6/10
Despite that it is blatantly obvious, this is still a charming offering from the 80's
13 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Michael Ryan receives an anonymous letter from someone claiming to be his secret admirer. He has a huge crush on Deborah Fimple and hopes she is his secret admirer. After Deborah gives him the cold shoulder, Michael decides to write a secret admirer letter himself, and asks Toni to give them to Deborah. When Toni finds out how awful Michael's writing is, she writes the letters herself, and acts like they are from Michael. Deborah gets smitten with Michael because of the letters, but Michael grows bored of Deborah's selfishness. Meanwhile, Michael & Debbie's parents get a hold of the letter, and chaos ensues with them. When Michael finds out who truly wrote the letter, he realizes he may have what he's always wanted right there in front of him.

Man. I love the 80's! Things were so simple and entertaining back then. I'm not saying that everything that came out of the 80's was gold. It had a fair share of turds as well, but the 80's were the golden age as far as movies are concerned. This rom-com isn't anything that will turn anyone's world upside down, but it sure is enjoyable. This movie is blatantly predictable from the outset. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know how this movie is going to end. I knew how this movie was going to end, 15 minutes in. It is also easy to guess who the secret admirer is, even before they reveal who it is. I don't understand how it could take Michael the whole movie to realize who is secret admirer is. It gives you the typical "I love you, but you don't love me" , storyline. It is formulaic in the extreme, but the journey was fun to watch, despite all of the predictability. Let's face it. We've all had a crush on someone we thought would never have the same feelings. This movie explores that scenario in a very cute way. One thing that makes this a cut above the rest of this genre is the creativity manages to make you forget about how obvious it is. They went all out to put our hero, C. Thomas Howell in all kinds of wacky situations. C. Thomas Howell is a lot of fun as Michael. This guy represents everything I loved about the 80's. Charismatic, fun, talented, and above all else, he had presence. I never understood why his career stalled so much in the 90's. He is much better than all of the STD crap he does these days. Somebody give this guy a decent role! he deserves it. Lori Loughlin is an absolute sweetie. She is breathtaking to look at, and a girl a man dreams about getting. Kelly Preston is solid as the prissy b***tch. She's quite the looker herself. Corey Haim is amusing as a money stealing thief. I'll say this. I think Kelly Preston is beautiful, but when it comes to Lori Loughlin? She doesn't compare. I'd pick Lori all the way in a heartbeat. The ending is like a lot of endings in romantic comedies. Contrived in a big way, but absolutely a blast to watch. I certainly won't denounce it for being unimaginative. They ended it in a really neat way.

Final Thoughts: Yes, it's highly predictable and obvious. Yes, it is contrived and unrealistic at points, but I don't care. It was an entertaining movie. It has a lively cast, plenty of laughs, and plenty of smiles for all of you romantics. I'm a guy, but i'm a pretty romantic person. If you manage to seek it out cheap, it is worth picking up

6.8/10
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