Watching this film again, after several years, after having seen many far better films since the first time I saw it, I can't help but compare it to looking at an old class photo, from a school you only spent one year at, and didn't like too much; you recognize a lot of the faces, but you can't bring yourself to look too long at it, and soon you start paying attention to something else. Of course, you knew from the beginning that it would probably end up like that, and before you know it, you've pushed the memory almost entirely out of your head, once again. Yes, there is a good amount of talents involved in this film, and I quickly recognized Cary Elwes, who I've also seen in Liar Liar, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and Kurtwood Smith, who I only know from the original RoboCop, where he played Clarence Boddicker. Of course I recognized Alicia Silverstone as well, but I already knew she was in the film, as I had seen her in one film before seeing The Crush the first time(can't remember which, though). The plot is pretty much a rehash of Lolita, with the tables turned to provide mainstream cliché thriller, in the vein of films like The Hand That Rocks The Cradle. The pacing is daft. The acting is decent, but one would expect better from Elwes and Silverstone(then again, it was her first film... still, we don't see any of the talent that she proved she had in later films). I suspect it's the directors fault. Misdirection, or simply bad direction, can ruin a lot. The characters are the usual clichés and stereotypes of the thriller-genre. The film lacks any real thrills, and relies entirely on the typical formula of this type of thrillers(the psycho-close-to-the-lead(s)-tries-to-kill-him/her/them). The film has no surprises and is thoroughly predictable. All in all, the film has no real purpose, apart from seeing Cary Elwes and Kurtwood Smith in different roles(from what I've seen them in, at least). I recommend it purely to big fans of any of the three actors and very big fans of thrillers. Everyone else should probably avoid it. 6/10
Review of The Crush
