No Small Affair

1984 "He's 16. She's 22. All he wanted was her picture. What he got was... no small affair."
5.5| 1h42m| R| en| More Info
Released: 09 November 1984 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

The 16 years old amateur photographer Charles accidentally takes a photo of Laura - and falls in love with her, when he develops the picture. He finds out that she works as singer in a bar, but is about to be thrown out. Although rejected at first by the 23 years old, he wants to help her and starts an ad campaign behind her back... with unexpected results.

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SnoopyStyle Charles Cummings (Jon Cryer) is a 16 year old amateur photographer in San Francisco. His brother Leonard brings home his latest fiancée Susan. He considers Leonard his mother's favorite. His mother's boyfriend Ken (Jeffrey Tambor) urges him to be normal. He takes a picture of Laura Victor (Demi Moore) and becomes infatuated with her photo. He searches everywhere for her. Leonard and Susan take the underage Charles out to a club run by Jake (George Wendt). Charles is surprised to find Laura singing. She's struggling with her band and her faltering career. After initially dismissing the younger Charles, she has a fun day out with him taking pictures. The wedding crashers get found out and Laura has to sing for their supper. Charles spends all his money for his Milan trip to advertise Laura on 150 taxis but it's so vague that people assume she's an escort or it's a phone sex line.This is Jon Cryer's movie debut. He delivers a great puppy love very much in the vein of Duckie. Demi Moore has her star quality in a struggling artist character. The story is a meandering teen rom-com. Maybe it's the presence of Duckie but this does have a faded sense of a John Hughes movie. It's not quite at a high level but the two leads are magnetic and compelling. It's a cheesy little romance with two terrific future stars.
elshikh4 This is a movie to insanely love.The story is about "the first love". This naive and dreamy moment in the life of almost everyone of us. However, while choosing not the happy end, the movie doesn't go to make it a massacre of a romance or a sad love story; it showcases an unsuccessful first love that maybe we wanted for ourselves.The treatment gave us the boyish sentimental talented photographer idiot, his victory as a nerdy nerd who kisses the ultimately sexy chick (in fact it's the other way around) right in front of his bully bulls, helping this one-sided love to success in her career, then winning her somehow eventually (at least as a friend), having the hottest innocent separation ever portrayed on screen WITH a smart reference to his next, maybe real, love affair. Can the hardy first love be more lovely ? It's the most successful unsuccessful love story you'll ever see !(Jon Cryer) is utterly believable and most of all funny. With good script he captured the essence of his character, making it a fresh lead more than another stereotype; that might hint about the movie's makers as maybe old geeks who showed themselves as distinct human beings more than a Hollywood easy laughingstock. This characterization had to be a big reason why the movie is respectable for every geek out there, assuring the solid romantic side in them with much verity and love. For opposite instance; in later movie, Napoleon Dynamite, the character is exploited horribly just for the sake of some cheap laughs! Back then (Demi Moore) was SEXY SEXY SEXY (I can go forever !). And the irony between herself and her co-star (age, charisma, way of talking,..) was one of a kind. Thank god that they didn't cast (Sally Field) as it was first intended, the sexual thing would have been totally missed, and the matter shrunken into a mother-son relationship. Enough to recall moments that have her : cursing the French teacher in English-French way, running in the street half naked with only a long coat (searching for that boy who put her on all the city's cabs), and undoubtedly the one when she wakes up to answer the telephone with only blue shirt AND bare legs; this moment is one of the most unforgettable moments in the history of cinema, and those legs represent a part of the best things I saw in my life !The Jazzy songs worked brilliantly. I have them on tape; they're priceless. The My Funny Valentine performance can't be more perfect. Truly aside from being as husky as Demi's, (Chrissy Faith)'s voice is wow. Add to that factors like the wedding's crises, (Jeffrey Tambor)'s delivering, line like (she took my pen!), the catchy cinematography,… I believe the good parts are simply the whole movie; it has a sweet spirit all over it. This is the favorite story of every adolescent with desperate one-side amour, a dream of a doomed first love, and it has inspiring core too; as if the dilemma of that first / from one-side love is just a fair preparation for the real love after, therefore it's wholly no small affair. You have to admire this theory; where being disappointed in love isn't disappointing at all, and the unfinished love already finishes with a next yet complete one. This is extremely optimistic. Rare to watch a movie of this sort nowadays. The 1980s were dreamy enough to comprise these delicate stories.So, with wonderful story, acting, singing, kisses, and legs…I find no bad thing to say. God, even Jennifer Tilly's performance was great !
