Amor en foco

It's not that it's an 80s film that makes it so bad, even though I dislike nearly everything about that decade. I mean, it has John Cryer and Demi Moore in it. They were leaders at that time. Both of these actors had quite extensive movie lists from the decade of the eighties. For some reason. Demi, especially, was awful. Her fake singing voice was OK, but her character seemed to be based on Madonna's character in that movie about Susan.

Her style was like a leftover from the eighties, nothing fresh and nothing cute. Just kind of messy.

Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, the last ten minutes of the movie came on...GOOD GRIEF, what a terrible movie!

Jon Cryer plays Charles a teenager more into photography than dating per say or things more "normal" teenagers are interested in. Until one day a beautiful very young Demi Moore happens to set in front of his lens for a picture and our hero falls in love and develops a big crush upon first site.

What actually interested me at first to check this film out was flipping channels I thought the young Demi Moore was Jennifer Connelly at first. I still kept watching the film out of curiosity and immediately liked it though. Pre social media and what not. It's a very cute coming of age film. I really liked Charles and actually Demi's character of Laura as well. Charles kind of reminded of myself in a lot of ways.

Its rare nowadays to see likeable movie characters.

Charles Cummings (Jon Cryer) is a 16 year old amateur photographer in San Francisco. His brother Leonard brings home his latest fiancée Susan. He considers Leonard his mother's favorite. His mother's boyfriend Ken (Jeffrey Tambor) urges him to be normal. He takes a picture of Laura Victor (Demi Moore) and becomes infatuated with her photo. He searches everywhere for her. Leonard and Susan take the underage Charles out to a club run by Jake (George Wendt). Charles is surprised to find Laura singing. She's struggling with her band and her faltering career. After initially dismissing the younger Charles, she has a fun day out with him taking pictures. The wedding crashers get found out and Laura has to sing for their supper. Charles spends all his money for his Milan trip to advertise Laura on 150 taxis but it's so vague that people assume she's an escort or it's a phone sex line.

This is Jon Cryer's movie debut. He delivers a great puppy love very much in the vein of Duckie. Demi Moore has her star quality in a struggling artist character. The story is a meandering teen rom-com. Maybe it's the presence of Duckie but this does have a faded sense of a John Hughes movie. It's not quite at a high level but the two leads are magnetic and compelling. It's a cheesy little romance with two terrific future stars.

I just watched this movie today again after having it sit on my shelf for a few years. I don't remember if I thought it was such a hot movie when I first saw it, or that I bought it because it was just cheap and might come in handy some Saturday afternoon that I might be searching for a little 80s entertainment.

It's not a bad movie, don't get me wrong. And you're likely to enjoy it if you've been impressed with Jon Cryer's catalog of 80s movies, given that most of them were mediochre. And, you're likely to enjoy it if you like Demi Moore's early 80s films as well. She'll even sing you a number or two.

I find this movie to be charming as an 80s version of an old Judy Holiday/Jack Lemmon movie called 'It Should Happen to You' in which Lemmon plays a documentary filmmaker and Holiday plays a young woman looking to get famous by posting her billboards up around the city. It's not quite the same story exactly, but there are similarities. Nonetheless, 'No Small Affair' is a nice little love story. Not boom boom grand, but just a pleasant little film.

I've seen this film about five times now and I never cease to be delighted by its charms.

Where do I start? Firstly Jon Cryer is truly excellent as the precocious adolescent amateur photographer who spouts sophisticated adult dialogue but is really naive on the romantic front. The way he blushes at the right moment is very credible. He plays the blushing virgin with gusto - we don't doubt for a moment that he's never had sex or kissed a girl.

Firstly I must admit here to being a major fan of Demi Moore's films in the 80's. I've seen all of them from that period and I adore the characters she plays - Moore is what I call 'value added'. Whatever role she plays she brings something special, whether it is a brilliant range in temperament, downcast eyes, the husky voice, the tearful eyes the shiny hair. Most Hollywood actresses can't manage this, but Demi manages to be the girl next door and screen siren all in one.

Anyway she plays this aspiring niteclub singer with bad taste in 80's clothes and even worse taste in music. To her credit she doesn't sing any of the songs as they were recorded by other people, so she just lip syncs along quite nicely. That song 'Hotheaded' is actually quite catchy in that Michael Bolton, Bar 'rawk' sort of way. Overall her character, Laura Victor comes over as a really likable human being. And the final scene at the airport is truly touching. Moore's says two simple words 'thank you' and we know she means it.

Another to reason to love this film is that it was filmed entirely on location in San Francisco, and studio interiors are very few and far in between. Most of the shots are on real locations which adds to the movie's overall charm. This combined with the corny dialogue: that scene where she barges into the High School language laboratory dressed in a coctail waitress (read hooker!) outfit in very high heels and pulls Cryer out of the language lab is really funny - especially when she says "F*** Off ez Vous" to the French teacher.

Some of the scenes are chauvinistic, including the one with frat boys and the hired hooker - which really doesn't have any relevance to the overall plot. And I agree with a previous poster who says that Cryer's on screen mother is one of the most irritating characters to appear in movies. That line about the sausage of Cryer's brother going cold is truly risible. When I watch this film I try very hard to ignore the flaws!

This is corny, cheesy and highly entertaining. It really captures the spirit of the 80's. I'll never stop watching it - I love it.

Bonus: watch out for Jennifer Tilly and Tim Robbins in bit parts playing Cryer's classmates. Robbins was 28 when he played this role. Teenage high school student he ain't! But it's still good to see him in this. Also the very catchy song 'Eiffel Tower' by Malcolm McClaren and the McClarenettes.

Moore wears some wacky clothes and has that 80's penchant for long evening gloves with hundreds of bangles, very Material Girl! I love that cabin on the boardwalk apartment she lives in while working at Jakes's as a singer. Very bohemian, very cool, very 1984!