THE CRUSH. Directed and written by Alan Shapiro; produced by James G. Robinson for Morgan Creek. Starring Cary Elwes and Alicia Silverstone. Rated R.
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The Crush belongs to a long tradition of movies that are fun to watch, in a perverse sort of way. Their most distinguishing feature is that you're constantly trying to tell the hero not to do what he's about to. You know, he insists on going up into the attic where we all know that something dreadful's going to happen ... but he never seems to listen to us.
If you like going through this with your main characters, then you'll love The Crush, where journalist Nick (Elwes) is really stupid beyond belief, when it comes to recognizing danger. As far as I'm concerned, though, putting up with this kind of stubborn obtuseness gets old really fast (like after about 10 minutes).
New to town (the movie was filmed in Vancouver), Nick needs to find an apartment, but everything he sees is pretty dumpy. Then he happens upon what looks like a perfect place: a rose-covered guest house on the grounds of a gorgeous mansion. He takes it without even lonking inside (which gives us a fair idea of the intelligence he'll be displaying later on).
The residents of the mansion are a two-career couple and their precocious 14-year-old, Darian (Silverstone). First just friendly, then (not so gradually) annoying, and finally alarmingly creepy, Darian quite obviously (to us, anyway) develops the crush of the title on poor dumb Nick.
Elwes is an appealing actor, and he portrays Nick's winsome absentmindedness well. But the script insists on his being so dense that it's impossible to work up any sympathy for him.
Darian's character suffers from the oh-so-predictable script, too, since she's never allowed to surprise us. Silverstone seems to be a capable enough actress: she might be able to do that, if only given a chance.
The movie's technical side—cinematography, editing, etc.—have the stylish flair one has come to expect from movies about sexual obsessions these days. It's just a shame that the story is both so predictable and so unbelievable at the same time. Read or rent Lolita, if the basic pairing of The Crush appeals to you; it will be time much better spent.
April 21, 1993