Crush (2001/I)

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:

Headmistress | Sex Standing Up | Police Station | Wedding Ceremony | Policewoman

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:

The Rite of Spring

more serious than the assumed genre, but still trivial

Rating: 6/10

It took me a while for me to realise this is not a standard romantic comedy. The first half of the film more or less fits the romantic comedy conventions, but then the second half progressively moves away from them.

I liked the way that the movie showed some of the problems that can arise from intergenerational relationships. The characters of the three friends were nicely drawn, each being, not too extremely, contrary to the stereotype of their occupations.

The film did, however, continue the romantic comedy tradition of having a casual disregard for plausibility. Even the most love-struck head of a school is unlikely to give the students the afternoon off. And while I did enjoy the wedding scene, it was beyond the bounds of plausibility. In spite of the serious bits, the film is essentially light and trivial, rather than deep or artistic.

I eventually realised that, in spite of the central role of the romantic interest, the film is actually about the friendship between the three women. And that brings me to the major flaw of the film as a story. Aspiring authors are advised to consider how their protagonists are changed by the events described in the story. If there is no change, you have to wonder what is the point, what was the story trying to say? In ‘Crush', there is no change in the relationships between the friends, or even real change in the women themselves, regardless of the various things that happened. The film started with the friends together, gossiping about their lives, and it ended exactly the same way.

The film was enjoyable enough and easy to watch, which is fine if all you want is a light piece of entertainment.