Themes: Women's Friendship, Age Disparity Romance, Faltering Friendships
Main Cast: Andie MacDowell, Imelda Staunton, Anna Chancellor, Kenny Doughty, Bill Paterson
Release Year: 2001
Country: UK
Run Time: 122 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A woman edging into middle age finally finds the love of a lifetime; too bad she can't convince her best friends it's for real in this lively romantic comedy. Kate (Andie MacDowell), Molly (Anna Chancellor), and Janine (Imelda Staunton) are three close friends in their early forties who have been sharing a long run of bad luck in the field of romance. While all three are successful in their careers -- Kate has been named headmistress of an upscale private school, Molly is a doctor, and Janine's a police detective -- they've been striking out in the dating scene, and they get together on a regular basis to compare notes and drown their sorrows in cocktails and chocolate. One day, while attending the funeral of a colleague, Kate makes the acquaintance of Jed (Kenny Doughty), a good-looking man who remembers Kate as one of his teachers when he attended the school years ago. Despite the decade-and-a-half gap in their ages, there's a strong mutual attraction between Kate and Jed, and before the day is over the two are enjoying an affair. Molly and Janine are at once amused and appalled at Kate for dating a younger man, and while she tells them it's a short-lived fling that means little to either party, neither Kate nor Jed wants to walk away from their relationship; before long Kate and Jed decide they've fallen in love and plan to get married. The harder Molly and Janine try to convince Kate that she's making a mistake, the more Kate is determined to tie the knot with Jed, and eventually Molly and Janine decide to take drastic measures -- Molly hatches a plan to seduce Jed, while Janine captures their tryst on videotape. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
A contemporary "women's picture" that moves from witty comedy to searing tragedy and back, Crush delves into the complicated dynamics of female friendship with an intriguing candor that might startle anyone expecting another fluffy romantic Brit-com. Playing independent, "older" women increasingly absent from Hollywood fare, Andie MacDowell, Anna Chancellor, and Imelda Staunton trade stories about fortysomething single life with humor and palpable affection. Also in a refreshing deviation from Hollywood stereotypes, MacDowell and young honey Kenny Doughty generate believable heat that turns into real love. Rather than devolving into a competitive catfight over the boy or gratuitous, irredeemable nastiness, the ensuing difficulties expose how complicated the bonds of female intimacy can be. A man may spark the trouble, but he's not the ultimate prize. Though Crush feels like it has several consecutive endings, writer/director John McKay's final payoff gives the film an upbeat, funny conclusion that also remains true to its more knotty sensibility. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
John Reid - Art Director, Michelle Guish - Casting, Elinor Day - Co-producer, Jill Taylor - Costume Designer, Susie Liggat - First Assistant Director, John McKay - Director, Anne Sopel - Editor, Julia Chasman - Executive Producer, Paul Webster - Executive Producer, Hanno Huth - Executive Producer, Henry Braham - Cinematographer, Lee Ann Thomas - Producer, Keith Tunney - Sound/Sound Designer, Mike Prestwood Smith - Sound/Sound Designer, John McKay - Screenwriter
