The Crush is a 1993 American thriller film written and directed by Alan Shapiro. It stars Cary Elwes and Alicia Silverstone in her feature film debut. It was filmed on location in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Plot summary
Nick Eliot (Elwes), a journalist, moves into a new neighborhood where the young Adrian Forrester (Silverstone) lives. She is fourteen years old, half his age. She becomes very interested in him, but he rejects her advances, especially since she is so young. Her parents don't realize she is an emotionally unstable sociopath, even after she sets out to destroy his life — and eventually him.
Tagline: He thought it was just a crush. He was dead wrong.
Plot synopsis
Arriving in a new city, writer Nick Eliot (Cary Elwes) secures a job at Pique magazine and lodgings in a guest house belonging to Cliff and Liv Forrester (Kurtwood Smith and Gwynyth Walsh). The handsome Nick soon makes the acquaintance of the Forrester's 14-year-old daughter Adrian (Alicia Silverstone), a precocious gifted girl who develops an intense attraction to him. She secretly helps Nick by sneaking into his room and rewriting one of his Pique stories, which subsequently wins a rave from his editor/boss Michael (Matthew Walker). At a party thrown by the Forresters, Nick agrees to accompany the lonely girl on a nightly drive to a romantic spot, where she kisses him.
This intensifies Adrian's crush on Nick, but he quickly wises up and attempts to put her off, having begun a budding romance with co-worker Amy (Jennifer Rubin). Adrian continues to boldly pursue him, even going so far as to undress in his view. Nick, however, continues to rebuff her advances, and Adrian's actions become destructive--she defaces a car he's restored and erases his computer discs--yet he's unable to convince Cliff and Liv of what's going on. Cheyenne (Amber Benson), a friend of Adrian who has warned Nick about her, meets with an "accident" at the riding school they attend together. Then, after Adrian spies on Amy in bed with Nick, the girl locks Amy in her darkroom and empties a wasps' nest into the vents.
Amy survives, and Nick, now convinced that Adrian is big trouble, attempts to find new lodgings. However, Adrian manages to sabotage his efforts. She then accuses him of sexually assaulting her with "evidence" obtained from a used condom from Nick's trash, leading to his arrest. After Michael bails him out (and fires him), Nick is met once again by Cheyenne, who informs him of a diary Adrian kept that can acquit him. When Cheyenne leaves, Nick goes looking for her when he hears strange noises from the Forresters' house. He discovers Cheyenne tied up in the attic and is confronted by Adrian and then Cliff, who attacks him. Adrian, still infatuated, attacks her father, leaving Nick free to subdue her with one punch. Acquitted, Nick goes to live with Amy while Adrian, confined to a psychiatric ward, continues to write him letters, even as she's developing a crush on her doctor.
Cast
Awards and Nominations
See also
External links
