I've seen bundles of these teen comedies, and "Can't Buy Me Love" does contain every cliche in the book. But it was made in 1987. This was a little past the dawning of the high school movie, and the characters of the nerd, jock, cheerleader, etc. were just recently created. I don't know. Maybe this movie was even a huge cliche back in the eighties. But I'm still gonna give it the benefit of the doubt.
I catch this movie on TBS quite a lot of times, and I can't help but enjoy it. There are certain cliched scenes that just force me to roll my eyes and sigh, yet I can't change the channel. Well, there are two key elements that make this flyweight teen comedy work: Patrick Dempsey and Amanda Peterson. They both give charming performances, and have a wonderful chemistry. Even though you know exactly what will happen between them, it's still a delight to see them on screen. Dempsey hasn't had a big role in years, and you can technically classify him as a has-been, but he is a good, charismatic actor. And it would've been nice if his career actually took off. As for Peterson, I don't remember her from any other movies, so I have no knowledge of her career. All I know is she's good-looking and I liked her in this movie.
The story is as predictable as you can get, with paperthin characters, but as I said it's good flyweight entertainment. Strictly a guilty pleasure. If I were in the mood for a good--and by that I mean good in quality--high school movie I'd watch "Ghost World" or one of the "American Pie" movies. But if I just want to kick back and watch a cheesy high school movie that will put a smile on my face and contains no intellectual value, I'll watch "Can't Buy Me Love."
Of course, the movie has a "message" at the end about being yourself, and not caring what others think of you, but the message is delivered with the finesse of an after-school special and is strictly pasted on. When you have characters that are so stereotypical and implausible, it's hard to fit in a believable message. But what would a high school movie be without a schmaltzy third act?
That's why I recommend this movie, just as a guilty pleasure. It's far from great, yet undeniably appealing. But please do not bother to analyze this movie. You'll be wasting your time.
My score: 7 (out of 10)
