Couldn't take my eyes off this flick!
Added 12/16/2007
So I was home for maternity leave. Between naps and feedings I caught this movie on IFC. I instantly bought it. I couldn't take my eyes off of it! It sucks you in and the soundtrack is so, so good!! The main character has a series of really, bad luck incidents which pretty much ruin her not so good life. You really feel for her and try to imagine yourself in the kind of prison she finds herself in. This is a fun movie and a perfect gift for any girl who enjoys an interesting indie film with great '80s music to pull you in!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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One terrific film that went unnoticed
Added 4/23/2006
Sometimes it doesn't take the big name Hollywood studio or the big name Hollywood star to make a very good movie. Such is the case with the movie "Cherish". "Cherish" is one of those films I happened to stumble on. I'd categorize "Cherish" as an "Indie" (independent) film. After watching the movie, I realized that this was one of the most entertaining movies I had seen in some time. In addition, the movie uncovers perhaps one of the best, yet unnoticed acting performances in recent years by Robin Tunney. I'm very surprised that Tunney did not go on to bigger and better things following "Cherish" because she delivers a performance that could have easily be Academy Award material.
In "Cherish", Tunney plays Zoe Adler. Zoe is someone who is basically socially inept and somewhat of an introvert. Zoe struggles with her lack of social skills both in the office (where she works as a computer animator) and in the social scene as well. She is also romanticist who loves 1970s and 1980s music and gets immersed in the songs of that era. Unknown to Zoe, she is being pursued and followed by a stalker (played by Brad Hunt) Zoe's life will change when the stalker finds Zoe going to her car to pick up her cell phone. The stalker takes Zoe hostage and forces her to drive. When a police officer discovers that something strange is going on in the car, the stalker takes control, runs down the police officer and kills him. Following the incident, the stalker leaves the scene and Zoe is left facing a homicide charge. While awaiting her trial, her lawyer arranges for Zoe to be put in the "Bracelet Program". This is a program that essentially places Zoe under house arrest and uses a bracelet to electronically track that Zoe stays indeed under house arrest. Once the house arrest begins, the story basically takes on three sub-plots:
1) The main subplot involves a transformation in Zoe's social ineptness. House Arrest places Zoe in an isolated mode where she is not allowed to leave her apartment. This forces Zoe to confront her introverted personality and a good chunk of the movie will focus on Zoe's attempts to break free of the bracelet program. This will result in a transformation from her socially inept personality to a bolder personality. This is where you will see Tunney shine. Tunney is completely believable in her portrayal of Zoe from beginning to end - from socially inept, through her transformation, to eventually demonstrating a bold personality.
2) The second subplot involves Zoe's relationship with police officer Bill Daly played by Tim Blake Nelson. Daly plays the officer responsible for monitoring Zoe in the bracelet program. To some extent, Daly also suffers from social ineptitude. At first Daly is frustrated by Zoe - in particular because she is trying to break free of the bracelet program. This results in Daly putting stiffer restrictions on Zoe in the program. However as the story unfolds, Daly eventually takes a liking to Zoe and develops feelings for her. Nelson does an admirable job playing Daly, but his performance is not as strong as Tunney's.
3) The third subplot involves Zoe's attempt to find out who framed her for the murder. This wraps around the other two subplots in that Zoe eventually finds an ally in Bill Daly while at the same time takes bold steps to prove her innocence. In a way, this completes Zoe's transformation from being a socially inept person. It is this subplot where the film reaches an exciting climax.
There are really two elements that contribute to this film - both audibly and visually. Director Finn Taylor deserves a lot of credit for integrating these elements into the film. From an audio standpoint, this film uses music perhaps as good as any film I have seen. The music will grip you and match up perfectly to the scenes. Perhaps the best example of this is when Zoe calls her missing cell phone and gets the stalker. The stalker responds by putting on the stereo and blasting Daryl Hall and John Oates' "Private Eyes" into the phone. The opening sequence (to the song "Cherish") is another good example of how music is integrated with a scene. From a video standpoint, one thing that really shines out is the setting for where Zoe is under house arrest. Zoe is confined to a large warehouse style apartment in a seedy part of San Francisco. The large warehouse apartment is the perfect setting for Zoe to battle her isolation for being under house arrest. Not only does the seedy section of San Francisco provide a great backdrop to the story, but the whole city provides one as well. Perhaps one of the best scenes of the movie is when Zoe "escapes" from her apartment to try to prove her innocence. There is a terrific scene of Zoe running through the streets of San Francisco to get back to her apartment before the bracelet monitoring catches her.
