 Hello, and welcome to Release Date Rewind. My name is Mark J. Parker, and I am a film lover, filmmaker, film celebrator. And normally this is an audio podcast, wherever you get your podcasts on your favorite apps. But thanks to Portland Media Center, you are about to watch the video component of this show where I celebrate movie anniversaries with my friends. Each month I usually talk about two different movies that I love with different friends, and we talk about the making of the movies, trivia, any fun memories associated with them. So I hope you enjoy, because now it's time to rewind. I have to say though, my favorite line, and I remember this from the trailer, it's just the way that Alicia says, I love you, Nick, and you love me and like goes up at the as a 10-year-old, I would just like scream that at people, just like when I wanted to be dramatic. Yeah, like I would just, I don't even remember what context I ever did, but I would just like repeat that a lot. I love you, Nick, and you love me! Oh my god, that makes me so happy, because she's got some great like screams. Her voice at certain times, you know, later on, I love you, Nick, you know, I can't do it, but like her voice just pierces your brain when she screams, you know? And like another scene I absolutely love, and I'm not going to lie, rewatching it earlier today, I just kept rewinding it is when she shows up at his work benefit at the museum in her iconic horse riding outfit, and she just slaps him, and then he forces her up against the wall, and she screams, oh my god, she is just giving it her all, and it's working real well. Well, and so that's rewatching it, like she makes the big scene there, and is screaming that she loves him, and then the next scene, he's driving home, and she's accusing him, he finds out about the apartment and then drives home. Right. Like wouldn't it be very easy to, for anyone to be like, there were a hundred people at this gala that she just, like obviously this didn't happen. Right. Yeah. Yeah. You would think he has some witnesses, but I kind of saw it as she slaps him, and then with her screaming and how they all like turn to like look, it does seem like he's hurting her. So I could see like some people that just aren't giving it much thought or just like, oh yeah, like he was, she showed up and he just started like hurting her right there, you know. But yeah, there's some loopholes for sure, there's a few things where I'm like, and also just it's that kind of great thriller that I will always love, where I'm like, okay, how do you know where Amy lives, and how are you just all of a sudden there, and then all of a sudden there, like this seems a little crazy, because like you're 14, I don't think you can drive yet. How are you getting around? I know she took a taxi from her like horse riding show to the museum, but other than that, we never really see her get around to these different places, you know. And how did, where did her parents take her down the coast, and how did she get, again, like they didn't have Uber and you're not going to take a cab two hours. Yeah, that's a great point that they just skate right over, because her, at the end, her parents take her out of town, yeah, down the coast, I think you said, right? And that's when Nick and Cheyenne are in their house, and then dad shows up, but she's already there, all the candles are lit, I'm like, oh, you've been here for a little while, how'd you get here again? I assume she hitchhiked, but like, just add that line in, that doesn't add much runtime, just give us a little something, you know? I think you're thinking about that, though, because of the Aerosmith videos. Maybe, maybe, you're right. You're filling in the blanks with Aerosmith videos. Yes, honestly, yeah, there you go. The supercut is the movie and then implanted with the Aerosmith videos just to like, totally understand, because you know, you bring up a great point, Patrick, I bet you are right that either the script or the director's cut was longer, because even with going back to Nick and Amy and their, because you know, they're strangers, he's new to this magazine job, Peak Magazine, and she immediately is kind of drawn to him, he's drawn to her, they're assigned to work on an article together, but then, and then all of a sudden, he's introducing her to his apartment, the guest house, and that's when, you know, what's her name, Adrienne, meets her for the first time, right? But like, it's pretty quick how they just go from like, boyfriend and girlfriend. The whole magazine article, it seemed like that should have been, that was a bigger B-plot at some point, like, I don't fully understand who he was interviewing and why it was such a big deal, and it felt like there were pieces of that missing also. Yeah, I agree, because I actually even looked up, who's the subject, Robert Lovetsky or something like that? I even like looked him up to be like, was this guy a real person? And from what I could tell, no, but they talk about him enough where I'm like, oh, okay, this is gonna go somewhere, and it kind of doesn't, but it does give us such a fun scene where he's supposed to show his co-workers the article or the footage or whatever on the disc, on the floppy disc, and the disc is, his