Let’s make one thing clear: Nick is in the wrong from the very beginning and the fact that “The Crush” tries to place the blame on a teenage girl is laughable and inexcusable. Writer and director Alan Shapiro wrote the film based on a situation from his own life, even going so far as to name the character “Darian,” the real name of the woman he based the character off of. She successfully sued him for doing so, which is why the film was re-edited with the name Adrian.
Truly bananas to think that just under 30 years ago, grown men were able to write films where they admit they were inappropriate with a 14-year-old and somehow make it out to be their fault. WILD! Adrian is clearly presented as mentally unstable, but this does not negate the fact that DUDE KISSED A FRESHMAN IN HIGH SCHOOL. Anyway.
With this acknowledgment out of the way, it’s hard to imagine a feature film debut from a teen actor with the ferocity and star power of Alicia Silverstone. The character of Adrian is essentially an All-American teen girl’s take on Glenn Close in “Fatal Attraction,” and Silverstone is an undeniable powerhouse. Nick tries to brush off Adrian’s affections as nothing more than a schoolgirl crush, but Adrian shows her dangerous hand from the very beginning.
Even without saying a word, Silverstone delivers a snarl or a raised eyebrow from behind a pair of sunglasses that screams, “I’m going to destroy you” with the volume of a bomb going off. The material is so intense and mature, and yet Silverstone wasn’t even old enough to vote when she delivered one of the greatest villainous performances by a woman, ever.
