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Secret Admirer (1985) More at IMDbPro »

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10 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Fred Ward steals the show!, 29 June 1999

Author: Dan Grant (dan.grant@bell.ca) from Toronto, Ontario

Lieutenant Fimple ( Fred Ward ) has had a bad day. He thinks his wife is cheating on him so he follows her to a make out point. Then he goes to his mutual friends house and picks her up because the man that he thinks his wife is having an affair with is the woman's husband ( are you following me so far? ). He gets back to the make out point and they are gone. So he drives home his friend and then he gets into an accident. When he gets home, the man's ( who is apparently sleeping with his wife ) son has just finished giving his daughter a good night kiss. " Good evening Lieutenant Fimple, " the boy says, " F*** you! " Fimple replies. It is one of the funniest moments in the film and the film has quite a few of them.

Secret Admirer is one of the slew of teen films that came out in the 80's that was high on entertainment, if you let it do that. It is one of those films that should not be over analyzed. It is simple entertainment and it is goofball highschool entertainment. The characters in the film have fun with the roles they are thrust into and the dialogue is fresh and funny. Look for the part when the mailman comes to Michael's house and is apparently late with the mail. Classic.

I wish they could make films like this as we head into the new millennium. They are here to entertain and nothing more. And that is sometimes all we can ask for.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Wonderful teen comedy, 15 November 2004
Author: intervalkid from Oak Island, NC

I saw this first when it came out,I was about ten. I watched it again last night. I loved it then and I love it now. The dialogue acting and plot are really good. The characters are all great and fun as well. I noticed the difference between this movie and "teen comedies" made now and it goes like this. Secret Admirer contained, more subtle thoughtful character based humour, characters with a little more chaste morality (even Kelly's jerk jock boyfriend Steve didn't want to cheat), no sluts, plenty of foul language, diverse scene locations, and more intelligent dialogue and plot twists. I liked the characters a lot and the music by Jan Hammer was fantastic and memorable, which makes sense, since Jan Hammer is a bad S.O.B (just listen to Mahavishnu Orchestra and you will know that). I remember that when I was ten I thought that Kelly preston had the greatest breast, and I was right! I still found the movie just as funny as I did then and found the innocence of the characters endearing, in fact I found every scene memorable. Thomas Howell played the party guy in love to a T. Seeing Corey Haim as his little brother made me sad when I think what happened to the poor guy, he was great, very charismatic! You would have thought he had a great future. Bastard drugs! Anyway the humor is constant even at the end when it seems to be getting serious you get a trippy break when Mike asks for directions.

A joy of a film. 10/10.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
New twist on a familiar theme, 14 September 2003
Author: vchimpanzee from North Carolina

High school student Michael Ryan gets a letter from a secret admirer who he believes to be Debbie, a beautiful but shallow girl who only dates college guys. He goes to a fraternity party to find out if she is indeed the one, but that does not work out too well. For one thing, Debbie's boyfriend Steve still wants her even though she is tired of him. So Michael goes to his attractive and intelligent friend Toni, who is also a friend of Debbie's, to find out what to do. Michael starts writing anonymous letters of his own to Debbie (who is not identified), but the letters wind up in the wrong hands, with hilarious results. The letters that make it to Debbie, of course, are not Michael's because Toni doesn't think they are good enough and she makes changes. This is strange because it is clear throughout the entire movie that Toni and Michael belong together, so if Toni wanted Michael, all she would have to do would be to deliver the terrible letters to Debbie, who supposedly wouldn't want Michael after reading them.

There is some, but not a lot of physical comedy in this movie. Some of it results from confusion about who is in love with whom, and jealousy on the part of husbands, wives, boyfriends and girlfriends. There is also a scene where a former girlfriend has found out her boyfriend bragged, and she gets revenge. You wouldn't expect this particular girl to be violent.

I didn't see any great acting performances, though I liked Toni, and Kelly Preston sometimes came across quite well as the self-centered Debbie. Overall, I enjoyed it.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Trite story saved by a good 80s cast., 8 May 2004

Author: Pepper Anne from Orlando, Florida

If you like teen 80s movies, don't pass up Secret Admirer. The story has been done plenty of times. A love letter, of which the author remains conveniently anonymous, unintentionally circulates through many hands, causing loads of misconceptions and people making fools of themselves. 'The Love Letter' (with Ellen Degenerous and Tom Selleck) was the most recent rendition of this story, and I'm sure there was a 50s version of it, too. But what the heck, it's an 80s teen comedy with a well-known teen cast.

