J.B. Quon , Sandy Roth Ruben , Tom Ruben , Charla Sampsel , Tim Winters

The always challenging transition from adorable child performer to sexy adult star was achieved flamboyantly by actress Drew Barrymore with this erotic drama that unfolds like a paranoia-drenched Loli... read more read more...ta (1962). Sylvie Cooper (Sara Gilbert) is a misanthropic student at a private high school for children of the privileged. While calling in a phony bomb threat to the TV station where her father, Darryl (Tom Skerritt) is a producer, Sylvia attracts the attention of Ivy (Drew Barrymore). Ivy is an orphan from a poor family, attending the school on a scholarship. She and Sylvia quickly become best friends, and Ivy eventually moves out of her aunt's home and into the Cooper household. Ivy covets the Coopers' lavish lifestyle and luxuries, so she begins plotting to kill Sylvie's ailing mother Georgie (Cheryl Ladd), then seduce the alcoholic Darryl and frame Sylvie for the crime, thus taking over the Cooper house. Director Katt Shea Ruben and her co-writer husband Andy Ruben were veterans of the Roger Corman school of filmmaking. The success of Poison Ivy (1992) on video and cable television inspired a pair of sequels, Poison Ivy 2: Lily (1996) and Poison Ivy: The New Seduction (1997). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Flixster Users

39% liked it

45,044 ratings

Critics

37% liked it

27 critics

R, 1 hr. 31 min.

Directed by: Katt Shea

Release Date: May 8, 1992

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DVD Release Date: November 2, 1999

Stats: 872 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (872)

  • ajv2688
    April 30, 2011
    ajv2688
    This is like a modern version of Lolita. Barrymore does a fantastic job of being the erotic femme fatale. I really loved this movie, it's thrilling and romantic at the same time. I highly recommend it.
  • FilmFanatik
    December 21, 2009
    FilmFanatik
    Not really that great.
  • matertenebraum
    July 21, 2009
    matertenebraum
    Poison Ivy is a good teenage drama movie, starring Sara Gilbert and Drew Barrymore, who both give great performances here. Barrymore plays Ivy a young and wild teen, who lives with her aunt. When she ends up moving in with her friend, Sylvie played by Gilbert, Ivy slowly and sedu... read morectively works her way into the lives of her 'new' family. The movie has some weird moments, but most of the time it's good and keeps you interested in the plot and the characters.
  • movieguru12
    December 22, 2008
    movieguru12
    retarded, disgusting,and gross. SPARE YOURSELF FROM THIS MOVIE
  • deano
    January 11, 2008
    deano
    Drew Barrymore makes a heck of an impact in a very adult role as Ivy, a sleazy teen who is taken in by a wealthy family.
  • superclerk25
    October 4, 2007
    superclerk25
    Basic movie about a girl who seduces and lies. It's ok but a pretty plain movie with characters that little to no morals.
  • gatorgirl13
    August 5, 2007
    gatorgirl13
    It was really provacative(sp?), but I liked it.
  • thmtsang
    July 14, 2007
    thmtsang
    Drew is really tashy in this one, about a girl who seduces a married man.
  • garyX
    May 31, 2007
    garyX
    Trashy teen "erotic" thriller in which Lolita-esque Drew Barrymore insinuates herself into a family home by seducing man of the house Tom Skerritt. Unconvincing, cheap and tawdry.
  • dreamfaeries
    December 12, 2006
    dreamfaeries
    It was alright.

View All Poison Ivy Reviews

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff
February 11, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

Unfortunate thesps take it all very seriously, while technical aspects are emptily polished. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
February 11, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Drew Barrymore stars in a melodrama that borders on high-class kiddie porn. Full Review

Peter Travers
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Why settle for the usual walk around the exploitation block when Shea offers a wild ride with the top down into uncharted territory?

Hal Hinson
January 1, 2000
Hal Hinson, Washington Post

For the most part the actors' work seems incomplete because their characters are cut off before they can fully blossom. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

There is scarcely a moment in the movie when the story works as fiction; I was always aware of the casting, of the mood-setting devices, of the stylistic borrowings from Hitchcock. Full Review

Kim Newman
February 11, 2008
Kim Newman, Empire Magazine

Ambiguous and intriguing. Full Review

February 11, 2008
Film4

Offbeat and compelling neo-noir. Full Review

February 11, 2008
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Poison Ivy strikes a pleasing balance between emotion and ambiguity. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
October 9, 2006
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Shea's arty-trashy exploitation film is an amalgam of Fatal Attraction, Stepfather, and Pasolini's Teorema, in all of which the order of a middle-class is disrupted by a depraved interloper, if only t... Full Review

June 24, 2006
Time Out

Its willingness to take risks, and its insights into the frailties and confusions of teenage friendships, lift the film right out of the rut. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Poison Ivy Trivia

  • Which of these films did NOT have Drew Barrymore in it?  Answer »
  • In My Big Fat Greek Wedding, what did Toula's father believe could cure anything from psoriasis to poison ivy?  Answer »
  • Which actress is in all of the following movies: - Poison Ivy - Mad Love - Duplex - Home Fries  Answer »
  • Which popular tv actress has starred in such films as Fear, Embrace of the Vampire and Poison Ivy 2: Lily.   Answer »
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