Cruel Intentions

If there's a complaint about the soundtrack to Cruel Intentions, the trashy teen adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangerous, it's that the music isn't as shamelessly enjoyable as the film. As a matter of fact, much of this takes itself too seriously, from Placebo's opening cut, "Every You, Every Me," to Counting Crows' "Colorblind," neither of which really fit the feeling of the movie. That said, there's enough strong moments -- particularly Fatboy Slim's "Praise You," Aimee Mann's "You Could Make a Killing," Blur's "Coffee and TV," and the Verve's instant-classic "Bittersweet Symphony" -- to make it listenable, even with the preponderance of half-baked tunes and throwaways that clutter the record, just like any other major-label soundtrack. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine