The Crush (1993 film)

Last updated
The Crush
Crushposter93.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlan Shapiro
Written byAlan Shapiro
Produced by James G. Robinson
Starring
Cinematography Bruce Surtees
Edited byIan Crafford
Music by Graeme Revell
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • April 2, 1993 (1993-04-02)
Running time
89 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million[ citation needed ]
Box office$13.6 million (United States) [2]

The Crush is a 1993 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Alan Shapiro, which stars Cary Elwes as Nick Eliot and Alicia Silverstone as Adrian Forrester, in her feature film debut. When writer Nick Eliot moves to a new city for a magazine job, Adrian Forrester, the teenage daughter of the landlords whose guesthouse he rents, instantly makes her attraction to Nick clear. Nick has trouble fending off Adrian's advances, and as her obsession grows, the situation becomes increasingly dangerous.

Contents

The Crush received mostly negative reviews from critics on release, and wasn't a big box office success, [3] although it became especially popular through the video rental market, and showings on cable television. [4] [5] In subsequent years it has become a cult film. [6]

Plot

Twenty-eight-year-old writer Nick Eliot secures a job at Pique magazine and lodging in a guest house belonging to Cliff and Liv Forrester. The handsome Nick soon becomes acquainted with and frequently visited by the couple's fourteen-year-old daughter Adrian, a precocious girl who becomes intensely infatuated with him. She drops by the guest house one afternoon with a gift for Nick while he’s taking a shower, and after he tells her he needs to get dressed, she sneaks a peek of his bare backside, and grins mischievously.

Adrian invites Nick to a party that her parents are throwing at their house. Without confirming that he will attend, Nick decides to stop in. As he enters the house, Nick is taken by Adrian's impressive piano performance. Nick follows Adrian to her parents' outdoor balcony afterwards. He muses that if she were just ten years older, as she flirtatiously interrupts him, questioning what he'd do. Redirecting the conversation, Adrian suddenly encourages Nick to take her for a ride in his convertible. Nick agrees to drive Adrian to a place of her choosing; a romantic secluded area where she kisses him. Though initially receptive to the kiss, Nick stops when he realizes he is being seduced. Without leading her on, Nick takes Adrian home.

Adrian's crush on Nick intensifies, but he quickly wises up and attempts to put her off. He begins a budding romance with coworker Amy. Adrian becomes jealous and meets Amy in the woods while she is gathering sticks for a marshmallow roast and corrects her when she spots a bee's nest in a tree, identifying them as wasps in the form of a subtle warning. Adrian continues to boldly pursue Nick, sneaking into his room to rewrite his article (which impresses his boss, Michael) and even going so far as to undress in front of him when he accidentally hides in her closet.

When Nick continues to rebuff her advances, Adrian's actions become destructive; she steals his favorite childhood photo, defaces a car he has restored, and erases his computer discs, yet he's unable to convince Adrian's parents of her guilt. Cheyenne, a friend of Adrian's, tries to warn Nick about her, but she has an "accident" at the riding school she and Adrian attend together when Adrian sabotages the saddle on her horse. After Adrian spies on Nick in bed with Amy, she locks Amy in her darkroom and empties a wasp's nest into the vents, severely stinging her.

Amy survives, and Nick, now convinced that Adrian is big trouble, attempts to find new lodging. However, Adrian accuses him of sexually assaulting her with "evidence" obtained from a used condom from Nick's trash; he is subsequently arrested. After Michael bails him out (and suspends him until trial), Cheyenne tells Nick that she knows he is innocent and that Adrian has an extensive history of obsessive behavior, citing a previous crush on a camp counselor named Rick who "accidentally" died from eating something poisonous. Cheyenne also informs Nick of a diary Adrian kept that can exonerate him.

After Cheyenne departs, Nick hears strange noises coming from the Forresters' house. He investigates and finds Cheyenne bound and gagged on the carousel in the attic. Adrian confronts and attacks him, leading Cliff to attack Nick after he mistakes him for the aggressor. Adrian then knocks Cliff unconscious in defense of Nick, enabling the latter to subdue her with one punch. Acquitted, Nick goes to live with Amy in Seattle while Adrian is confined to a psychiatric hospital. Though she laments that Nick refuses to speak to her, respond to the multiple letters she has written, or accept her apologies, her doctor comments that she is making good progress, unaware that she is now developing a crush on him. In the final scene, Adrian returns to her room in the hospital, where she glares at a photo of the doctor and his wife before her mouth slowly curves into a devious smile.

Cast

Lawsuit and character name change

Writer and director Alan Shapiro based the film on events from his own life. [7] The girl on whom he based Adrian sued him for using her real name, Darian, for Alicia Silverstone's character. As a result, when the film was re-edited for television, the character's name was changed from Darian to Adrian. [8] Silverstone is still credited as having played Darian Forrester on IMDb. [9] The VHS and laser disc releases retained the original spoken dialogue that called the character Darian. [10] The original theatrical trailer also refers to the character as Darian. [11]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 27% rating based on reviews from 30 critics. [12] On Metacritic it has a score of 34% based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [13] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale. [14]

Brian Lowry of Variety compared the film to Poison Ivy (1992) and called it "another by-the-numbers thriller" and was critical of lack of gore or nudity, suggesting the R rating must stand for "ridiculous." [7] [15] Hal Hinson of the Washington Post wrote: "There's something scuzzy about the whole exercise." [16] Janet Maslin of The New York Times said it "Never succeeds in becoming either torrid or scary" and that it "is for the most part grindingly predictable and mechanically played." [17]

Related Research Articles

<i>Léon: The Professional</i> 1994 film by Luc Besson

Léon: The Professional is a 1994 English-language French action-thriller film written and directed by Luc Besson. It stars Jean Reno and Gary Oldman, and features the film debut of Natalie Portman. The plot centers on Léon (Reno), a professional hitman who reluctantly takes in twelve-year-old Mathilda Lando (Portman) after her family are murdered by corrupt Drug Enforcement Administration agent Norman Stansfield (Oldman). Léon and Mathilda form an unusual relationship, as she becomes his protégée and learns the hitman's trade. The film was released in France by Gaumont and internationally through Gaumont Buena Vista International on 14 September 1994, and received mostly positive reviews from critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alicia Silverstone</span> American actress (born 1976)

Alicia Silverstone is an American actress. She made her film debut in the thriller The Crush (1993), earning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and gained further prominence as a teen idol when she appeared in the music videos for Aerosmith's songs "Cryin', "Amazing" and "Crazy". She went on to star as Cher Horowitz in the teen comedy film Clueless (1995), which earned her a multi-million dollar deal with Columbia Pictures. In 1997, she starred in the superhero film Batman & Robin, playing Batgirl.

<i>Clueless</i> 1995 film by Amy Heckerling

Clueless is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone with supporting roles by Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd. It was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert Lawrence. The film is a loose adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma. The plot centers on a beautiful, popular, and rich high school student who befriends a new student and decides to give her a makeover while playing a matchmaker for her teachers and examining her own existence.

<i>The Good Son</i> (film) 1993 film by Joseph Ruben

The Good Son is a 1993 American psychological thriller film directed by Joseph Ruben and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It was written by English novelist Ian McEwan. Its story follows a 12-year-old young boy named Mark who, after the death of his mother, is sent to stay with his aunt and uncle while his father is away on business trip. While there he meets his cousin Henry, who shows signs of violent and evil behavior. It stars Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson, David Morse, Daniel Hugh Kelly, and Jacqueline Brookes.

<i>Europa Europa</i> 1990 war drama film by Agnieszka Holland

Europa Europa is a 1990 historical war drama film directed by Agnieszka Holland, and starring Marco Hofschneider, Julie Delpy, Hanns Zischler, and André Wilms. It is based on the 1989 autobiography of Solomon Perel, a German-Jewish boy who escaped the Holocaust by masquerading as a Nazi and joining the Hitler Youth. Perel himself appears briefly as "himself" in the film's finale. The film's title refers to World War II's division of continental Europe, resulting in a constant national shift of allegiances, identities, and front lines.

