Parents' Guide to

Crush

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Explicit romance; unsupportive friends.

Movie R 2002 112 minutes
Crush Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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What's the Story?

Three close friends get together every week to share their saddest stories about looking for love. The women are Kate (Andie MacDowell), headmistress of a school; Janine (Imelda Staunton), a police chief; and Molly (Anna Chancellor), a doctor. All three are very successful and capable and involved in the community. They just can't seem to get the love thing right. When one of them finds love, the others are not as happy for her as they thought they would be. While she is attending a funeral, Kate sees a handsome young organist (Kenny Doughty as Jed) who looks familiar. He was once her student, but is now grown up and, whether a reaction to seeing how quickly life is passing or just a need to be close to someone, she impulsively has sex with him. The bigger surprise is that it turns into a relationship of great tenderness for both of them. Molly and Janine find it disconcerting. Kate's radiant happiness rattles them. They persuade themselves that they are acting in Kate's best interest when they try to break up the relationship. But their meddling has unforgivably tragic consequences.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

CRUSH is uneven, partly because of its unconventional choice to make the story about the relationship between the three women rather than about the relationship between Kate and Jed. But its biggest problem is the awkwardly melodramatic interjection of a tragic death followed by a melodramatic pregnancy that threatens to turn it into soap opera.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how friends who are supportive when things are not going well may become jealous of each other's happiness, and how important it is to search our own hearts to make sure that we do not make that mistake.

Movie Details

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