Review of Cherish

Cherish (2002)
7/10
A stalker, a cop killing, an ankle bracelet, and lots of music
15 August 2012
Robin Tunney stars in "Cherish," a 2002 film featuring Jason Priestley, Brad Hunt, and Tim Blake Nelson.

Tunney plays Zoe Adler, a pretty young woman with all kinds of appeal to men, which is fine with her. One night, she's about to hook up with a hot guy named Andrew (Jason Priestley), who's going to drive her home because she had too much to drink. She realizes she left her cell phone in her car. When she goes to get it, a man gets into her car and forces her to drive. When she sees a policeman walking toward them, she refuses to drive any longer. The perp guns the pedal and the cop is killed, and the man escapes.

Zoe is arrested, given an ankle bracelet, and put into a run-down apartment until her trial. There, she tries desperately to amuse herself by ironing her hair, spying on the people above her by climbing up through the closet, roller skating, looking in a mirror and pretending she's talking to a guy she just met, and anything else she can think of. She also becomes friends with the wheelchair-bound gay guy downstairs and the person who comes to check on her ankle bracelet, Daly (Nelson). He develops a crush on her and wants to help her prove her innocence. Meanwhile, her stalker, who took her cell phone, is still around, and she's desperate to learn his identity and get some evidence against him.

Many scenes in this film come off like music videos, as music -- and good music -- is an important part of the film. Hall & Oates, one of my favorite groups, is well represented, as well as the title song, "I'm Not in Love," "Tainted Love," "Get Up and Move," and many others. A scene toward the end of the movie is a rip-off of Run, Lola, Run, complete with the pulsating rhythm accompanying it.

Tunney is an underrated actress, and as usual, she's excellent here, giving a quirky, sexy performance. The casting is interesting - Nora Dunn plays her attorney, and Ricardo Gil gives a good performance as her neighbor Max, who besides being in a wheelchair, is a dwarf.

All in all, though a few questions go unanswered and the ending is ambiguous, this is a very good movie, well worth seeing.
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