<i>Miss Match</i> American comedy-drama television series

Miss Match is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jeff Rake and Darren Star and produced by 20th Century Fox Television, Darren Star Productions, and Imagine Television. It aired in the United States on NBC from September 26 to December 15, 2003, including international networks aired in Australia on Seven Network, Arena, and Fox8, and in the United Kingdom on Living, Channel 4, and is on E4. Seventeen episodes of the series were filmed, with eleven aired in the United States. The entire series aired in both the UK and Canada.

<i>Indecent Proposal</i> 1993 American drama film by Adrian Lyne

Indecent Proposal is a 1993 American erotic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne and written by Amy Holden Jones. It is based on the 1988 novel by Jack Engelhard, in which a couple's marriage is disrupted by a stranger's offer of a million dollars for the wife to spend the night with him. It stars Robert Redford, Demi Moore, and Woody Harrelson.

<i>Honey, I Blew Up the Kid</i> 1992 film by Randal Kleiser

Honey, I Blew Up the Kid is a 1992 American science fiction comedy film, the sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and the second installment of the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids film series. Directed by Randal Kleiser and released by Walt Disney Pictures, it stars Rick Moranis, Marcia Strassman, Amy O'Neill, and Robert Oliveri reprising their roles as the Szalinski family, as well as newcomer Keri Russell in her film debut. In the film, Adam Szalinski, the youngest addition to the family, is accidentally exposed to Wayne's new industrial-sized growth machine, which causes him to gradually grow to enormous size. Wayne's coworker, Dr. Charles Hendrickson, wants the giant Adam stopped at all costs, and would like to take over Wayne's invention, which is now owned by the large corporation belonging to the kindly Clifford Sterling.

<i>Kiss the Girls</i> (1997 film) 1997 film by Gary Fleder

Kiss the Girls is a 1997 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Gary Fleder and starring Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, and Cary Elwes. The screenplay by David Klass is based on James Patterson's best-selling 1995 novel of the same name. A sequel titled Along Came a Spider was released in 2001.

<i>Jagged Edge</i> (film) 1985 thriller film by Richard Marquand

Jagged Edge is a 1985 American neo-noir legal thriller film written by Joe Eszterhas, and directed by Richard Marquand, the last of his films to be released during his lifetime. The film stars Glenn Close, Jeff Bridges, Peter Coyote and Robert Loggia. A lawyer reluctantly takes the case of a man accused of killing his wife, but remains uncertain if he is guilty or not.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Rubin (actress)</span> American actress (born 1962)

Jennifer Collene Rubin is an American actress. A competitive swimmer during her youth, Rubin was discovered by the Ford Modeling Agency and went on to model for Calvin Klein and became Ford International Model of the Year in 1984. She made her film debut as Taryn White in the 1987 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and has since starred in a variety of films including Andrew Fleming's Bad Dreams (1988), Marisa Silver's Permanent Record (1988), Oliver Stone's The Doors (1991), Alan Shapiro's The Crush (1993), Louis Venosta's The Coriolis Effect (1994), Christian Duguay's Screamers (1995), and the 2001 Dogme 95 inspired film Reunion. Outside of film, Rubin has guest starred on a variety of television series such as The Twilight Zone (1987) and Tales from the Crypt (1992). In 2010, Rubin appeared as herself in the documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy and has since been also working as a writer, producer & director on her original screenplays.

<i>Excess Baggage</i> (1997 film) 1997 American film

Excess Baggage is a 1997 American crime comedy film, written by Max D. Adams, Dick Clement, and Ian La Frenais, and directed by Marco Brambilla about a neglected young heiress who stages her own kidnapping to get her father's attention, only to be actually kidnapped by a car thief. The film stars Alicia Silverstone, Benicio del Toro, and Christopher Walken. Upon release, it was a critical and commercial failure.