There are two "larger" name performers who have small roles in the movie. Jason Priestly has a very small role as Andrew, a man who Zoe takes an interest in. Pop singer, Liz Phair makes her film debut as Brynn - a woman who works in Zoe's office. However there is one other performance that stands out - Ricardo Gil. Gil plays Max - a disabled dwarf who lives downstairs in the same building as Zoe and befriends her. While Zoe can't go downstairs from her apartment, Max's disability prevents him from going up to see her - yet the two strike up a friendship.
This movie was released in 2002 and both the film and Tunney's performance went largely unnoticed in many circles. I've heard some complaints about the ending, yet I was satisfied with how the film wrapped up. This is a very good movie - and one that you certainly will watch multiple times.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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I simply love this movie!
Added 8/5/2005
Mostly because of Robin Tunney. She really brought the character Zoe to life. She was so good at playng the way Zoe changed during the movie. I watch it most every day if I have time.She is stunningly beautiful, cute and sexy in it. (and in real life too) I have the VHS and plan to buy the DVD later (i wish it was double layer.) Buy this movie. You will watch it over and over. Some bad language was the reason for the R rating. Maybe they should re-release it in a PG-13 so younger people can enjoy it.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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dopey, dingy, flakey, fluffy, but...enjoyable!
Added 10/17/2004
Enjoyable largely because of the gorgeous Robin Tunney in the lead role---she looks like a Slavic version of Helena Bonham Carter: huge doe-like eyes and childlike lips, but with smaller hips and a smaller, more girlish face...and surprisingly about the same level of actual acting ability.
The problem is that the film is really more like a made-for-TV flick which aspires to woo the MTV pubescent crowd, which means all the usual MTV fallbacks: an overactive camera, quick cuts, bright eye-catching colors, some PG-rated titillation, nice atmospheric soundtrack (all 70s and 80s pop, for some reason), and generally very shallow characters and non-existent subtext.
The plot is schizoid: it starts out as a fairly entertaining "Singles" type comedy, then turns into a melodrama, then ends up as a weak attempt at a thriller/action-flick. Things keep happening to keep the usual microscopic attention-spans occupied, but the suspension of disbelief required is simply outrageous.
All in all, as much as I groaned and rolled my eyes during the last one-third of the movie, it was sufficiently absorbing that I didn't once get up and go to the kitchen for more beer...not a bad achievement for such a fluffy thing!
Thank God they cast Ms. Tunney in the lead, though she is of course far too beautiful to make her nerdy love-starved character believable, but if it had been say a Kirsten Dunst I'm sure I would've been puking up my lunch halfway through it.
Guess you could say this is the cinematic equivalent of Cheetos.
7 out of 11 people found this helpful.
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If I could, I'd give Robin Tunney 10 STARS!
