Crush

from Film Forum, 04/25/02

Crush, starring Andie MacDowell, is the romantic comedy of the week, but its focus lies in the fragility of female friendships instead of on whether the guy gets the girl.

The USCCB critic writes, "The film is supposed to be about forgiveness and the enduring bond of female friendship. But the predictable proceedings are more bitter than sweet as the [filmmaker] borrows from other such films (Four Weddings and a Funeral comes to mind) without improving on the material."

Annabelle Robertson (Movieguide) writes, "The story makes a 90-degree turn in the middle of the movie, shifting gears from lighthearted chick flick to blinding tragedy in a surprising turn of events. Writer/director John McKay never completes the turn, however. Without the necessary depth of character for such a drastic switch, the movie ends up wrecked beside the winding English road, and the audience is left wondering what to feel."

"There are dangling loose ends in Crush," writes Marie Asner (The Phantom Tollbooth). "The ending seems tacked on and unfinished, or could this be a lead-in to a sequel? All in all, writer McKay had too many storylines for director McKay to deal with."

Pondering the film's underdeveloped romance, Michael Elliott (Movie Parables) suggests, "Perhaps the love relationship in the film might have been more believable if we had seen it develop beyond the quick 'slap and tickle' sexual stage. But we did not. Thus, all the professions of love, romance and matrimony that follow strike us as being foolish and naÏve. Anyone who has lived into her forties should certainly know that sex and love are not interchangeable terms." He does admit, "The trio of actresses share a nice chemistry and do provide moments of warmth and humor."