Some Hollywood relationships are just as good off the screen as they are on. One such relationship is the friendship between Selma Blair and Sarah Michelle Gellar who starred together in Cruel Intentions in 1999. In the film, the ladies share a steamy kiss that earned them Best Kiss at the MTV Movie & TV Awards. This past Sunday they received the Legendary Lip Lock for that same kiss during the MTV Movie & TV Awards: Greatest of All Time show. The ladies prerecorded their acceptance speech together. They also promised they would recreate the famous kiss during the ceremony:
Will @SarahMGellar and @SelmaBlair recreate their iconic 'Cruel Intentions' kiss tonight? đź‘€
See for yourself during the #MTVAwards: Greatest of All Time, TONIGHT at 8p on MTV! đź’‹ pic.twitter.com/Nf8J2tX3Dv
— MTV (@MTV) December 6, 2020
What they say in the tweet:
Sarah Michelle Geller: Thank you, MTV, for not just recognizing the kiss now, with the Golden GOAT
Selma Blair: But also, with a Popcorn Trophy, back in 2000 for Best Kiss
SMG: Making this the single most awarded kiss in cinema history. You don’t have to Google it, I already did.
SB: I think the reason the kiss has resonated with people for so long is not just because of the initial shock value, but because it was a catalyst for so many young people to help them realize certain aspects of their sexuality. And to help make people comfortable to be who they really are.
SMG: It also represented a paradigm shift to acceptance in pop culture. Well, and also, it was super-hot.
SB: You’re not wrong. So as a special thanks, we’d like to recreate it – here. For you guys.
It’s MTV, so there’s a certain amount of light-heartedness expected. Still, I appreciate the acknowledgement of LGBTQ representation on screen. It was a nice speech. Of course the big buzz was whether they would kis or not. They did – in the 2020 most way possible. And it was adorable:
The only way to safely kiss your crush in 2020 đź’” #MTVAwards pic.twitter.com/0Wev6h87e5
— Movie & TV Awards (@MTVAwards) December 7, 2020
Sarah posted a throwback to the MTV award for Best Kiss earlier this year when she wished Selma a Happy Birthday. At that time, Sarah claimed she had to use that photo because social distancing didn’t allow her to get an in-person kiss. She followed it up with a shot of Selma kissing her while Sarah wore a facemask with big rhinestone lips (below).
I love that Sarah posts joyful photos of her friends Selma, who has MS, and Shannen Doherty, who is living with breast cancer. They are always of them hanging out, doing fun things. Sometimes it’s sitting in the California sun or smiling in a huddled selfie, but there’s never any pity, just joy. I love how Sarah supports those she loves.
Photo credit: Instagram, Getty and Twitter
I do hope it’s true that the kiss was seen as a positive representation for many in the LGBTQ community but I have to say that from what I remember of the moment in the film (bearing in mind it’s been 20 years since I saw it…) it felt exploitative and designed for the male gaze. As I say – hopefully I’m remembering it wrong and hopefully this isn’t an attempt by MTV to re-frame it as more socially acceptable…
I totally agree with you.
It definitely looked and felt that way – but I guess it’s also part of the movie being loosely based on the book dangerous liaisons, where CĂ©cile (Selma Blair’s character) openly writes (it’s an epistolary novel) that she wished it was the marquise de Merteuil (SMG’s character) “teaching” her the language of pleasure (instead of Valmont).
It was as steamy as you could get during the 18th century without risking jail.
So I understand why it had to be shot this way, it is definitely exploitative, however in makes sense given the source material. (highly recommend reading it). From the get go, they decided to show everything that the book only hinted at. Merteuil’s speech about societal expectations was very very well handled.
Although, the whole sibling thing was a gross and unnecessary addition.
Yes, I’ve read it, but I think you’re letting the (straight, male) writer and director of this film adaptation off the hook. It’s entirely possible to film something like that without it coming across as being designed for the pleasure of men, as if the women were objects, no?
I wouldn’t call the scene gross, per se. Exploitative, to some extent, but I think it works in context as a symbolic seduction – Geller’s character is pulling Blair’s into her web of intrigue, pushing her into a world of eroticism and emotional manipulation. I just don’t think it does anything for LGBT+ rights or representation, not the least of which because it’s an act of manipulation not attraction or interest.
@Lady Baden-Baden – I guess we will not agree, at least when it comes to the book. I’ve seen nothing that was exploitative or male gaze-y in it. It’s an interesting depiction of amorality, and as a straight (white) military man, Choderlos had a lot of insight in societal expectations that weighted on the women of his time. I don’t think I’ve read anything written by a man that just understood what women went through, and their capacity to adapt to the situation. His portrayal of Merteuil is marvelous. She’s is a victim of her time.
