Can't Buy Me Love

**Can't Buy Me Love** is a 1987 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Steve Nash, which was released on August 14, 1987 by Touchstone Pictures.

## Plot

Set in Tucson, Arizona, nerdy high school outcast Ronald Miller gives popular cheerleader Cindy Mancini $1,000 to pretend to be his girlfriend after Cindy acccidentally destroys her mother's designer clothes.

## Cast

* Patrick Dempsey as Ronald Miller
* Amanda Peterson as Cindy Mancini
* Tina Caspary as Barbara
* Darcy DeMoss as Patty
* Cort McCown as Quint
* Eric Bruskotter as Big John
* Gerardo Mejía as Ricky
* Courtney Gains as Kenneth Wurman
* Seth Green as Chuck Miller
* Sharon Farrell as Mrs. Mancini
* Dennis Dugan as David Miller
* Cloyce Morrow as Judy Miller
* Devin DeVasquez as Iris
* Ami Dolenz as Fran

## Production

Principal photography for "Can't Buy Me Love" began on January 8, 1987 and ended in February of 1987. It was shot on location in Tucson, Arizona. It was originally titled "Boy Rents Girl", but it was changed before its release.

Filming locations included Tucson High Magnet School (then known as Tucson High School); Scoops, the Tucson Mall and The Loft Cinema on East Speedway Boulevard; the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base; Hill Farm and Winterhaven Neighborhood.

At the time of filming, Amanda Peterson was 15 years old and Patrick Dempsey was 20 years old.

"Can't Buy Me Love" was done non-union. The Screen Actors Guild sent representatives to the set to dissuade the students at the high school from being extras. While their plan ultimately failed, the school's drama club decided not to participate in the film.

Patrick Dempsey used the money that he made from the film to buy his first car, a 1963 Porsche 356 convertible.

## Box Office

"Can't Buy Me Love" grossed $4,754,732 during its opening weekend, ranking at #3 at the box office behind "Stakeout" and "The Living Daylights."

Domestically and worldwide, the film grossed $31,623,833.

## Critical Reception

"Can't Buy Me Love" received mixed reviews from critics.

On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 50% based on 24 reviews with an average rating of 5.00\10. The site's critical consensus reads: *"While Can't Buy Me Love gets some value out of its plucky leads, this romantic comedy struggles to find grace in a cynical conceit that belongs in the bargain bin."*

Writing for The New York Times, Caryn James wrote that the film missed its mark and traded its potential originality for a bid at popularity, stating: *"The film thinks it wants to be sincere, when all it truly wants is to be popular, just like the other kids' movies, so it sells off its originality."*

Roger Ebert gave "Can't Buy Me Love" a half star rating out of a possible 4, saying: *"If Can't Buy Me Love had been intended as a satirical attack on American values—if cynicism had been its target—we might be on to something here. But no. On the basis of the evidence, the people who made this movie are so materialistic they actually think this is a teenage comedy. Can't they see the screenplay's rotten core?"*

Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune said: *"Though it looks bright and the young actors have a couple of sweet moments, the picture is almost unremittingly punishing, hammering home its "be yourself" message with all the gentle persuasiveness of a Marine drill sergeant."*

Writing for The Washington Post, Rita Kempley called it a John Hughes movie without John Hughes, saying that *"another nerd-gets-the-cheerleader romance isn't fit to wear Hughes' hightops."*

The Miami Herald said that the film *"isn't terribly well written, and the acting is rarely more than OK"* and that Seth Green is "*as droll as Frankie and Annette's kid in Back to the Beach."*

Michael Wilmington of The Los Angeles Times wrote: *"The plot is another one-sentence gimmick, the jokes juvenile, the morality a sham."*

TV Guide said: *"The problem with Can't Buy Me Love is that too often characters do and say things teenagers wouldn't. At times this is a funny, touching film, but more often it isn't."*