The In Crowd (2000) Review

 What is Brittany's (Susan Ward) deal? She's young, rich, and beautiful. She seems to have everyone in her immediate social sphere securely tied around her little finger. So why does she feel the need to befriend Adrien (Lori Heuring), a poor cabana girl fresh out of the nearby mental asylum who's working at her resort? And, uh, what's all this about playing dead in the swimming pool so that Adrien will give her a little mouth-to-mouth action? Not to mention the sexy blue gown that she later buys for Adrien, leaving it beautifully wrapped on her bed (like any thoughtful lover would).

Too bad director Mary Lambert's flick The In Crowd is only rated PG-13 because it seems that poor Brittany desperately needs to come out. Though clearly made for the same suckers that smacked down money for Cruel Intentions, this little diversion — with its lesbian-erotic overtones (playing like the Playboy Channel lite) and femme fatale plotline — is nothing but a big, fat tease.

Lori Heuring and Susan Ward in The in Crowd (2000) (Courtesy of IMDB)

The story is ridiculous; something about a dead sister who was too much of a bitch to live, a fake ring, a lost shoe, and a deception that ends in a cat fight between the two babes — wet and sexy and wielding life-threatening gardening tools. Unfortunately, this daft film isn't nearly as effective as Black Widow (which it most resembles) or as campy as Wild Things. Its plot is merely a device used to fill the screen with tanned, buff and bland Caucasian actors, flashing their perfect white teeth, tossing their beautiful hair, and making the whole affair look as shiny, fresh, and seductive as Brittany's continually applied lip-gloss.

But below the surface, there's something else going on. In Crowd really seems to be about an illicit crush between Brittany and Adrien. How else to explain the odd scenes between the two women? After Adrien saves her from the faked swimming pool episode, Brittany stands topless in front of her, obviously wanting Adrien to admire her breasts. Later, Adrien returns the favor in a girl's locker room, standing before Brittany with her ultra-sheer, see-through bra, blabbing away about some plot-related nonsense but also seeming to let Brittany know that, with her equally firm bosoms, she is every bit up to the challenge.

They spend time together on the golf course and at the beauty salon, practically rubbing toes as they sit together for pedicures. And then there's the sullen Kelly (Laurie Fortier), certainly Brittany's spurned ex-girlfriend, standing around and glaring at Adrien, poised and ready to run the blonde successor down with her shiny yellow scooter the second a moment presents itself.

But, of course, being the big Hollywood movie that it is, there is no follow-through with this story line. Instead, we find out that Brittany has only flirted with Adrien and Kelly to manipulate them. Why? Apparently it's because she's crazy, having an exaggerated fixation on that dead sister of hers. Guess that's what happens when you're forced to stay in the closet in a PG-13 flick.

It's hard to know who this film will appeal to. It's about as titillating as a Britney Spears video and about as dramatically intriguing as an infomercial for the Showtime rotisserie oven ("Set it — and forget it!"). One thing's for certain though: there's a reason why there were no preview press screenings for this turkey. Bad news travels fast.