I think you’re removing Merteuil’s autonomy by only calling it male-gaze-y. The book isn’t erotic in the sense that it’s never explicit, as you already know (it is no way close to anything Sade wrote, and they were living at the same time).
As for the movie, I agree with you. It is exploitative, I agree that there were different options available. I just said that I understood the director’s intention in shooting it that way, considering who Merteuil is. To each their own, i guess :).
One of my favourite things about my youth is that my 2 friends and I were so obsessed with Cruel Intentions when we were 13, we spent 18 months (every weekend) filming our own spoof called ‘Cool Intentions’ and played all the characters between the three of us. This took some creativity included having the maid played by a kitchen bar stool with a balloon tied to the top with a face drawn on it. The opening scene was filmed by dragging my friend on a office chair down an Essex main road. Our American accents were terrible but we filled it with jokes we thought hilarious at the time.
I played SMG’s role and Mrs Caldwell and I can truly say I am so glad I spent my early teens this way!
Also this kiss was my first inkling of my bisexuality for sure
This is fantastic!! I hope you still have a copy?
Glad you didn’t find the kiss exploitative (unlike me – see above)
Honestly it was absolutely exploitative and for the male gaze… 13 year old me still enjoyed it too though! It was definitely aimed at the male audience tho no doubt
Yes a copy exists somewhere!! I think I would die of cringing to watch it now!
She’s right about this kiss being a paradigm shift. When I went to high school and college in the late 90s/early 00s, it was still common to use the slur “that’s so gay.” I always cringe when I remember that a girl we went to high school with asked one of our friends if she was gay because she kissed 6 girls in her freshman year of college. My friend was wrong to gossip about it when clearly she was struggling with her sexual identity and seeking advice. And we were so wrong that we laughed about it. I think we were afraid that it “said something “ about our own sexuality which was so stupid. The now-woman we were talking about is now happily married to her beautiful wife (we keep up with her on FB). And the entire group who was clueless are now LGBTQ+ allies. So I guess that people can get educated if they want to.
I always enjoy the photos of the 3 of them supporting each other. It makes me think of my besties.
I’m not offended by straight girls kissing, per se, but I never really viewed that as a “watershed” moment for LGBT+. Attractive women posed sexually has been male fantasy fodder material for ages. Neither character was obviously stated to be bi or lesbian, so that’s not really a matter of representation. It’s just straight women making out for the male gaze. I’m sure some bi/lesbian girls found it titillating, but that’s because the attraction for them was already there.
It’s a good movie, but MTV shouldn’t make it out to be more than what it is. In 1999, we still had a long way to go. LGBT+ people were still dying of AIDS in the 90s. We wouldn’t be able to legally marry our same sex partners for another sixteen years beyond a few select states. In the next few months, gay parental rights are about to go up before a newly conservative Supreme Court, and we have no idea how that’s going to shake out. No one movie scene changed culture – that was decades of work that did that, and as with most minority rights, the work never stops.
“…it was a catalyst for so many young people to help them realize certain aspects of their sexuality. And to help make people comfortable to be who they really are.”
– it didn’t help me feel comfortable to be who I really am, but it did make me realize I’m bi! haha
It’s wonderful they’re still such close friends all these years later. They’re all, (referring also to Shannen)still so beautiful and charismatic.
Does anyone know why SMG didn’t stay friends with Alyson Hannigan? Or were they never friends? They each had a child in 2009 and a second in 2012, so I thought they’d raise up their kids to hang out together, but I never see either of them mention the other, ever. I know not every coworker wants to hang out and become friends but I thought they got along well during Buffy. I managed to watch Buffy through to the end but by that time I was embroiled in some projects of my own so I didn’t keep track of the gossip. Was there a falling out? If so, that’s a damn shame given that they have kids the same ages and shared the experience of being on a long running iconic show together.
Anyway, I was just curious.
They were never friends from what I recall. Lots of rumors of them knocking heads on set, which isn’t entirely surprising given they were the most successful cast members and had busy schedules.
I did a little digging. They were feuding for awhile during and after the show, but have reconnected and SMG attended a birthday party for Alyson’s younger child not long ago. SMG seems to have gotten back in touch or kept in touch with most of the old cast over the years. It sounds like she went through a period of a few years on the show when everything got to be a bit too much for her trying to do movies and the show and she was irritable or something. She did celebrate the show’s 20th anniversary in 2017. I missed that somehow. I’ve just had too much on my own plate until last year.
Eh, re-creating the kiss– it seems these celebs are getting bored and creative with getting attention. I do like the photos of their friendships though.