My History With the Film:
The Crush was a popular movie in 1993, but it wasn’t exactly on my radar. It wasn’t until sometime after 1995 when Clueless was released that I felt a need to seek out The Crush. Of course, this was because at the time I had a massive crush on Alicia Silverstone.
I remember watching The Crush and really enjoying it at the time. It was definitely an adult thriller that wasn’t the type of movie that should have appealed to a thirteen year old boy. Of course, Alicia Silverstone kept me watching and I remember thinking how scary girls could be.
I’ve rewatched The Crush twice since then, once in the early 2000’s and then once a few months ago.
What The Film Is About (Non-Spoiler):
A journalist moves into a small cottage and captures the attention of a fourteen year old girl.
What I Liked About It:
-The performances in this film are all very solid. Alicia Silverstone (Darrian) steals the show while Cary Elwes (Nick) and Jennifer Rubin (Amy) both provide convincing performances. The always solid Kurtwood Smith (Cliff) and Amber Benson (Cheyenne) also show up to help move the story along.
-Darrian’s obsession in this film is stuff nightmares are made of. It was essentially a Fatal Attraction type situation with a young girl. The obsession comes off as realistic enough to send chills down your spine.
-Nick’s walking the line of being both appropriate and enjoying the extra attention from Darrian a little too much comes across as something so many guys could easily fall into and thus makes the situation that much creepier.
What I Didn’t Like About It:
-As I’ve gotten older, it’s a little cringe worthy to watch Nick lead Darrian on. You almost feel like he gets what he deserves, at least in the beginning.
-The film feels very much like an 90’s adult thriller, which means there aren’t many surprises and it’s very paint by numbers. The film succeeds on the performances alone since everything else is quite average.
Additional Notes:
-The screenwriter, Alan Shapiro, wrote the story based on an actual situation he experience with a young girl named Darian. He used this name in the original script and the movie was filmed with Alicia Silverstone’s character being called Darian. It was later dubbed over to Adrian after Shapiro was sued. The studio couldn’t afford to bring back in the original actors, so unknowns were used for the dubbing process. The original audio can be found on the VHS and laserdiscs, while all further releases have the dubbed audio.
-Alicia Silverstone was an emancipated minor which allowed her opt out of child labor laws that would have prohibited how long she could be on set.
– Alicia Silverstone’s feature debut.
-Jennifer Rubin’s wardrobe was mostly her own clothes. The costume designer liked her style so much they went to her hotel room and picked out outfits.
Rating:
Revisiting The Crush was a fun few hours of nostalgia. It reminded me of my teenage years and it definitely gave me a dose of 90’s entertainment.
The performances are all top notch and that is the biggest thing I took away from The Crush. I don’t see this movie popping back up in my list of movies to revisit anytime soon, but its definitely worth a look if you are a fan of any of the actors/actresses or 90’s thrillers.
I’d rate The Crush as a two out of five and say it’s a rental.