5 Pies

Reviewed by Yankee

Plot Summary

A journalist becomes the unwanted center of attention for a 14-year-old girl whom proceeds to sabotage his life after he refuses her sexual advances.

Review

It's always fascinating to go back to movies you haven't seen in years and notice actors that you are now familiar with or maybe even admire today, that were just starting when said movie came about. Honestly, raise your hand if you were shocked to see that Johnny Depp was in A Nightmare on Elm Street , Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Troll, Jennifer Aniston in Leprechaun and one of my personal favorites… Kevin Bacon in Friday the 13th !

I remember seeing a TON of commercials for this movie, thinking that Alicia Silverstone was cute and immediately categorized the movie as something that I could rent later. Most movies I label that way tend to stay on the back burner for a long time. This movie was no different… until I saw Alicia again in the Aerosmith video Cryin'… at which point it was MY turn to have a CRUSH on HER! Yes, me and a million others…

Rewatching this film brought up all sorts of fond memories of a simpler time when I was young and in love (with Alicia). And as I was pointing out earlier, it was fascinating to watch her first movie, knowing where she has been since. It was pretty cool seeing Kurtwood Smith long before he starred in That 70's Show barely looking younger than he does now. As an extra special treat, I finally recognized a young Amber Benson half a decade before her key role in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series!

Quotes:

Adrienne: Aww Nick, can't you come out and play?

Adrienne: Nick, ever do a virgin?

Adrienne: Aren't you going to tell me to break a leg?
Cheyenne : Break 'em both.

Spook Factor: ¼ Pie

I'm going to state right now that this really isn't a scary movie. There are no moments that make you jump until near the end and nothing that will keep you awake at night… well, not from being scared at least….

Antagonist: ¾ Pie

There are only a couple of things that make this movie worth watching at all. The strongest of those reasons is Adrienne Forrester! She is strikingly beautiful, cunning, spiteful, masterfully intelligent and completely without remorse or inhibition. She will do whatever it takes to get what she wants… even eliminate her best friend! And best (worst) of all is that she will always appear to be the victim.

Story: ½ Pie

It would be easy to just lower the score stating how predictable and mediocre most of the plot is without argument from anyone. However, that would be ignoring how well Alan Shapiro weaved us a tale that is progressive, realistic and sexy. You are expected to think and fill in your own blanks at times like a good psychological thriller should.

Acting: ½ Pie

Here is what makes and breaks the movie more than anything. Good, bad or indifferent, the entire integrity of this movie rests on the performance of the then new Alicia Silverstone and she definitely delivers! She manages to make the audience both fall in love with her AND hate her at an age where she needed emancipation in order to work the hours necessary to complete this film. Sadly, the rest of the cast did not measure up to her performance.

After seeing this again last night, I wondered why she didn't have a more prestigious career as this movie was an excellent display of what she is capable of. Instead, she followed the typical path of the teenage movie star. I remain CLUELESS as to what went wrong….

Directing: ¾ Pie

While a small budget was obvious, this film does not suffer much from it. Alan Shapiro does a great job of building up the sexual tension, the emotional blurring of the lines between love and logic and of course the sense of dread as everything spirals out of control. He manages to accomplish much via off-screen and indirect violence that is reminiscent of classic thrillers.

Soundtrack: ½ Pie

The talented Graeme Revell, who pretty much always turns out great product, graced us with his work on this film. That being said, while the music did serve its scenes rather well, they didn't offer much in terms of standing out as memorable.

Special Effects: ¼ Pie

As with other psychological thrillers and low budget movies, there are very little special effects in the film. Thankfully, there wasn't much needed.

Gore: ¼ Pie

Much like what was stated in Special Effects, there is a minute amount of blood/gore in this movie. In fact, I'm certain my mother could watch this entire movie without cringing…

Replay, Rewatch, Rewind: ½ Pie

This is a very watchable movie for a number of reasons, the top of that being Alicia Silverstone as both eye candy and as a performer. However, rewatching it in regular intervals is not likely. If you haven't seen this one in a while, go watch it. You will enjoy it. If you've seen it recently like I have, you'll leave it on the shelf for a while yet.

Pros

A sexy, entertaining and at times clever psychological thriller with a classic early 90s feel.

Cons

The subplots added little depth to the main character and didn't seem to push the story further in any way.

Final Word

Not every movie is about being scary, having great fight scenes, gore, explosions and sex scenes. The stories don't always have to be top notch. Sometimes you have to enjoy something for no other reason than the fact that it's fun to watch. For my efforts here, I've decided that I would like Alicia Silverstone to be my valentine this year.

I just want you to like me.