co-worker says it's empty, there's nothing on it, and then he runs home, and I just love seeing on this old computer, I love old 90s computers, zero files on disc, and then he types again, no files found, and then he types again, disc empty, dun dun dun. So I love how it just turns into this fun little technical drama. And then we get the montage of her calling a hundred times, which, and it's funny because I feel like when she's calling and everything, it gets tense, but then when you see it, like people typing on a computer with his half cigar, like, what were you going for there? But someone typing on a computer is never tense, like, suspenseful. It's her calling and him sending her to voicemail is the tension of that scene, and it's just like, to cut back and forth, like, what? Yeah, because also, that's when he's rewriting the article, I assume, we can assume that's what he's doing, but it's like, how much time is passing? Because then he drops it back off at work. But I'm like, I feel like that would take you, you know, a while. So it's like, is she just calling him nonstop in the span of like two hours, or is she's calling him nonstop, like, over the span of like a day, you know, it's a little vague. I thought you would see him like trying to sleep and the phone's ringing off the hook, you know, and trying to like whatever, you know, show us more like different times of day. But it kind of seems like it's just that afternoon, you know? Yeah, I think they say something like a few hours. But everyone's still in the conference room. So I feel like it couldn't have been that long. Like I worked in publishing and in journalism, I can tell you now, you're never going to have a meeting at 815 unless your boss is Satan, like, especially on a Monday, like never going to happen. Like when I worked in New York, interned and freelance, like most people came in between nine and 10, like there was never. Except for me, I usually like struggled to get there at 10. Whoops, sorry. But yeah, I agree. Yeah. And that kind of world, nine is early, like nine, like something's wrong, or like, you got to really get something done, you know? Darian's a very special girl. Oh, hi, Darian. It's my friend, Amy. Hi. It's my landlord's kid, Darian. She's got a crush on you. What do you think? I did something to provoke this? Well, did you? Now, I want to ask you, Patrick, have you ever had a crush on someone, you know, double your age? Was there ever a teacher or a neighbor? Like, did you ever crush this hard on someone? Have I crushed so hard that I've tried to ruin their life? I only ruined lives for other reasons. No. Now, I usually try to stay under 10 years. Yeah. That's a safe spot. Yeah, I don't know that I've, I mean, I have a lot of crushes. Any of my friends will tell you that I've created a spreadsheet to keep them all straight. No, you have not. Oh my God. That's a lot. Look, don't judge my life, but they all have nicknames. The spreadsheet has photos of them. Oh my God. Wait, what? Okay, the crush too. Right here. It's not just one guy. It's a bunch of people in a spreadsheet. Oh my gosh. There we go. We have it. As I was saying, I realized how psychotic that sounds. So, yeah, the reboot. Yeah. But they're all age-appropriate mostly. Yeah, yeah, totally. Yeah, I'm trying to remember. How about you? I feel like I probably did have a crush on a teacher, but like, ooh, it's really hard for me to remember. Like, I didn't really ever care too much about school. So I'm just trying to think like, did I ever kind of flirt with someone older? You know, not a teacher, but I feel like, I hope this doesn't make me sound bad, but I feel like I have flirted a touch, a little itty-bitty bit with like, you know, like employers, like co-workers that were older, you know, and it's just sort of like silly little flirty, which is probably, I mean, it's not even probably. It is definitely so inappropriate. But yeah, never to the extent of crazy Adrian slash Darian, no, no, no, no. Like with the condom and the semen and like, oh my God, girl, you are doing things. Look, I don't even like to touch my own, let alone digging through a basket for other people. Yes. Can you imagine like being that insane that you're going to go through the trash? But you know what? I have to say, brilliant writing, because I had forgotten that part, but like, wow, you know, we finally see Nick and Amy, you know, post some time in the bed, and they're sleeping together, and they're naked. We can definitely see, you know, her back, his back, and there's Adrian. And, you know, I just have to say like, wow, that is great. Lifetime-y, early 90s thriller writing, I approve. Because of course she would then find that condom and use their little relationship against him. Oh my gosh. Like, yeah, this movie really does take me on a ride, I have to say. As Cheyenne tells us, Nick is at the first one, and as we see at the end, he won't be the last. Yeah. But like, she's 14. So one, how does she know some of this stuff? I also have to say, watching this back, I was never a huge Buffy fan, but- Oh no, wow. Tara always bothered me on it. On Buffy? Yeah, I agree. Very sleepy. Like, very sleepy. Like, just a wet rag, like, really did not. Yeah. In the episodes I saw, like- Yeah, I