dannyfitzuk I've seen this film about five times now and I never cease to be delighted by its charms.Where do I start? Firstly Jon Cryer is truly excellent as the precocious adolescent amateur photographer who spouts sophisticated adult dialogue but is really naive on the romantic front. The way he blushes at the right moment is very credible. He plays the blushing virgin with gusto - we don't doubt for a moment that he's never had sex or kissed a girl.Firstly I must admit here to being a major fan of Demi Moore's films in the 80's. I've seen all of them from that period and I adore the characters she plays - Moore is what I call 'value added'. Whatever role she plays she brings something special, whether it is a brilliant range in temperament, downcast eyes, the husky voice, the tearful eyes the shiny hair. Most Hollywood actresses can't manage this, but Demi manages to be the girl next door and screen siren all in one.Anyway she plays this aspiring niteclub singer with bad taste in 80's clothes and even worse taste in music. To her credit she doesn't sing any of the songs as they were recorded by other people, so she just lip syncs along quite nicely. That song 'Hotheaded' is actually quite catchy in that Michael Bolton, Bar 'rawk' sort of way. Overall her character, Laura Victor comes over as a really likable human being. And the final scene at the airport is truly touching. Moore's says two simple words 'thank you' and we know she means it.Another to reason to love this film is that it was filmed entirely on location in San Francisco, and studio interiors are very few and far in between. Most of the shots are on real locations which adds to the movie's overall charm. This combined with the corny dialogue: that scene where she barges into the High School language laboratory dressed in a coctail waitress (read hooker!) outfit in very high heels and pulls Cryer out of the language lab is really funny - especially when she says "F*** Off ez Vous" to the French teacher.Some of the scenes are chauvinistic, including the one with frat boys and the hired hooker - which really doesn't have any relevance to the overall plot. And I agree with a previous poster who says that Cryer's on screen mother is one of the most irritating characters to appear in movies. That line about the sausage of Cryer's brother going cold is truly risible. When I watch this film I try very hard to ignore the flaws!This is corny, cheesy and highly entertaining. It really captures the spirit of the 80's. I'll never stop watching it - I love it.Bonus: watch out for Jennifer Tilly and Tim Robbins in bit parts playing Cryer's classmates. Robbins was 28 when he played this role. Teenage high school student he ain't! But it's still good to see him in this. Also the very catchy song 'Eiffel Tower' by Malcolm McClaren and the McClarenettes.Moore wears some wacky clothes and has that 80's penchant for long evening gloves with hundreds of bangles, very Material Girl! I love that cabin on the boardwalk apartment she lives in while working at Jakes's as a singer. Very bohemian, very cool, very 1984!
Pepper Anne I just watched this movie today again after having it sit on my shelf for a few years. I don't remember if I thought it was such a hot movie when I first saw it, or that I bought it because it was just cheap and might come in handy some Saturday afternoon that I might be searching for a little 80s entertainment. It's not a bad movie, don't get me wrong. And you're likely to enjoy it if you've been impressed with Jon Cryer's catalog of 80s movies, given that most of them were mediochre. And, you're likely to enjoy it if you like Demi Moore's early 80s films as well. She'll even sing you a number or two. I find this movie to be charming as an 80s version of an old Judy Holiday/Jack Lemmon movie called 'It Should Happen to You' in which Lemmon plays a documentary filmmaker and Holiday plays a young woman looking to get famous by posting her billboards up around the city. It's not quite the same story exactly, but there are similarities. Nonetheless, 'No Small Affair' is a nice little love story. Not boom boom grand, but just a pleasant little film.