What it’s about
Sunny, chipper bubblehead Suzanne Stone (Kidman) desperately wants to be famous and has decided to launch her career by becoming a TV anchorwoman. She first gets a gig delivering the weather on a public-access station, then recruits a trio of high-school burnouts, including smitten stoner Jimmy (Phoenix), for a special project. All that stands in her way is downbeat hubbie Larry Maretto (Dillon), but Suzanne has a plan to get rid of him for good…
Why we love it
One of Van Sant's most entertaining and off-color films, “To Die For” skewers our cultural obsession with fame — with style, panache, and jet-black humor. Kidman is at her best playing the manipulative blonde femme fatale who hides her diabolical impulses beneath a cheerful, coquettishly all-American exterior. In one of his first roles, Phoenix convinces as a droopy-eyed young punk Suzanne lures into her scheme with the promise of sex. Wickedly funny, spooky and intelligent, this media-obsessed murder mystery truly is to die for.