The Crush (1993 film)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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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 28-year-old writer Nick Elliot moves to a new city for a magazine job, Adrian Forrester, the 14-year-old daughter of the landlords whose guesthouse he rents, instantly makes her attraction to Nick clear. However, while Nick romances photographer Amy Maddik at work, he has trouble fending off Adrian's advances. As her obsession with Nick grows, Adrian becomes angry at being rejected and starts attacking his property and friends. It was filmed on location from September 24 to November 20, 1992, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Plot
28-year-old writer Nick Eliot (Cary Elwes) secures a job at Pique magazine and lodging in a guest house belonging to Cliff and Liv Forrester (Kurtwood Smith and Gwynyth Walsh). The handsome Nick soon becomes acquainted with and frequently visited by the couple's 14-year-old daughter, Adrian (Alicia Silverstone), a precocious girl who becomes intensely infatuated with him.
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 begins mentioning that if she were just 10 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 take Adrian on a nighttime drive to a place she chooses. She leads him to a romantic secluded area where she attempts to seductively kiss 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 (Jennifer Rubin). Adrian continues to boldly pursue him, sneaking into his room to rewrite his article (which impresses his boss) 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's restored, and erases his computer discs, yet he's unable to convince her parents of her guilt. Cheyenne (Amber Benson), 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 wasps' nest into the vents, exploiting Amy's spheksophobia. 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; this lands Nick into trouble and a cop arrests him for sexual assault. 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 and Cliff attacks 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, in Seattle, Nick goes to live with Amy while Adrian is confined to a psychiatric hospital in Spanaway. Though she laments that Nick refuses to speak to her, respond to the multiple letters she continues to send him, 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 evilly glares at a photo of the doctor and his wife before her mouth slowly curves into a smile.
Cast
- Cary Elwes as Nicholas "Nick" Eliot
- Alicia Silverstone as Adrian/Darian Forrester
- Jennifer Rubin as Amy Maddik
- Kurtwood Smith as Cliff Forrester
- Gwynyth Walsh as Liv Forrester
- Amber Benson as Cheyenne
- Matthew Walker as Michael
