Admiradora secreta

Rewatched it with my kids and they laughed out loud. I of course remember the movie word for word. They really new how to make teen movies back in the day without CGI. They actually relied on dialogue and physical comedy.

This film begins with a high school student named "Toni" (Lori Loughlin) writing an anonymous love letter to another student by the name of "Michael Ryan" (C. Thomas Howell). Although the two of them are very good friends, Toni is afraid that Michael only wants a platonic relationship but to be sure she has decided to test out her theory just in case. The problem is that Michael has a huge crush on another friend of hers by the name of "Deborah Anne Fimple" (Kelly Preston) and when he reads the letter he becomes convinced that Deborah wrote it-even though she really doesn't care for him at all. However, since he feels he has to make the next step he is convinced by Toni to write an equally romantic letter to Deborah. Unfortunately, his writing skills leave much to be desired and as a result Toni decides to rewrite it herself before handing it to Deborah. Not long afterward both of the letters are misplaced and chaos ensues when other people happen to read them as well. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a pretty good teen comedy all things considered. I especially liked the manner in which Michael's friend "Roger Despard" (Casey Siemaszko) kept having the tables turned on him for gossiping about both Toni and Deborah Anne. Additionally, having two gorgeous actresses like Kelly Preston and Lori Loughlin certainly didn't hurt the film either. In any case, I enjoyed this film and have rated it accordingly. Above average.

On the last day before summer vacation, Michael Ryan (C. Thomas Howell) finds an anonymous love letter in his locker. Michael has a crush on Deborah "Debbie" Anne Fimple (Kelly Preston), who is the most beautiful girl of the high-school, and his friend Roger (Casey Siemaszko) convinces him that Debbie has written the letter. Michael writes a love letter to Debbie and asks his best friend Toni (Lori Loughlin), who actually wrote the letter for him, to deliver the letter to Debbie that is also her friend. However Toni reads the letter and rewrites it to Debbie, who immediately falls in love with the unknown author. Meanwhile, Michael's mother Connie Ryan (Dee Wallace) finds Michael's letter and believes it belongs to her husband George Ryan (Cliff De Young) and Debbie's father Lou Fimple (Fred Ward) finds Debbie's letter and believes it belongs to his wife Elizabeth Fimple (Leigh Taylor-Young). Michael dates Debbie while their parents are astonished with the betrayals of their mates. Soon Michael finds that Debbie is a shallow teenager and he misses Toni. Further, he realizes that she has written the letters and he feels that he loves her. But Toni is aboard of a ship ready to travel to study abroad for one year. Will they meet each other?

"Secret Admirer" is a charming romantic comedy from the wonderful 80's. The plot is naive and funny and makes laugh a lot with the confusion generated by the love letters. The beauty of Kelly Preston is astonishing; C. Thomas Howell is excellent; but the sweet Lori Loughlin steals the show and is the greatest attraction of this film performing a lovely character. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Admiradora Secreta" ("Secret Admirer")

Note: On 07 Sep 2018 I saw this film again.

Lieutenant Fimple ( Fred Ward ) has had a bad day. He thinks his wife is cheating on him so he follows her to a make out point. Then he goes to his mutual friends house and picks her up because the man that he thinks his wife is having an affair with is the woman's husband ( are you following me so far? ). He gets back to the make out point and they are gone. So he drives home his friend and then he gets into an accident. When he gets home, the man's ( who is apparently sleeping with his wife ) son has just finished giving his daughter a good night kiss. " Good evening Lieutenant Fimple, " the boy says, " F*** you! " Fimple replies. It is one of the funniest moments in the film and the film has quite a few of them.

Secret Admirer is one of the slew of teen films that came out in the 80's that was high on entertainment, if you let it do that. It is one of those films that should not be over analyzed. It is simple entertainment and it is goofball highschool entertainment. The characters in the film have fun with the roles they are thrust into and the dialogue is fresh and funny. Look for the part when the mailman comes to Michael's house and is apparently late with the mail. Classic.

I wish they could make films like this as we head into the new millennium. They are here to entertain and nothing more. And that is sometimes all we can ask for.

I didn't get to see this movie until '94, when it aired on TV here. I gotta say the major reason I liked this movie was because it had Lori Loughlin in it, she's a fox with a capital F, capital O and capital X. :) Anyways, give this one a whirl if you like these kind of movies, but if you're a Lori fan, it's definitely a must-see!