<i>Raising Cain</i> 1992 American film

Raising Cain is a 1992 American psychological horror thriller film written and directed by Brian De Palma, and starring John Lithgow, Lolita Davidovich and Steven Bauer.

<i>The Babysitter</i> (1995 film) 1995 film by Guy Ferland

The Babysitter is a 1995 American psychological thriller film directed by Guy Ferland and starring Alicia Silverstone, based on the short story of the same name by Robert Coover in his collection Pricksongs and Descants (1969). The film was released direct-to-video in October 1995.

<i>A Perfect Getaway</i> 2009 film by David Twohy

A Perfect Getaway is a 2009 American thriller film written and directed by David Twohy and starring Timothy Olyphant, Milla Jovovich, Kiele Sanchez, and Steve Zahn. Olyphant, Jovovich, Sanchez, and Zahn portray a group of vacationing couples in Hawaii who find their lives in danger when murders begin to occur on the island, leading to suspicions over one of the couples being the killers.

<i>Vamps</i> (film) 2013 film by Amy Heckerling

Vamps is a 2012 American comedy horror film directed by Amy Heckerling and starring Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter. It was released on November 2, 2012.

<i>Gone Girl</i> (novel) 2012 novel by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl is a 2012 crime thriller novel by American writer Gillian Flynn. It was published by Crown Publishing Group in June 2012. The novel was popular and made the New York Times Best Seller list. The sense of suspense in the novel comes from whether Nick Dunne is responsible for the disappearance of his wife Amy.

<i>Teen Lust</i> (2014 film) 2014 film

Teen Lust is a 2014 Canadian teen comedy horror film directed by Blaine Thurier and written by Thurier and Jason Stone. The film had its world premiere on 10 September 2014 at the Toronto International Film Festival and stars Jesse Carere, Daryl Sabara and Annie Clark.

<i>Sister of the Groom</i> 2020 American film

Sister of the Groom is a 2020 American comedy film, written and directed by Amy Miller Gross. It stars Alicia Silverstone, Tom Everett Scott, Jake Hoffman, Mathilde Ollivier, Charlie Bewley, Noah Silver, Abigail Marlowe, Mark Blum, Julie Engelbrecht and Ronald Guttman.

<i>Reptile</i> (film) 2023 film by Grant Singer

Reptile is a 2023 American crime thriller film directed by Grant Singer in his feature-film directorial debut, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Benjamin Brewer and Benicio del Toro, and a story he co-wrote with Brewer. The film stars del Toro in the lead role, alongside Justin Timberlake, Alicia Silverstone, Eric Bogosian, Ato Essandoh, Domenick Lombardozzi, and Michael Pitt.

References

  1. ↑ The Crush at the American Film Institute Catalog
  2. ↑ "The Crush (1993) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  3. ↑ Koller, Brian (September 20, 2013). "The Crush (1993)". Films Graded.
  4. ↑ "The Crush (1993)". Cut To The Chase. August 31, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Top Video Rentals" (PDF). Billboard . October 2, 1993. p. 78.
  6. ↑ Harkin, David (October 15, 2023). "10 Great 1990s Thriller Movies You Probably Haven't Seen". Taste of Cinema.
  7. 1 2 Lowry, Brian (1993-04-05). "The Crush". Variety . Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  8. ↑ "Is 'The Crush' (1993) Based On A True Story?". Creepy Catalog. 2022-05-26. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
  9. ↑ "The Crush Trivia". imdb.com.
  10. ↑ "Adrian or Darian?". moviechat.org.
  11. ↑ The Crush (1993) Trailer. 2 August 2014.
  12. ↑ "The Crush". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  13. ↑ "The Crush". Metacritic . Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  14. ↑ "CinemaScore". Archived from the original on 2018-07-22. Retrieved 2018-10-14.
  15. ↑ Newman, Kim (January 2000). "The Crush". Empire.
  16. ↑ Hal Hinson (April 5, 1993). "The Crush (R)". Washington Post .
  17. ↑ Maslin, Janet (3 April 1993). "Review/Film; The Sting of Revenge on a Rival in Love". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2015-05-26.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.