Secret Admirer
Encyclopedia
Secret Admirer is a 1985
romantic comedy film
directed by David Greenwalt
starring C. Thomas Howell
, Lori Loughlin
, Kelly Preston
and Fred Ward
. The screenplay was written by Greenwalt and Jim Kouf
. The original music score was composed by Jan Hammer
.
Michael experiences a series of wacky adventures with his friends throughout the summer. After Toni arranges a meeting between the two; He tells Deborah Ann that he wrote the love letters, and she finally agrees to a real date during which they are almost caught by Debbie's jock college "quasi boyfriend" Steve but Toni intervenes by pretending to seduce him and later ditches him. After a short while Michael realizes Deb is snobby and shallow, not like he expected her to be; they break up after his birthday party when he realizes he can't sleep with her as she intends for his birthday present. Eventually, Lou and Connie cannot control themselves at a bridge party: Lou assaults George, and Connie breaks down in front of her friends. When Lou confronts his wife about the letter, Deborah Ann overhears him reading the words and tearfully accosts her father for reading her private mail. Debbie runs to her rooms and cries, while both sets of parents make up after the misunderstanding with the letters. Michael also blasts his parents for reading his letter and invading his privacy.
Just as the fall semester is about to start, Michael (by comparing Debbie's letter's to Toni's handwriting) realizes that Toni wrote the original love letter. He races to her home but is told that she has left for a study abroad
program aboard a ship that will keep her away for a full year. Michael rushes to the dockyard after a brief scuffle with Steve, screaming his love for Toni. After shouting her love for him as the ship continues to sail away he dives into the water, but cannot reach the ship. Toni dives into the water, too. The lovers embrace in the water and kiss.
1985 in film
-Events:* 3 December - Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. He is replaced by Timothy Dalton.* The Academy Award for Best Picture was won by Out Of Africa, while the highest grossing film was Back to the Future.* Bliss wins AFI Award for best Movie...
romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
directed by David Greenwalt
David Greenwalt
David Greenwalt is an American screenwriter, director and producer.He was the co-executive producer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and co-creator of its spinoff, Angel. He is also co-creator of the short-lived cult television show Profit...
starring C. Thomas Howell
C. Thomas Howell
Christopher Thomas "Tommy" Howell , known by his stage name C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor and film director. He starred in the films The Outsiders as Ponyboy Curtis and in The Hitcher as Jim Halsey. He has appeared in The Da Vinci Treasure,Soul Man, Red Dawn, Secret Admirer, Gettysburg, H. G...
, Lori Loughlin
Lori Loughlin
Lori Anne Loughlin is an American actress, best known for her role as Rebecca Donaldson-Katsopolis on the ABC sitcom Full House. As of 2011, she portrays the role of Debbie Wilson on 90210, the spin-off of Beverly Hills, 90210...
, Kelly Preston
Kelly Preston
Kelly Preston is an American actress and former model.- Early years :Preston was born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Linda, was an administrator of a mental health center, and her father, who worked for an agricultural firm, drowned when Preston was three years old...
and Fred Ward
Fred Ward
Freddie Joe "Fred" Ward is an American actor. He began his career in 1979 alongside Clint Eastwood in Escape from Alcatraz. He is best known for his starring roles in the motion pictures Remo Williams, Tremors, Henry & June, Short Cuts, The Right Stuff and Exit Speed...
. The screenplay was written by Greenwalt and Jim Kouf
Jim Kouf
Jim Kouf is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He received the 1988 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for his work on Stakeout .-Filmography :...
. The original music score was composed by Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer is a composer, pianist and keyboardist. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early 1970s, as well as his film scores for television and film including "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett's Theme", from the popular 1980s...
.
