Secret Admirer

A rather forgettable romantic comedy, Secret Admirer details the love triangle that ensues between three love-letter-sending teenagers (C. Thomas Howell’s Michael, Kelly Preston’s Deborah, and Lori Loughlin’s Toni) and the impact that their shenanigans have on various supporting figures (including Dee Wallace Stone’s Connie and Fred Ward’s Lou). It’s ultimately clear that Secret Admirer fares better in its first half than its second, as the film is, at the outset, concerned primarily with the wacky misunderstandings and mixups that stem from the aforementioned anonymous romantic notes – with the inherently irresistible nature of such sequences establishing and perpetuating an easygoing, lighthearted atmosphere. (It doesn’t hurt, either, that the movie boasts a charismatic assortment of performers, with the central trio, especially, transforming their familiar characters into affable, likeable figures.) There reaches a point, however, at which the movie begins to palpably fizzle out, as filmmaker David Greenwalt, along with co-screenwriter Jim Kouf, slowly-but-surely places the focus almost entirely on Michael, Deborah, and Toni’s conventional (and hopelessly predictable) love triangle – which is a shame, really, as Secret Admirer effectively, in its early stages, manages to avoid the usual trappings of the teen romance genre. The end result is a passable yet underwhelming 1980s comedy, and it’s ultimately obvious that the movie is notable more for its impressive roster of familiar faces than its actual content.

**1/2 out of ****