The Crush isn’t a good movie by any stretch but can be a guilty pleasure. It’s probably one Alicia Silverstone’s better performances, behind Clueless, and a lot of fun seeing/hearing Cary Elwes struggle with his American accent. The film is at best passable entertainment but not much more than that.
The Crush
(1993)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller
Shout Factory | R – 89 min. – $27.99 | June 21, 2016
Date Published: 06/09/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE – 2.75/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: A man who should know better. A much younger teenager. No way should there be any kind of romance between them. Yet from the moment 14-year-old Adrian (ALICIA SILVERSTONE) met Nick (CARY ELWES), she was crazy abo0ut him. There must be something she can say or do… some way that she can show him that this is not just a crush. Quick Hit Review: The Crush, a suspense thriller from 1993, written and directed by Alan Shapiro (would later go on to helm, of all things, Flipper), was a breakout role for Alicia Silverstone and while the writing is anything great and the acting from Cary Elwes, as he struggles with an American accent, is noteworthy, but the film is at least passable entertainment. Compared with Silverstone’s other thriller, 1995’s The Babysitter, which was utter trash, so at least The Crush is better than that piece of crap film, so take that for what it’s worth. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5 |
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Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Alan Shapiro where he recounts the production and provides some anecdotal stories. The Doting Father (9:59; HD) is a new interview with Kurtwood Smith as he recollects his time working on the movie. Stung by Love (13:19; HD) – Jennifer Rubin offers her thoughts on the film and character. Also included is the Theatrical Trailer (2:03; HD) and a TV Spot (0:17; HD). |
VIDEO – 3.0/5 |
| The Crush debuts on Blu-ray through Shout Factory’s Scream horror line and it’s a fairly dirty looking transfer. Shown with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio, the 1080p picture is a tad soft when it comes to detail and colors aren’t especially brilliant looking. I’d have to compare with my DVD copy, but I suspect it’s only a slight improvement. There were also some minor scratch marks and specs although nothing too distracting. It’s an adequate enough transfer, unfortunately it isn’t anything remarkable. |
AUDIO – 3.0/5 |
| Before the film begins, there’s a text message from Shout that despite attempts to find an alternate audio source, there are some “phasing issues” that were present on Warner’s DVD release. The track, offered both 2.0 and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (the latter plays by default), isn’t anything special and while dialogue levels were OK, there was an echoey-effect at times and the music comes through each available channel. After sampling the 5.1 option, I chose to primarily watch the movie with the stereo track which is a bit more even keel versus 5.1 that tended to be a tad heavy in many spots. |
OVERALL – 2.5/5 |
| Overall, The Crush isn’t a good movie by any stretch but can be a guilty pleasure. It’s probably one Alicia Silverstone’s better performances, behind Clueless, and a lot of fun seeing/hearing Cary Elwes struggle with his American accent. The film is at best passable entertainment but not much more than that. The Blu-ray released through Shout Factory does at least offer some OK features while the video and audio transfers are barely above average.
Brian Oliver a.k.a. The Movieman |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.