Secret Admirer (1985)

An anonymous love letter left in Michael's locker on the last day of school wreaks havoc on his life, and the lives of everyone who come in contact with it.

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 | teenager | summer vacation | ship | 

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Taglines:

She's hot for you and you haven't got a clue . . .

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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:

7529 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$8,622,757

Company Credits

Production Co:

Orion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Gleason was considered for the role of Lou Fimple.

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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: What are you guys doing tonight?
Deborah Anne Fimple: Nothing much.
Toni: Kappa Omega party.
Michael: Oh, you mean the homo house?
Deborah Anne Fimple: Well one will crack jokes about others when they are insecure with their own masculinity.
Michael: Oh, I hate guys like that. They're so immature.
Steve Powers: [Steve drives up] Hey beautiful! Want a ride?
Michael: No thanks, Steve. I'll walk.
Deborah Anne Fimple: [sarcastically] Real mature.

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Connections

Remade as Vasos De Papel (2016)

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Soundtracks

My Girlfriend's Boyfriend Isn't Me
Written by Steve Plunkett, Douglas Foxworthy and Steve Isham
Performed by Autograph
Courtesy of RCA Records

User Reviews

New twist on a familiar theme

High school student Michael Ryan gets a letter from a secret admirer who he believes to be Debbie, a beautiful but shallow girl who only dates college guys. He goes to a fraternity party to find out if she is indeed the one, but that does not work out too well. For one thing, Debbie's boyfriend Steve still wants her even though she is tired of him. So Michael goes to his attractive and intelligent friend Toni, who is also a friend of Debbie's, to find out what to do. Michael starts writing anonymous letters of his own to Debbie (who is not identified), but the letters wind up in the wrong hands, with hilarious results. The letters that make it to Debbie, of course, are not Michael's because Toni doesn't think they are good enough and she makes changes. This is strange because it is clear throughout the entire movie that Toni and Michael belong together, so if Toni wanted Michael, all she would have to do would be to deliver the terrible letters to Debbie, who supposedly wouldn't want Michael after reading them.

There is some, but not a lot of physical comedy in this movie. Some of it results from confusion about who is in love with whom, and jealousy on the part of husbands, wives, boyfriends and girlfriends. There is also a scene where a former girlfriend has found out her boyfriend bragged, and she gets revenge. You wouldn't expect this particular girl to be violent.

I didn't see any great acting performances, though I liked Toni, and Kelly Preston sometimes came across quite well as the self-centered Debbie. Overall, I enjoyed it.