Taglines: Here’s to men… of all shapes and sizes.
Three 40-something women in a small English town meet weekly for a ritual of gin, cigarettes, and sweets — and swapped stories arguing which of them has the most pathetic love life. Kate is headmistress at the local school; her best friends are the town’s police chief and a cynical, thrice-divorced doctor.
When Kate begins a fling with a handsome younger man, less worldly than her friends but passionate and sincere, the other women can’t simply be happy for the couple’s unusual new romance. In jealousy they promptly take it upon themselves to break up the pair, taking drastic measures which result in unintended outcomes, some happy and some tragic.
Crush is a 2001 film written and directed by John McKay and starring Andie MacDowell, Imelda Staunton, Anna Chancellor, Kenny Doughty, Bill Paterson, Caroline Holdaway, Joe Roberts, Josh Cole, Christian Burgess, Roger Booth and Sarah Rickman.
About the Story
Forty-something schoolmistress Kate and her two best friends, police superintendent Janine and doctor Molly, live in rural Britain and share their single lives and dating exploits in weekly chats. Kate has recovered from ovarian cyst disease and fears a relapse; she hasn’t been dating much. By chance, she meets Jed, a former student of hers, now a handsome twenty-something church organist.
To her surprise, she ends up sleeping with him and the two embark on an unlikely relationship that’s looked on with suspicion by Janine and Molly. Janine comes to believe in Kate and Jed’s feelings for each other. But Molly is still dubious, showing Jed’s criminal record and medical history to Kate, bringing adult dates to their dinner parties and taking her and Janine to Paris so that she will go off Jed. Conversely, this brings Kate and Jed closer together and they plan their wedding.
Molly eventually attempts to prove Jed’s faithlessness by seducing him, which fails but angers Kate to the extreme. After an argument about how Kate has kept their engagement quiet, Jed is thrown out of Kate’s house. He is struck and killed by a passing truck; this unexpected tragedy breaks the three women up, as Kate is inconsolable and Janine blames Molly.
Kate reluctantly embarks on a mild romance with a local vicar who’s always been in love with her, but when she finally agrees to marry him, she becomes ill at the altar. Molly and Janine take her away, and discover that she is pregnant with Jed’s child. She decides to have the baby and raise it on her own, while the vicar meets a woman who’s actually excited about him. Also, Janine starts going out with Bill (a robbery suspect) and Molly falls for a pediatrician named Eleanor. The three friends reconcile and continue to share their lives and experiences.
Crush (2002)
Directed by: John McKay
Starring: Andie MacDowell, Imelda Staunton, Anna Chancellor, Kenny Doughty, Bill Paterson, Caroline Holdaway, Joe Roberts, Josh Cole, Christian Burgess, Roger Booth, Sarah Rickman
Screenplay by: John McKay
Production Design by: Amanda McArthur
Cinematography by: Henry Braham
Film Editing by: Anne Sopel
Costume Design by: Jill Taylor
Art Direction by: John Reid
Music by: Kevin Sargent
MPAA Rating: R for sexuality and language.
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Classics
Release Date: April 5, 2002
Visits: 52
