“Can’t Buy Me Love” is a hit 1987 rom-com released by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. The movie’s main character stars a young Patrick Dempsey as Ronald Miller and Amanda Peterson as Cindy Mancini.
Plot
The movie starts out with Ronald Miller, a 17-year-old senior who decides he wants to become popular his senior year. Ronald has saved up to $1000 from lawn mowing that he decides he wants to buy a very expensive telescope. However, he sees that his popular neighbor, Cindy Mancini needs the money to buy her mother a new outfit which she had ruined. Furthermore, Ronald decides to give Cindy the money under one condition: she has to fake date him for an entire month to make him popular.
Therefore, for an entire month, Ronald and Cindy fake date and Ronald’s popularity starts to skyrocket. Cindy realizes the more she hangs out with Ronald, the more she actually likes him. But at the end of the deal, they break up and go their separate ways. Ronald hangs out with a new crowd of friends, and becomes colder towards Cindy.
Eventually, Ronald’s new friends find out that he had paid Cindy to date him, and they all drop him. With no friends, Ronald goes back to where he started.
Nevertheless, at the end of the movie, he apologizes to Cindy and they ride off into the sunset on a lawn mower.
Box Office
The filmmakers made “Can’t Buy Me Love” on an insanely tiny $100,000 budget and it grossed over 31.6 million domestically in theaters. Opening weekend grossed $4.7 million. The movie received a 48% rating from critics and a 74% from fans.
The movie received a PG-13 rating for its use of drugs & alcohol.
Review
Although “Can’t Buy Me Love” is labeled as a classic hit comedy, it raises questions., it raises a few questions. How was Ronald able to make $1000 in 1987 just from mowing his neighbor’s lawn? $1000 in 1987 is equivalent to $2,843 today. Personally, I can’t even make $1000 on my bi-weekly paychecks in 2025.
Also, who pays another student to fake date them?I have never met anyone who has fake dated someone else to become popular. Is this relevant to high school today? Is this relevant to high school in the 80’s?
“I thought Ronald making $1000 from mowing lawns was the least accurate part of the movie,” Kellie Hastrup, a senior from Colonia High School states. “I can’t even find $10 lying around when I want to go get ice cream.”
This movie was seemingly Patrick Dempsey’s breakout role. For this film being so early in his career, he did a stellar job at acting as a geek-turns-popular. Amanda Peterson, who passed away in 2015, also put on a great performance as Cindy. I also enjoyed that this movie incorporates the song “Can’t Buy Me Love” by The Beatles, since that’s what the film has been named after.
Liz McCormack grew up in the 90s, a few years after they released “Can’t Buy Me Love.” “Growing up I don’t recall anyone fake dating for money to gain popularity in high school. Although it’s one of my favorite movies, it definitely doesn’t completely represent high school dating accurately.”
If you don’t mind a misrepresentation of high school but want a funny film to watch, go see “Can’t Buy Me Love”!