C. Thomas Howell is Mike Ryan, a high school guy who is hopelessly in love with the popular, pretty girl, Deborah (Kelly Preston). Only, he can't tell her in person how he feels about her, especially with her tough college boyfriend, Steve (played by Scott McGinnis). Mike confides in Toni (Lori Laughlin), his best friend, instead about how much he loves Deborah.

But, Mike gets the bold idea to write his dream girl a love letter. He doesn't have the courage to give it to Deborah, let alone sign it. So, he gives it to Toni, who can tell that with writing like Mike's, he doesn't stand a chance of making an impression with Deborah. She's a girl with an ego, so it's going to take a lot to impress her. She revises his letter and passes it on. And now Deborah has fallen in love with someone who doesn't exist. Of course, she likes Mike, but she only likes him based on what she has read in the revised letters. In the meantime, Toni wishes Mike would get real and realize that Deborah is no kind of girl for him because she's so insincere and all of that. She's worried about appearances more than anything else. And slowly, Mike starts to realize it, too. In that 'Some Kind of Wonderful' kind of way, he realizes that Toni really likes him, and what the heck, he likes her too.

Meanwhile, there's trouble between Mike's family and Deborah's family as the letters start passing hands of the family members and the parents start suspecting that each other's spouse wants to get involved in an affair just because of this dumb love letter. And they're even willing to have a go because they suspect their own spouses of cheating. It's all a major mistake and one entirely based on lack of trust in their relationships. The consequences are funny nonetheless.

As for the rest of the cast, there's some funny moments with cocky Roger (Casey Seizmasko), who plays Mike's other best friend and poor source of guidance about girls. You can also see a very young Corey Haim in his film debut as Mike's younger punk brother. And, other members of Mike's friends include Courtney Gains ('Can't Buy Me Love') who is in so few scenes and many other familiar faces.

It's good lazy fun even if the story isn't anything new.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
A Hidden Gem!, 10 September 2002

Author: dgordon-1 from Toronto, Canada

This is one of my favourite '80s teen comedy movies that never really got the notoriety that it deserved. Sure, there were a lot of great '80s movies like "16 Candles", "Just One of the Guys", and "Zapped", but "Secret Admirer" really holds it's own. It's about a guy that receives a love letter, thinking that it's from the most popular girl in school. This sets off a wave of misunderstandings throughout the movie. What really makes this movie is that it stars a lot of well-liked actors from that era: C. Thomas Howell ("The Hitcher"/"Soul Man", Lori Loughlin ("Back to the Beach"/"Full House", and last but not least Corey Haim ("First Born"/"Just One of the Girls"). It's a cute story that's not mean't to be taken seriously, it's just a light comedy that has an '80s charm all of it's own. If you like '80s teen comedies that are first rate, this is a definite addition to your movie library that you won't want to miss. I hope it comes out on DVD in the future!

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Rather decent, 27 December 1999

Author: Mike (rkoegel@earthlink.net) from Selbyside - St. Paul, MN USA

I woke up a little early this morning for some reason, so I decided to watch some T. V. and I happened to catch this little film on CINEMAX and found it to be pretty good. Although it's nothing really special, it was interesting to see C. Thomas Howell again, the only other two movies I've seen him in are of course THE OUTSIDERS, and the 1986 thriller THE HITCHER. If you really enjoy teen flicks from the 80's like I do, you should rent this, otherwise watch it on television like I did.

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
A predictable, but altogether likable teen comedy, 10 October 2002

Author: mattymatt4ever from Jersey City, NJ

I've seen so many teen comedies that I was able to predict what would happen in seconds. I mean, can you be any more obvious? In the opening scene, we see C. Thomas Howell walking along with his beautiful best friend (Lori Loughlin) and the blonde bombshell (Kelly Preston) who he wants to snag. And to be even more cliched, the blonde bombshell is going out with a dumb jock. This is pretty much the plot of 5,000-or-so teen movies out there. First of all, why do the guys in these movies always have best friends who are stunningly beautiful? I never had any best friends who looked like Lori Loughlin, surely not longtime best friends. And as I mentioned in past reviews, this always begs the question: Why didn't he ask her out years ago? And anybody who knows anything about teen movies knows that the blondie is simply thrown in as a red herring.

