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First time seeing this film, it fits perfectly for this 80's Teen HoF.
Ronald is a typical high school nerd, but he wants to change that. He's been mowing lawns for cash and saved up enough money to buy a telescope. When the girl he likes ruins her mom's dress, he decides to use that money instead to 'rent' her. So now she's able to buy a new dress, in return all she has to do is pretend to go out with him. This will make him more popular. In doing so, she actually starts to like the little guy, but the popularity he's been receiving has clouded his mind and he becomes obsessed with it. Ignoring the signs that she actually likes him, they "break-up" and he goes from zero to hero. How long can he keep this "charade" up before people find out that he's just a nerd trying to be cool? How long will the secret of renting the popular girl stay hidden?
In many films like this (there are many) it's obvious what the trajectory the character and actions will take. I've seen countless films where the nerd will leave his nerd friends behind for more recognition. When that goes away and he tries to crawl back...how many people take him back? Usually all of them. It was nice to see some real emotional conflict here when Ronald tries to crawl back to his friend in the arcade. I would have liked to have seen a bit more resolution to that relationship towards the end. The speech at the end would indicate that they possibly patched things up, but I felt like we deserved a more concrete answer there.
Patrick Dempsey does a good job playing the nerd trying to be cool. When he first shows up after the break-up, I had a good laugh at his clothing style. The fact that everyone else loves it made it even funnier. The film definitely shows how zombie like people are. It still is relevant today. People are willing to ignore the obvious when things become "cool". High school kids are sheep, they follow the flock.
When the film was over, I read up on it, as I normally do. Such a sad story for the lead actress Amanda Peterson. She was 15 when she did this movie, Dempsey was 20. Her parents revealed that she was raped at this age. With the current #MeToo state of Hollywood, it's not hard to imagine it was someone in power on this set. After such a traumatic event, she spun out of control and was on numerous drugs throughout the rest of her life. She died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 43. Sad.
Can't Buy Me Love was remade years later as Love Don't Cost A Thing, starring Nick Cannon. Never seen it, don't intend do.
Can't Buy Me Love
First time seeing this film, it fits perfectly for this 80's Teen HoF.
Ronald is a typical high school nerd, but he wants to change that. He's been mowing lawns for cash and saved up enough money to buy a telescope. When the girl he likes ruins her mom's dress, he decides to use that money instead to 'rent' her. So now she's able to buy a new dress, in return all she has to do is pretend to go out with him. This will make him more popular. In doing so, she actually starts to like the little guy, but the popularity he's been receiving has clouded his mind and he becomes obsessed with it. Ignoring the signs that she actually likes him, they "break-up" and he goes from zero to hero. How long can he keep this "charade" up before people find out that he's just a nerd trying to be cool? How long will the secret of renting the popular girl stay hidden?
In many films like this (there are many) it's obvious what the trajectory the character and actions will take. I've seen countless films where the nerd will leave his nerd friends behind for more recognition. When that goes away and he tries to crawl back...how many people take him back? Usually all of them. It was nice to see some real emotional conflict here when Ronald tries to crawl back to his friend in the arcade. I would have liked to have seen a bit more resolution to that relationship towards the end. The speech at the end would indicate that they possibly patched things up, but I felt like we deserved a more concrete answer there.
Patrick Dempsey does a good job playing the nerd trying to be cool. When he first shows up after the break-up, I had a good laugh at his clothing style. The fact that everyone else loves it made it even funnier. The film definitely shows how zombie like people are. It still is relevant today. People are willing to ignore the obvious when things become "cool". High school kids are sheep, they follow the flock.
When the film was over, I read up on it, as I normally do. Such a sad story for the lead actress Amanda Peterson. She was 15 when she did this movie, Dempsey was 20. Her parents revealed that she was raped at this age. With the current #MeToo state of Hollywood, it's not hard to imagine it was someone in power on this set. After such a traumatic event, she spun out of control and was on numerous drugs throughout the rest of her life. She died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 43. Sad.
Can't Buy Me Love was remade years later as Love Don't Cost A Thing, starring Nick Cannon. Never seen it, don't intend do.