Crush (2001/I)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

John McKay

Writer:

John McKay (written by)

Release Date:

31 January 2002 (Israel)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

Tagline:

True love doesn't know the meaning of respectable.

Plot:

Three female friends behave badly.

Plot Keywords:

Younger Man | Cigarette | Headmistress | Boyfriend Girlfriend Relationship | London

Cast

Andie MacDowell	...	Kate Scales
Imelda Staunton	...	Janine
Anna Chancellor	...	Molly Cartwright
Kenny Doughty	...	Jed Willis
Bill Paterson	...	Rev. Gerald Marsden
Caroline Holdaway	...	Pam
Joe Roberts	...	Brendan
Josh Cole	...	PC Darren Blake
Gary Powell	...	Sergeant
Christian Burgess	...	Kate's Frenchman
Morris Perry	...	Bishop
Richenda Carey	...	Lady Governor
Roger Booth	...	Hearty Governor
Derek Deadman	...	Little Crematorium Man
Andrew Bicknell	...	Mr. Yacht

Also Known As:

A Certain Age (UK) (working title)
Drei Freundinnen und ein Liebhaber (Germany) (video title)
Heiraten für Fortgeschrittene (Germany)
Sad Fuckers Club (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and language.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

UK | Germany

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:NC-16 (censored version) | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:R | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, England, UK

Company:

Film Council

Quotes:

Jed Willis: My organ's at your service whenever you like. In fact, I could give you a bit of a recital right now if you fancied.

Movie Connections:

References "The Sweeney" (1975)

Soundtrack:

Alien

a crush or true love?

For all its faults, I found more poignancy in this movie than I expected. I admit that I purposely avoided this movie because Andie McDowell was in it -- who is a terribly overrated (though beautiful) actress. I was surprised to discover depth where she has never shown it before -- and very subtly, so much so, that it was unfortunately missed.

I've always enjoyed how many of the English movies I've seen have a tendency to mix comedy, tragedy, and drama in a way that Americans find hard to comprehend. Is not life itself a mix of all these? Do we not have situations so painful that we have to laugh?

I don't want to make this movie more than it was, but I thought it was a sweet, quiet story about a woman who may not have had the chance to find love -- and it comes along unexpectedly, in a very unconventional form. It is rather sad to watch her struggle with her somewhat immature feelings (and as I noted, Andie M. did a superb job) and disbelief over whether she was involved in just a "crush" (ahem, perhaps where the title came from -- surely not, as some reviewer noted, from the fate of one of the characters) or true love. I also enjoyed the genuine concern of her friends -- despite their misguided, and perhaps implausible efforts to dissuade her.

The movie showed how the type of love Kate wanted, may not have been possible in her small community, in the position she held, and with the life she had already created for herself. I thought the writer/director did a fine job of showing her struggle with the implausibility of the relationship she found.

Not the best movie ever made -- but nice to see a film that focuses on friendship, which often gets pushed aside as true love prevails (an implausible plot that movie viewers most want to see -- and who find anything other than true love to be implausible!).