I can't believe it has
taken me so long to get around to reviewing this, but better late than
never. Can't Buy Me Love is another one of my old faves. I've left a
worn out VHS in my wake, so I'm glad to have a nice new shiny DVD copy.
If you don't have one, well you should. It's cheap. There's really no
excuse. For those of you not familiar with the 80's and the fact that
Patrick Dempsey once exuded geek to a level that would rival Anthony
Michael Hall, this is a good movie to start your education on. We can
move on to Meatballs III later.
 Ronald
Miller (Patrick Dempsey) is a geek. But that's okay - he knows
the ins and outs of his social status at his school, and he's sick of
it. Years have passed with him sitting back and watching all the cool
kids go to parties on the weekends, while he spends his weekends mowing
lawns and playing poker games with his equally geeky friends. They
don't seem to think there's any problems with the way they are, but
Ronald yearns for something different. He wants to go to their parties.
He wants to eat at their lunch table. He wants to get noticed, but most
of all, he wants the beautiful, popular cheerleader Cindy Mancini
(Amanda Peterson) to know his name.
Cindy however, has run into all sorts of problems and the
"perfect
life" that Ronald thinks she has couldn't be further from the truth.
Her college football playing boyfriend Bobby is not giving her any
attention, and despite her mothers stern warnings against borrowing her
suede outfit for a party she went ahead and did anyway. The outfit was
ruined when one of her friends spilled red wine all over it. She tries
to return it to the store before her mother finds out, only to discover
that it will set her back $1000. Ronald's been mowing lawns all summer
long to save for a new telescope, but when he spies a frantic Cindy on
the other side of the mall, he gets an idea that's going to change his
life forever. He approaches Cindy and offers to pay for the outfit, if
she pretends to be his girlfriend for a month. Cindy (who at this stage
still thinks his name is Donald), thinks he is crazy, but doesn't have
too many other options to consider. She agrees, and they purchase the
outfit.
 The next day at school, Cindy lays down some
ground rules for Ronald
pertaining as to when he can be seen with her and how many dates they
can have. Ronald is nervous, but follows Cindy's lead. Needless to say
her friends are absolutely flabbergasted when she walks the halls with
geeky Ronald Miller, introducing him to everyone as Ronnie. She keeps
to her end of the bargain, defending him against her territorial
friends and helping him out with the right things to say, do and wear.
It isn't long before Cindy's friends now accept Ronnie Miller as one of
their own, and Cindy even finds herself growing fond of her "client".
The month ends and the time come the stage the breakup, but Cindy tries
to tell Ronald she doesn't want to end it, but he misconstrues what she
is trying to say and lets loose on her in front of everybody.
Embarrassed and hurt, Cindy slaps him and storms off.
 Ronald
however, thinks that this means he is now free of his
obligations to Cindy - leaving him free to enjoy the fruits of his new
found popularity. It doesn't take long for Cindy to realise she has
created a monster. She tries to talk to him about it, but he's now so
full of himself that he doesn't listen to a word she says. Cindy is
disgusted with him, and especially disgusted at the way all her friends
now think he is the greatest. Ronald has also been neglecting his
old friends, especially his best friend Kenneth. But Ronald hits rock
bottom when Halloween arrives and he heads out with the boys to throw
dog shit at someones house. They say it's the same house they hit every
year, and Ronald is panic stricken when he finds out it's Kenneth. Too
scared to say no to his new friends, he goes along with their plan, but
Kenneth catches him. With a heartbroken look on his face, Kenneth lets
him go, but even that's not enough to shake Ronald out of his self
important stupor.
New Years Eve arrives, and of course Ronald Miller is the life of the
party. Little does he know it will be his last for quite some time.
Cindy is at the party as well, and has drunk waaaay too much to drown
her feelings over Ronald. But unexpectedly, Bobby shows up and he can't
believe that Ronald Miller is the talk of the town. He's furious when
he learns of his relationship with Cindy from her friends, and Cindy,
desperate to clear her name spills the details of their arrangement to
the whole party. Instantly, Ronald goes from hero to below zero.
 Ronald's
social life is obliterated. He's on the outer with his new
friends, he's betrayed his old friends and Cindy won't talk to him. It
was the wake up call he needed and he realises how much of a jerk he
has been. His friend Kenneth begins tutoring one of Cindys friends and
the jocks accuse him of pulling a "Ronald Miller" stunt and threaten to
beat him up. Ronald comes to his aid reminding them all how they all
used to be friends, and how their sides are complete bullshit. It's a
big eye opener for a lot of people about they way they live their
lives, including Cindy. After much pestering and early morning mowing,
Cindy finally agrees to talk to Ronald who hopes they can be friends
again. Cindy still cares for Ronald and at the urging of her friends
decides to follow her heart and arrange some new rules for
dating Ronald Miller, as they ride off into the sunset on his
lawnmower.
Patrick Dempsey and Amanda Peterson are both great in their roles, and
I still can't believe they attempted to remake this movie in 2003. So
not necessary, you just can't re-create those two. I also enjoyed the
sub plot with Chuckie (Seth Green) trying to find out how in the hell
his geek brother is now going out with the head cheerleader. All in
all, a great way to kill 90 minutes.
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Year: 1987