agree. She's probably the least exciting character in the whole show. Yep. Yeah. And watching this, I was like, oh, so that's not Amber Benson. Like, that was literally, she was, she was acting well because this is what they told her to do. She, as Cheyenne, she's, I have nothing against Amber Benson. I'm not like trying to like- Right. Say anything bad about her. But like, I just, I haven't really seen her in anything else. So I was just like, is that part of her acting style? And then seeing her in this, like, she's wide awake, she's got some zingers when she's saying, break both legs, like- I love that line, Patrick. Oh, I love it. What does she, what does Adrienne say to her? Aren't you gonna wish me, or aren't you gonna say break a leg? And she's like, break them both. I love that. It's funny because, like, seeing this, it's been years since I last watched this. But like, your brain just knows, like, once you see a shot, you're like, oh yeah, that's about to come. And she's about to say something that I like. Oh yeah, that's it. You know, like, that's what's so fun about this, doing the show is like, because I, I hadn't seen this in at least, oh my gosh, over 10 years. When was the last time you had watched this? I would say probably even longer. It was probably. Yeah, longer. I would say probably even like high school. Yeah, like high school or college. I'm pretty sure my brother had it on VHS. So I think I saw it, like in high school or college, like I probably put it on. But that's the other thing too, like this should actually be like a movie that lifetime runs all the time. Like it feels like that's in their wheelhouse, unless like the underage thing is against their protocols or something. But like, you would think this would be like in their wheelhouse. Yeah, you would totally, I totally hear you. You would think that, honestly, you would think that lifetime would have turned this into their own, you know, series or like a bunch of movies, like a whole little lifetime franchise, you know, or something. I am actually surprised we never got a terrible straight to VHS, straight to DVD sequel of the crush. It just feels like this would be that kind of movie. Or even now with how everyone on the streaming services are so IP driven, like that we haven't gotten like a limited series, like almost like a reverse version of you. Yeah, because, you know, I wasn't sure if I was going to talk about this, because I love it, and I would love to revisit it. But I'm like, do people really know this? Do people like it? I know it's a guilty pleasure. It's not a perfect movie. So that's why I'm glad that like you and others were like, Oh my God, you know, because I put it on my Instagram, I was like, should I talk about this? And luckily, a few people were like, Oh my God, absolutely, you must. So yeah, because it's a movie that I think it does hold up. It's very dated, of course. But everything in the early 90s, you know, it's funny how like Scream and Clues sort of ushered in not only like a very kind of modern style, but also technically, you know, the films look different than movies just a couple years prior, you know, it's almost like we were in a technological, you know, new era and a new era of like super smart teens that really took off. So, you know, some of the music, some of the score is rarely dated and of course the outfits, but I think a lot of it is what we would watch nowadays. I think if there was a new movie like this on Netflix that comes out this weekend, I think it'd be pretty popular. The only thing is I think if it came out now, they would probably age her a year or two to make it like that wonky 16. Is it age of consent or not? And there'd probably be something closer than a kiss. And like we said, there would be a girl fight like like that fight between in the movie of Seth, did you see with Beyonce and that fight is next level. Yeah. Yeah, like something like no one cares about that movie other than that and fight scene. Yeah, you're you're very true. Nowadays, Amy would have a bigger role and she maybe would be there instead of Cheyenne in the finale. But I kind of love that Cheyenne comes in because we'd see her just enough. She's very supporting. She's really only got maybe maybe like four scenes, you know, but I kind of love that she comes in and she's kind of the damsel in distress when yeah, another movie would just bring Amy back, you know, that's why yeah, I forgot Amy even survived. I thought she died. Like you said, I totally thought she was allergic and she's dead. But I'm like, oh, okay, she's going to make it. All right, I forgot that part. I have to agree with you. I think it's an odd choice that they didn't kill her again for an R rated movie. Yeah, you know, I don't know if it was one of those things where it's like, right now she's teetering on, we can send her to a detention center as a teen at the end versus she killed a lady, she go into the jail like, so I don't know if that played into it. But apparently she killed Rick too and got away with it. But I've always been kind of surprised that they made that choice to let Amy survive. Yeah. And and I think it works with Cheyenne coming in because she earlier, I love when she's like, I have to tell you something, you know, which