Very Cool!!!

best movie i've ever seen.

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Like most teenagers in the early/mid 90's it was pretty hard to dislike (or at least ignore) Alicia Silverstone. This movie in particular was advertised on TV for weeks on end in the summer of 93, often enough to remember it nearly 25 years after. I never watched 'The Crush' as a teenager though, which might have been a good thing. When I finally did last week, I couldn't quite understand the fuss it generated upon its release (other than being Alicia's first major role), nor can I explain the amount of criticism it has gathered since. For the most part the main characters (especially the journalist) are somewhat implausible, and the story focuses on depicting her increasingly violent outbursts rather than motivation or inner conflicts. But make no mistake, Alicia is more than convincing as a 14 years old Lolita from hell, being at various times sweet, fragile, manipulative, precocious, overtly sexual, and creepy. The story might not be the most unpredictable you've come across, but it's engaging enough to keep you interested. A significant number of reviews seem to focus on the difference between certain attitudes and production values between early 90's and now rather than the movie itself. Some even go as far as accusing Alan Shapiro of featuring soft core child pornography. I'm curious if the same criticism is leveled against Zeffirelli's 'Romeo and Juliet', for depicting a 14-year old Olivia Hussey (not an older body double) in an even more revealing scene. I guess the weakest point of the movie is the implausibility of the story and of the male character. We know how Adrian and Nick end up being neighbors, but no explanation is given for Adrian being left alone with an adult so frequently. The early 90's might have been more innocent and relaxed times, but not that innocent! As for Nick, he crosses the line so many times we can't decently view him as a victim in the end. It's unclear if he refuses Adrian's advances because he's intimidated/overwhelmed or because they are inappropriate. Indeed, if it wasn't for Amy raising the alarm early on, one wonders how far would Nick have pursued the 'frienship' with Adrian (some scenes which didn't make the DVD cut show Adrian & Nick enjoying a night swim, going for a ride in Nick's car, etc). Take this movie for what it is: not the best erotic thriller of the 90's, perhaps not even Oscar material, but definitely not a trashy, laughable, and exploitative flick either.

A journalist (Cary Elwes) becomes the unwanted center of attention for a 14-year-old girl (Alicia Silverstone), who proceeds to sabotage his life after he refuses her sexual advances.This is Alan Shapiro's baby. He wrote it, directed it, and as of 2016, it remains his best-known film. According to Jennifer Rubin, Shapiro also worked closely with Cary Elwes during the shoot to revise some lines here and there. (Incidentally, Rubin also recalls Elwes as "mannered and proper", much like some of the characters he plays.) To save a few dollars, the wardrobe department actually picked clothes from the actors' closets.Apparently this film was panned by critics, but I have to say those critics were wrong. Yes, some of the plot makes little sense and you have to really suspend your disbelief at times. But this is a horror thriller, so just allow yourself that privilege. This film stuck with me when I first saw it in the 90s, and watching it again now (2016), it had as much or more of an impact.The two leads are great. Obviously, this helped launch Silverstone's career (giving her a voice after working with Aerosmith); Kurtwood Smith recalls that the cast had Silverstone's 16th birthday party a day or two before shooting began. The part almost went to Reese Witherspoon, but in retrospect Silverstone seems to have been the obvious, better choice.And this was a nice entry for Elwes, who is generally thought of more as a comedic actor. He can do dark (see "Saw"). Add model and horror icon Jennifer Rubin and Smith (not to mention a pre-Buffy Amber Benson) and you round out a top-notch cast for what appears to be a very low-budget movie (and obviously the crown jewel of writer-director Alan Shapiro's career).The effects are pretty decent and convincing. Perhaps the most notable scene involves a room full of bees. While it looks like Jennifer Rubin is being swarmed by an entire hive of bees, she actually has nothing to worry about. A few dead ones are glued to her hand (look closely how they don't move), and the ones flying through the air aren't bees at all -- it's puffed rice being blown out of a vacuum cleaner. Genius! One flaw, which is unavoidable, is the result of legal trouble: the original audio has the character named "Darian", and it had to be changed to "Adrian" (as there was a real Darian involved who had actually keyed Shapiro's car). This makes for some unusual dubbing. Although not noticeable most of the time, it does stand out occasionally -- Kurtwood Smith was never made aware of the change until later, meaning someone else had to dub him... which, of course, makes the name "Adrian" sound like it comes from another person's mouth.The disc from Scream! Factory is excellent and truly a must-have. Although they were not able to fix the sound "phasing" issues from previous versions, this was not noticeable for me and probably won't be for more viewers. The disc has an audio commentary from writer-director Alan Shapiro, which is priceless (and includes a story of his time swapping LSD stories with William Hurt). But we also get some one-on-one interviews with Kurtwood Smith and the incomparable Jennifer Rubin. A great release for an under-appreciated film.

It's hard to believe that this was Alicia Silverstone's first film she ever did and yet, she killed it with great acting. I like how she is so evil in this, she does remind you of the movie 'Serial mom' which was out a few years after this movie. I suppose that movie pretty much copied this movie, instead of having a young girl being the devil, the mum could be too lol! I do wish that her character and Cary Elwes' were hooked up together in the end because they did make such a couple! Although, I would be pretty scared myself if I ever had a stalker coming after me hehe! Seriously, Darian really does creep you out a bit even if she's beautiful! I absolutely love this movie, its funny, scary and most of all, it has brilliant actors!

I watched The Crush (1993) because it was recommended to me on the page for Poison Ivy (1992). Being a fan of obsession based psychological thrillers, if only as guilty pleasures, I had to watch this. It didn't disappoint. The writing, story and characters at the most cliché I've ever seen them. The obsession story was handled well and it made way more sense that Poison Ivy. The basis of the obsession can be explained but there isn't any character development to shine any light on why Adrian (Alicia Silverstone) is like she is. Cary Elwes puts on another bad American accent sounding almost identical to how he did in Saw (2004). In some way you could link those two films together as a joke. The film itself is pretty bad but it's entertaining and well worth the 1hr 20mins it takes up.Final Verdict 8 out of 10 Not a bad film but so clichéd it's hilarious.