SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Wuchak Released in 1993, "The Crush" is about a 28 year-old writer, Nick (Cary Elwes), who moves to Seattle to work for a magazine. After moving into the guest house of the well-to-do Forresters their only child, 14 year old Adrienne (Alicia Silverstone), develops an increasingly unhealthy crush on him. Jennifer Rubin and Matthew Walker play Nick's girlfriend & boss while Kurtwood Smith and Gwynyth Walsh play Adrienne's parents and Amber Heard her neighbor.This belongs to the Lethal Lolita sub-genre of drama/romance/thrillers. These movies always involve a hot teenager who utilizes her freshly bestowed womanly powers to seduce an older man and create havoc. "The Crush" is actually better than Stanley Kubrick's revered "Lolita" (1962), which was the first of its kind (at least the first to popularize the topic anyway). In the early 90s these kinds of movies made a comeback with 1992's "Poison Ivy" starring Drew Barrymore. "The Crush" isn't haunting and artsy like "Poison Ivy," but it's just as good and arguably marginally better. "Poison Ivy" has better style while "The Crush" is more straight-forward, sort of like 1987's "Fatal Attraction," but with a teenage antagonist.Speaking of which, Alicia shines here in her cinematic debut. She was only almost-16 during filming, but easily commands attention throughout. Elwes is great as the protagonist with solid support from Rubin.These types of attractions happen all the time in real life (a teenage girl developing a crush on an older guy) and it's the responsibility of the adult to erect and maintain proper boundaries so the situation doesn't spin out of control, like it does here. If the adult lets things go too far the girl will either be so devastated she becomes nigh suicidal, like in 1976's "Lifeguard," or she turns malevolently psycho.To me "The Crush" would've worked better as a bittersweet coming of age drama, like the subplot of "Lifeguard," rather than a drama that morphs into thriller bordering on horror, like "Fatal Attraction." The first half is strong as a coming-of-age drama before transforming into the latter in the second half with its contrived thriller/horror mechanics. But they didn't ask me to write the script so I accept the movie as is. As a matter of fact, I feel it breaks the threshold of greatness for what it is.The movie runs 89 minutes and was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia.GRADE: A-

ccthemovieman-1 Word was that "you have to see this Alicia Silverstone; she's really hot." That was back in 1993, so I checked out the movie. This was Alicia's film debut and she got a lot of hype for this movie.I discovered, yeah, Silverstone has a pretty face, but that's about it. The movie was nothing special; not something you haven't seen before. Cary Elwes, not Silverstone, ruins the picture. Not literally him; the character he plays: "Nick." What a dork! Nick is an incredibly stupid guy who befriends the 14-year-old "Adrienne" (Silverstone), who is his neighbor. The girl, who then expects more from the guy and doesn't get it, vents her wrath on him. Nick is so annoying I didn't care what the stupid neighbor did to him. Both of the lead characters deserved each other.Whatever happened to Silverstone? I guess she never really made it to stardom. The last I remember her was playing "Batgirl" with George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

joeditt Seduction (or so) by the assumed lesser: of course, this issue's many aspects deserve as well serious as dramatic picturization. This movie is none of both.Alicia Silverstone appears well-casted. The not really smart but defiant, cunning and tricky character seems to fit her. Perhaps her exterior helps her plausibility, especially those remains of baby fat - on her up-curled upper lip baring rosy gums above those tiny upper teeth, on her unstructured overhands above unshaped child fingers, or on her rounded baby feet. Sure, the physical exterior itself carries no personality traits, but how penetratingly she leverages her frailties for seductive aims is working beyond attractiveness norms and below the boundaries of the subconscious - if only a properly naive target mammal insists on stumbling in front of her cross-hair. For her alleged intention is most lumpishly obvious.The bothersome boring effect this exaggerated performance has on me does not yet mean this can never happen. But it raises the question if our still male dominated society needs such embarrassing poor male chauvinist excusing screen operas showing us how perfidious Lolitas lurk out there in that frightening real life. To be serious, if such a rare constellation really occurs (independent of the gender configuration), than the much more interesting aspects are (a) in which way the younger person, no matter how much in formal control of what's going on, is (even unconsciously) over-strained both mentally and emotionally, and (b) what on earth (except the fluke to receive a seemingly willing, even demandingly self-offering victim) lets the elder person be taken by such an ostensible play.In this sense, Cary Elwes to some extent may be seen as likewise well-casted. His enormous lack of mimic expression fits Nick's naive, or rather excruciatingly stupid character quite well. His eyes tell he sort of expects permanent proof for his self-confidence, yet almost everything he experiences turns out so overwhelmingly unbelievable that he can't even decide if it's frightening, exciting, or just terribly puzzling. Anyway, as this happens frequently, his inner will to survive prevents him from being scared to death by learning to get a kick out of it. The result is visible: even when the exerted brows above his permanently bewildered eyes try to prevent anger, the corners of his mouth undecidedly oscillate between fear and a childishly lustful sort of joy. In fact, what we see rather appears to be how Mr. Elwes on each single day of the shooting again experiences the sensation of really having found his way onto a movie set. It can be seen often in unexperienced supernumeraries' faces: the amazement that at the most allows attempts of ... playing to play.But how come Nick is introduced as skilled investigative journalist? Who only moments later is told by a 14 yo girl how easily informations this Mr. Pulitzer Jr. regards totally out of his reach can be obtained? These two alleged parts of one personality hardly apply - except to the dissonant concept of excusing a human mammal's misbehavior as consequences of allegedly having fallen prey to the wicked skills of one of those myriads of killer Lolita monsters out there. Boo.

disdressed12 i saw this movie when it first came out and loved.i thought it was brilliant.then i watched again yesterday,and my opinion has really changed.i wasn't too impressed this tome around.i think the movie is just too tame,and nothing really special.it's also slow,and not just in spots but all through.i wouldn't quite call it boring,but it is pretty close.there just isn't really a lot of suspense or tension.at least i didn't feel any.i don't think the actors can be faulted.they were all decent with what they were given.i think it had more to do with the script than anything.i really liked the music for the movie.i thought it was catchy and infectious.other than that though,there's not much to recommend this movie.it isn't horrible,but it just isn't any better or worse than many movies of the thriller genre.so for "The Crush" 5/10 seems fair