apparently that is all real. That did happen in Alan Shapiro's life that the girl's friend, you know, wanted to clear the air with him. So I like that we do finally have that moment, you know, with Cheyenne in his apartment as he's packing, which by the way, I think I even wrote my notes. I'm like, okay, you got the locks changed, right? You got the kryptonite locks, which are 40 bucks extra, you know, to keep Adrian out. What are you doing leading your door open all the time for these girls to come walking in? Nick, come on. See, some of these things, I actually think Nick is overall like he's, he's doing some pretty normal decisions that we all would make. But then sometimes I'm like, okay, you are just asking for trouble. Close your door, lock it, turn off the lights. Like, you need to act like you are in hiding in this apartment, you know. So the one thing I will say though, for me, moving an apartment hunting is literally the worst thing that you could give me to do. So if my, if the only place that was suitable to my standards was a guest house with a crazy teenage daughter, I would take my chances and see like if we can work something out. Like I, because like what they were showing him, there's no way I would ever have been like this rundown like crack den or like this super nice, but crazy daughter like house. Like I would give me the crazy daughter. I get a taser though. I'm just so happy we got to rewatch because it's, it's underrated. I, you know, obviously Alicia has done bigger things and more universally loved things because of course critics weren't too kind to this movie. And I was surprised. I saw, I think on Wikipedia, the cinema score, the audience cinema score was like a C and I'm like, what are you kidding? This is a thrill ride, baby. When, oh my god, we have to talk, Patrick, about the end. So, so the crazy chaotic ending on this carousel, it all goes back to the carousel, which I love because it's so scary. It's like, what the hell is this? What is happening here? And she in slow motion is running to him with that like pole, that stick, whatever it is, and how he just is able to take it out of her hands and then punch her and she goes flying across the room. I was like, wow, okay, we've now entered like everything everywhere all at once. Like we are now entering crazy. We are not on earth anymore. It was wild. That punch and then just the shot of her flying across the attic is like amazing. Like, especially because it's like she beats her dad to get off of Nick. And then like, and then, you know, other than when she shows up to that gala and he like, you know, forcefully removes her, he's pretty gentle to her. And for him to just like, for him going through like that weird slow motion, her running through the carousel to like normal speed and he just like pops her in the face and she like goes flying. It was very, it's very surreal. Like you said, very surreal. And like, it almost does, like on the one hand, you're like, this doesn't fit and doesn't make sense with the movie, but you're also like, this makes 100%. Like, I totally agree with you. It's like, it's so wrong, but it's also so perfect. No notes, keep it as is. But it's like, we're now entering, like that's the only real moment for me that it's like, oh, okay. So we're kind of leaning into the whole zaniness of this movie. Everything else was like pretty realistic, pretty grounded for the most part, you know, but now we're just having some fun. And I think that might be the other thing, why maybe at the time it was given that C score. I think if they had leaned into the craziness of the campiness of it at the time, because I mean, like again, digging through the garbage for the condom, like that's like over the top, you know, the carousel is over the top, but it's not really until the end that they, that Alan is really like, okay, we're just going crazy town. And I think if they had maybe done it a little bit earlier, people would have been like, I feel like it would be one of those movies that like, the gay community would have like adopted and like ushered in as their own. And then between that and clueless, Alicia would have been their queen or something. I think that's, I think that's the only thing with this movie. They needed to lean into it a little bit harder to really win people over. And I think Alan was trying to straddle that line between, are we making an exploitation film or are we trying to be reputable? That's a great point. Yeah. And also straddling like half of this is fiction. I wasn't going to die. And half of this is so real for him. You know, and I bet you like the, like going back to Nick's cigar and how that makes him think, you know, it helps him think when he's writing. I bet you that was what Alan Shapiro did. Like there were moments where I'm like, okay, you're just, you're just adding exact real life stuff right in there, you know. So he's straddling both real life and crazy thriller fiction. I need to know if the real Darian had a carousel because I'm beginning to think that maybe she did. Wow. Oh my gosh. Brilliant because it's so weird. Like what we said earlier, it is so weird to have it in an attic, like all the way up there through this hole, you know. Oh my gosh, you might be onto