But once the "secret admirer" plot is thrown in, the film gets a lot more interesting. It creates a delightfully funny comedy of errors, which involves the parents as well as the kids. However, after a while the premise wears thin and the film buoys itself on the charisma of the actors, which is considerable. C. Thomas Howell was a charming actor, back when he actually existed. So is Lori Loughlin, who possesses a radiant smile. Kelly Preston looks even prettier than she does now. Boy, John Travolta's a lucky man! Fred Ward, Dee Wallace Stone and the other two actors who played the parents are also very amusing.

The third act is sentimental mush, piling up on the cliches like crazy. Yes, we have another climactic scene where the guy runs after his lover, as she's leaving on a boat. Usually, it's a plane, train or bus, but I'm not gonna give the director credit for changing the mode of transportation. I swear to God, if I see another schmaltzy climax like that, I'm gonna shoot that director in the head. Or better yet, shoot the screenwriters. Go right to the source.

Despite the slow beginning and dreaded final act, I enjoyed the film and consider it to be above-average entertainment with a good deal of laughs. This didn't bother me, but I found the film to be amazingly profane for an 80's teen movie. I know if it were released now, the producers would make sure 50 percent of the cuss words are taken out, as well as the nudity, to reduce it to a PG-13. But I must say, Kelly Preston has a great rack!

My score: 6 (out of 10)

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Typical, mid 80s teen comedy, but kinda funny, 10 January 2001
Author: smirre44 from Norway

I didn't get to see this movie until '94, when it aired on TV here. I gotta say the major reason I liked this movie was because it had Lori Loughlin in it, she's a fox with a capital F, capital O and capital X. :) Anyways, give this one a whirl if you like these kind of movies, but if you're a Lori fan, it's definitely a must-see!

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Typical 1980s Teen Comedy, 2 December 2000
Author: tfrizzell from United States

"Secret Admirer" is one of those typical teen films that came a dime a dozen during the 1980s. It is a film that is powered by sexual tension, raunchy comedy, and vulgar situations. The film deals with a high school boy (C. Thomas Howell) and his obsession with a classmate (Kelly Preston). After he receives an anonymous letter from an admirer, he thinks it might be Preston. However, it is friend Lori Loughlin who is the admirer. Howell starts to write letters to Preston now, but they are so sorry that Loughlin writes letters to Preston (making them appear that Howell wrote them). Preston falls in love, Howell thinks he's a genius, and Loughlin is left in the cold. Then the letters become misplaced and Howell's parents (Dee Wallace and Cliff De Young) and Preston's parents (Fred Ward and Leigh Taylor-Young) get hold of them and get the wrong idea. Now De Young and Taylor-Young are thinking of having an affair with each other while Wallace and Ward find out and look to take manners into their own hands. As you can tell everything becomes a pure mess, but it all ends well. The film is funny and somewhat clever, but it gets into nasty elements that are not really needed. Director David Greenwalt tries to juggle the disjointed screenplay, but is only minimally successful. A likeable cast and some good moments make the film watchable, but it had the potential to be so much more. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

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i love this movie, 11 August 2005

Author: HartfordPrincess860 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This movie was awesome i recored it, C. Thomas Howell is so cute and I love Lori Loughlin, I loved the instrumentals in the movie but cant find them, I love movies from the 80's and this is my favorite, anyways did i mention how adorable C. Thomas Howell is I love him, who doesn't love this movie? is it on DVD yet? anyways i encourage everyone 2 see this movie it will touch your heart its so sweet, romantic,funny great movie......I loved the part when Toni says she's not comfortable and Michael puts is arm around her how cute!!!!! But I wish Michael had'nt gone out with that crazy girl Debra she was so conceited and 2 into herself all she cared about was how people thought of her Toni on the other hand was so nice didn't care what people thought of her and didn't try 2 impress any body

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