Album Reviews
Movies
Concert Reviews

Top 10
Resources
Contact Us

The word “crush” can have many meanings. You can be smothered in your life by stressful events, you can have an infatuation for someone or it can be an overpowering force that threatens your life. Writer-director John McKay's film combines all these meanings. This is the story of an individual who makes a life choice those close to her don't agree with, but sympathetic audiences probably will. That it is none of their business doesn't matter, what does matter is that they try to do something about it. 

On the surface, Crush, is an irreverent comedy in which sex is present in most scenes, either through innuendo, bed or discussion. Kate (Andie MacDowell) is the head mistress of an exclusive school in England. She is close friends with Janine, a police constable (Imelda Staunton) and Molly, a three times divorced physician (Anna Chancellor) The women gather on weekends to discuss past loves, eat candy and drink lots of wine. Enter Jed (Kenny Doughty), twenty-five, one of Kate's former students. Now the organist at a local church, before you can snap your fingers, they begin an affair. Jed deeply loves Andie but the other women can't handle this. The age difference is the first thing pounced on, but behind this lurks the green-eyed monster of jealousy and envy, which has dire consequences for all involved. 

There are many amusing scenes. When the ladies are distressed, they turn to alcohol, cigarettes and candy. Nothing is sacred including a cemetery. Janine reduces her fellow officers to babbling boys by soft words instead of a hard-nosed police attitude. Molly and Jed's sharp banter splinters through the air like steel-headed darts. Some situations in the movie are predictable; you know it is going to happen, but when it does, it is still fresh.

McKay has given us an unusual character in Jed. Here is a young musician who passionately loves his art. There is a poignant scene where he shows Kate how he plays the organ through a service from winning the congregation at the beginning to sending them off with hope at the end. In doing so, he wins her heart. This is also an organist who plays the instrument while wearing cowboy boots. The soundtrack by Kevin Sargent is wonderfully done, as is the photography by Henry Braham. He makes Kate's village look like an adult-Harry Potter land. 

There are dangling loose ends in Crush. When did the women begin their friendship and what has kept them together? There are references to Kate's health, which isn't fully explained. How did Jed's deep interest in music and position as church organist come about?. Last, 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.

Andie MacDowell gives Crush its heart. From despair to happiness to love to tragedy, her Kate has the inner strength to pull through with love and forgiveness for everyone involved, even in the face of a love that does not know its place. Pity the person who violates this so-called rule. Deception is what friends here use in coping with their envy and it is not a pretty sight in this moralistic tale. The guilty parties know what they have done. They must deal with it and learn what the word “forever” means.

Copyright 2002 Marie Asner
Submitted 4/14/02