something. Maybe that, yeah, I could see that. Maybe that's why she was so upset she wanted to sue. Could an attic actually adequately support a carousel or would it come crashing through? I mean, that's a good point because here's the thing. The floor is like pretty legit. Like that's a real like attic room. But again, usually like if it's home alone or like some of these other movies with a real attic like that, where like you can make it a bedroom or whatever, they have like stairs. They don't have like the pull down, you know. And also, okay, the more that we've talked about this, the more autobiographical that this has become about Alan Shapiro. So like, what do we really rate him as a screenwriter if, because you said 50-50. I'm going to go, it's probably like 80% true. And then like 20% fiction. Oh my god. Oh my god. Wow. So you're going there. Is it like just he ripped out journal pages and added dialogue? Like, how much can we actually give him credit for this? Maybe, maybe you're right. Wouldn't that be so interesting if he kept a journal during this crazy time in his life, but he assigns, you know, a journal, a diary to Adrian, which by the way, Cheyenne says she writes everything in her diary, but there's really never any finding of the diary. There's never any grabbing of it. Like, we see some diary stuff, but am I right? Like there's no... It's only in the beginning that we see her writing in it. And it almost feels like we need to put this shot in so that Cheyenne can say it later. Yep. Exactly. Yeah. We need... Okay. Wow. You think 80% truth. Wow. So then in that case, yikes, Alan, you, you, this really was your therapy. He didn't want to pay for, for sessions. He just wanted to write it all out and get it out. A moment I had forgotten, but I love. And again, goes back to how committed Alicia was to this. When Nick wakes up and Amy's in bed, but he wakes up to the banging and like the, the like, and then he runs and I'm like, why are you going into the house? These are, this is one of those decisions that just stay where you are and just don't go there. But he goes and he sees her in the window and she's got like a meat cleaver and she's just going to town. We don't even know on what, but you know, I have to give a quick shout out. There's some good cinematography in this movie. There's some great like, you know, moves and close-ups and very like good thriller horror. And the cinematographer is Bruce Sertes, I believe, and he did Psycho 3 and some other, I think was it the Exorcist 3? He did some fun movies before this. I just want to shout him out, but she's going to town and he's like, what are you doing? And the way Alicia just goes making lemonade and then she does this like maniacal, quick, like want some? Like she just, like you said, she got it. She was such a young actress, but got it. She knew exactly what to do. And maybe Alan Shapiro really helped her, but I think her instincts were there. And also, where were her parents that night? Like they, like, okay, so maybe her dad was at the airport, but her lawyer mom should have, unless we don't know that like her mom had like a pill addiction, like she should have woken up to it too. I would like that actually. I think that's a great idea. And that way mom's always out of it. And she's kind of always just siding with Adrienne and dad's always working. Yeah. You know, what would be interesting is mom's got her pills and she does come down, but it's after Nick is already there. And so Adrienne says, making lemonade, want some? And then we just hear, what's going on? Why are you here? And like, the focus is on him, not on her, but like, what are you doing in the house at this hour? Right? That would be some good tension of how they just never believe him, you know? Well, and the other thing is, I think if they would have developed the data a little bit, it could have explained that Adrienne has these daddy issues, which is why she's always going after these older guys and just falling so hard, because her dad's never there, you know? And she's looking for, you know, these other ways to get attention and affection. A really dark ending would be, because, you know, she calls for his help when, which is fake, she's beating Nick, but she's like, daddy help me, you know? And then daddy goes up there and now dad is choking Nick and he's just like, get off my daughter. And then, like you said, she hits dad multiple times, knocks him out. How dark would it have been if she kills her dad? We're like, at the end, when she's passed out after that epic punch, you know, Nick and Cheyenne realized like, dad is just like breathing his last breath as like blood is pouring out. Like, ooh, that would be twisted. And that's what would happen now in the new version of it. Like they would definitely, there's no way they would do it nowadays without a body count. Yeah, without some death, because you're right, the only death is this camp counselor, Rick that Cheyenne tells us about. We never see him. We obviously don't see the death. There's no onscreen death. So there's got to be one. Come on. Thanks so much for watching. Next time, there's going to be a new movie that we'll talk about. So stay tuned and please follow release date rewind on Instagram for updates. Bye.