Plot
Michael Ryan (Howell) is a California high school junior with a crush on class beauty Deborah Ann Fimple (Preston), totally oblivious to the fact that his friend Toni Williams (Loughlin) is in love with him. On the last day of class before summer break, Michael receives a love letter in his locker from a secret admirer. His best friend, Roger (Siemaszko), convinces him that the letter is from Deborah Ann. Michael writes Deborah Ann an anonymous love letter in return, and asks Toni to give it to her. Toni realizes the letter is poorly written and unromantic (since Michael had copied words from greeting cards), so she rewrites it. Elizabeth Fimple (Taylor-Young), Deborah Ann's mother, discovers the letter. Her jealous police officer husband, Lou Fimple (Ward), sees her reading it. He steals the letter, and believes that his wife is having an affair. He suspects his neighbor (and bridge partner) George Ryan (DeYoung). George also mistakenly reads the letter because Lou's wife is his night school teacher and it somehow ends up in his book. When George asks her about it he assumes she wants to have an affair with him despite the fact his wife and she are friends. Meanwhile Lou shows the letter to George's wife, Connie (Wallace-Stone), and proposes that they expose the adulterers. Receiving no response from Deborah Ann, Michael writes a second letter, which Toni again rewrites.Michael experiences a series of wacky adventures with his friends throughout the summer. After Toni arranges a meeting between the two; He tells Deborah Ann that he wrote the love letters, and she finally agrees to a real date during which they are almost caught by Debbie's jock college "quasi boyfriend" Steve but Toni intervenes by pretending to seduce him and later ditches him. After a short while Michael realizes Deb is snobby and shallow, not like he expected her to be; they break up after his birthday party when he realizes he can't sleep with her as she intends for his birthday present. Eventually, Lou and Connie cannot control themselves at a bridge party: Lou assaults George, and Connie breaks down in front of her friends. When Lou confronts his wife about the letter, Deborah Ann overhears him reading the words and tearfully accosts her father for reading her private mail. Debbie runs to her rooms and cries, while both sets of parents make up after the misunderstanding with the letters. Michael also blasts his parents for reading his letter and invading his privacy.
Just as the fall semester is about to start, Michael (by comparing Debbie's letter's to Toni's handwriting) realizes that Toni wrote the original love letter. He races to her home but is told that she has left for a study abroad
Study abroad
Studying abroad is the act of a student pursuing educational opportunities in a country other than one's own. This can include primary, secondary and post-secondary students...
program aboard a ship that will keep her away for a full year. Michael rushes to the dockyard after a brief scuffle with Steve, screaming his love for Toni. After shouting her love for him as the ship continues to sail away he dives into the water, but cannot reach the ship. Toni dives into the water, too. The lovers embrace in the water and kiss.
Cast
- C. Thomas HowellC. Thomas HowellChristopher Thomas "Tommy" Howell , known by his stage name C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor and film director. He starred in the films The Outsiders as Ponyboy Curtis and in The Hitcher as Jim Halsey. He has appeared in The Da Vinci Treasure,Soul Man, Red Dawn, Secret Admirer, Gettysburg, H. G...
as Michael Ryan - Kelly PrestonKelly PrestonKelly Preston is an American actress and former model.- Early years :Preston was born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Linda, was an administrator of a mental health center, and her father, who worked for an agricultural firm, drowned when Preston was three years old...
as Deborah Ann Fimple - Lori LoughlinLori LoughlinLori Anne Loughlin is an American actress, best known for her role as Rebecca Donaldson-Katsopolis on the ABC sitcom Full House. As of 2011, she portrays the role of Debbie Wilson on 90210, the spin-off of Beverly Hills, 90210...
as Toni Williams - Dee Wallace as Connie Ryan
- Cliff DeYoungCliff DeYoungClifford Tobin DeYoung is an American actor and musician.DeYoung was born in Los Angeles, California. He attended California State University....
as George Ryan - Fred WardFred WardFreddie Joe "Fred" Ward is an American actor. He began his career in 1979 alongside Clint Eastwood in Escape from Alcatraz. He is best known for his starring roles in the motion pictures Remo Williams, Tremors, Henry & June, Short Cuts, The Right Stuff and Exit Speed...
as Lt. Lou Fimple - Leigh Taylor-YoungLeigh Taylor-YoungLeigh Taylor-Young is an American actress who has appeared on stage, screen, and television.-Early life:Leigh Taylor-Young was born on January 25, 1945 in Washington, D.C. Her last name is an amalgamation of the last names of her father, a diplomat, and her stepfather, a successful Detroit executive...
as Elizabeth Fimple - Casey SiemaszkoCasey SiemaszkoCasey Siemaszko is an American actor and the brother of actress Nina Siemaszko. He was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 17, 1961 to a Polish American father, a fighter in the Polish Underground who survived the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and an English mother.Siemaszko's best known film...
as Roger Despard - Scott McGinnisScott McGinnisScott McGinnis is an American actor and director. He has starred in both films and television. McGinnis is best known by Star Trek fans as Mr. Adventure in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, where his character worked with Cdr. Uhura in the Spacedock transporter room...
as Steve Powers - Corey HaimCorey HaimCorey Ian Haim was a Canadian actor, known for a 1980s Hollywood career as a teen idol. He starred in a number of films such as Lucas, Silver Bullet, Murphy's Romance, License to Drive and Dream a Little Dream...
as Jeff Ryan