Secret Admirer (1985)

On the last day before summer vacations Michael receives a glowing, but anonymous, love-letter. He suspects, or better: hopes, it's from Deborah, the girl he's after since a while, but who ... See full summary »

Director:

David Greenwalt

Writers:

Jim Kouf, David Greenwalt

Stars:

C. Thomas Howell, Lori Loughlin, Kelly Preston

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
C. Thomas Howell	...	Michael Ryan
Lori Loughlin	...	Toni
Kelly Preston	...	Deborah Anne Fimple
Dee Wallace	...	Connie Ryan (as Dee Wallace Stone)
Cliff De Young	...	George Ryan (as Cliff DeYoung)
Leigh Taylor-Young	...	Elizabeth Fimple
Fred Ward	...	Lou Fimple
Casey Siemaszko	...	Roger Despard
Geoffrey Blake	...	Ricardo
Rodney Pearson	...	Kirkpatrick
Courtney Gains	...	Doug
J.J. Cohen	...	Barry
Scott McGinnis	...	Steve Powers
Corey Haim	...	Jeff (as Cory Haim)
Michael Menzies	...	Mr. Simpson

Storyline

On the last day before summer vacations Michael receives a glowing, but anonymous, love-letter. He suspects, or better: hopes, it's from Deborah, the girl he's after since a while, but who dates college students only. However she shows him a cold shoulder again. So his and her best friend Toni advises him to write her an anonymous letter in return. However these letters get in the wrong hands and cause lots of confusion in their families, until it's revealed, who wrote which letter to whom.

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Plot Keywords:

love letter | summer vacation | summer | secret admirer | electronic music score | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes What You're Looking For... Is Right Beside You.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 June 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Letter

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

J.J. Cohen & Casey Siemaszko would later appear together in the Back To The Future trilogy as 3-D and Skinhead. This is the only other movie that they've shared together.

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Goofs

On the boat, Toni's purse alternates between being on and off her shoulder, in the final shot she throws it off and jumps in the water.

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Quotes

Michael: Jesus! You are one gutsy virgin!

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Connections

Referenced in Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987)

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Soundtracks

"Leaving It Up To You"
Written by Timothy B. Schmit
Performed by Timothy B. Schmit

User Reviews

15 years later

I watched this film for the first time when it was released, back in the 80s. Now, more than 15 years later, I've watched it again. My curiosity was high, because I remember I enjoyed it when I was a teenager, and now I wished to check how this movie has been affected by time.

First of all, this film suffers the typical "teen style" which can also be seen in other titles from the 80s. This is perhaps the worst point in the movie, because the plot has interesting points, but the film style makes it seemingly look as yet another "Porky's"-like movie. In my opinion, this plot (based on a lost love letter) should have been more elaborate, and the movie should have been made with a higher quality style (for example, closer to "Never been kissed" rather than "Porky's").

Anyway, the movie is enjoyable if you can forgive this "teen style".

Moreover, it has valuable virtues: It exalts honesty and humbleness, and despite its seemingly "Porky's"-like sexual freedom, it exalts marriage and fidelity, and even chastity. It's quite refreshing to see all this in a film.

I voted it as a 5 in 1-10 scale, because I consider it as a "satisfactory movie", with a draw between the weak teen style and some good points (charming love letter plot and exaltation of virtues which are mostly forgotten by Hollywood nowadays).

Anyway, this film makes me feel a bit nostalgic (I've kind memories from the time when I first watched it), so my opinion is perhaps not as objective as it should be.