Borrowing a chapter from the
John Hughes school of teen comedy, this likeable caper was a box office success.
Patrick Dempsey stars as Ronald Miller, a high school nerd about to enter his senior year, who longs for acceptance as one of the "cool kids." His next-door neighbor Cindy Mancini (
Amanda Peterson) is a cheerleader and one of the most popular girls in school, but she doesn't even know that Ronald exists. When she ruins an expensive outfit of her mother's, Ronald offers the $1,000 needed to replace it, if she will pretend to date him for one month. Although skeptical about Ronald's plan, Cindy agrees, and her "new boyfriend" turns out to be right about what he thinks dating Cindy will do for him -- he becomes accepted by the school's snobs because of his association with one of their own. At least, for a while. Originally titled "Boy Rents Girl," Can't Buy Me Love (1987) was the first production launched by former studio executive Thom Mount after leaving his high-profile post. His company went on to produce weightier material such as
Bull Durham (1988),
The Indian Runner (1991), and
Natural Born Killers (1994). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide