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 (as Jeffrey Jay Cohen)
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:

1980s | 80s | love | lover | chain | 

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Taglines:

He never knew what hit him

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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 Stereo

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

When Michael has a scuffle with Steve and steals his car we clearly see that the right side of the vehicle is dented when Michael gets into it. Onwards, every following shot will show a perfect car body.

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Quotes

[Toni has arranged for Debbie to meet her Secret Admirer]
Deborah Anne Fimple: [wearing a teddy, posing in the mirror] What should I wear?
Toni: Something demure.
Deborah Anne Fimple: Oh, yeah. Christian Demure. I've got tons of her stuff.

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Connections

References Casablanca (1942)

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Soundtracks

No Secrets
Theme from Secret Admirer
Written by Brock Walsh
Performed by Van Stephenson
Courtesy of MCA Records

User Reviews

Charming Romantic Comedy from the Wonderful 80's

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.