Added 7/18/2004
"Cherish" is a very entertaining movie about a lonely woman named Zoe (Robin Tunney) who, as a result of being carjacked by a stalker and framed for a crime, is placed under house arrest and forced to wear an ankle bracelet so that the police can monitor her whereabouts. The movie then becomes a brilliant character study as we watch Zoe try to cope with her isolation and eventually develop independence, all while trying to prove her innocence to Bill (Tim Blake Nelson), the deputy in charge of visiting her regularly to examine the ankle bracelet. This good dark comedy is made into a great one thanks to the incredibly powerful performances given by the actors, ESPECIALLY ROBIN TUNNEY! I can't lavish enough praise on Robin Tunney for her brilliant portrayal as Zoe. I never really had an opinion on Ms. Tunney before "Cherish", as I usually saw her in forgettable movies like "Vertical Limit" and "The Craft", but she blew me away in this one. Robin nails all the necessary emotions. In one scene, I actually had to fight back tears as Robin's Zoe begs a delivery-man to stay with her because her isolation has left her so starved for company. In another scene, Robin's Zoe had me laughing hysterically as she tormented the tightly-wound Bill by roller-skating around her apartment while he tries to examine the bracelet. There are many other wonderful moments as well...the kind-hearted Zoe befriending the crippled man who lives below her...the once-weak Zoe becoming fiercely independent...it's impossible to not fall in love with Zoe. Robin Tunney grabs your attention as soon as she hits the screen and doesn't let go until the ending credits. Plus, there is the incredible chemistry between Robin's Zoe and Tim's Bill. In fact, according to the commentary, a growing romance between Zoe and Bill was originally not in the script, but was added in during filming because the director was so impressed by the chemistry between the two main actors. I guarantee you will be mesmerized by this movie. So if I enjoyed watching this movie so much, why did I only give it 4 stars? Well, my biggest problem with this movie was that I felt it really fell apart in the last few minutes and had a very unsatisfying ending. As many of the other reviewers have mentioned, the "Zoe stalking her stalker" scenes were not nearly as interesting as what had happened before. And while I won't give away the ending, I'll say this... a key character does some completely illogical towards the end, and this leads to a disappointing ending. There was no reason for this character doing what they did, except that the director was apparently trying to go for a twist at the end. In fact, one of the people in the commentary mentions that every person who asks them about the movie asks why that character did that at the end. NOTE TO DIRECTOR: If everyone asks for someone to clear up the same point, then you didn't do a very good job conveying this on-screen. Another problem is that while it's a very entertaining movie, it is also very uneven and inconsistant at times. You often wonder why characters are acting the way they are. A perfect example is when Bill defends Zoe after a police officer makes a rude comment to her...and then Zoe "thanks" bill by screaming at him and throwing him out...yet in their very next scene together, Zoe is warm and openly flirts with Bill...did we miss something that happened inbetween? And I the found it odd that at the beginning of the movie, Zoe was supposedly unable to keep a man around for longer than one date as they never called her back, yet every man who meets Zoe in this movie almost instantly falls in love with her??? The commentary reveals what I already suspected...a lot of this movie is improvised by the actors, and as a result, the movie feels uneven and it doesn't always flow well. So to summarize, I would definitely recommend this movie, mainly because of the incredible acting. (Robin Tunney easily deserved an Oscar for her perfect performance) The movie is sometimes funny, sometimes dramatic, and always compelling. However, be warned that the end is somewhat unsatifying, and you may be better off just shutting the movie off once Zoe starts stalking her stalker. Yes, the movie is flawed, but if you watch it for what it is (an incredible character study), you'll fall in love with it just like I did. I can't wait for Robin Tunney's next starring role.
6 out of 10 people found this helpful.
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Couldn't take my eyes off this flick!
Added 12/16/2007
So I was home for maternity leave. Between naps and feedings I caught this movie on IFC. I instantly bought it. I couldn't take my eyes off of it! It sucks you in and the soundtrack is so, so good!! The main character has a series of really, bad luck incidents which pretty much ruin her not so good life. You really feel for her and try to imagine yourself in the kind of prison she finds herself in. This is a fun movie and a perfect gift for any girl who enjoys an interesting indie film with great '80s music to pull you in!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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One terrific film that went unnoticed
Added 4/23/2006
Sometimes it doesn't take the big name Hollywood studio or the big name Hollywood star to make a very good movie. Such is the case with the movie "Cherish". "Cherish" is one of those films I happened to stumble on. I'd categorize "Cherish" as an "Indie" (independent) film. After watching the movie, I realized that this was one of the most entertaining movies I had seen in some time. In addition, the movie uncovers perhaps one of the best, yet unnoticed acting performances in recent years by Robin Tunney. I'm very surprised that Tunney did not go on to bigger and better things following "Cherish" because she delivers a performance that could have easily be Academy Award material.
In "Cherish", Tunney plays Zoe Adler. Zoe is someone who is basically socially inept and somewhat of an introvert. Zoe struggles with her lack of social skills both in the office (where she works as a computer animator) and in the social scene as well. She is also romanticist who loves 1970s and 1980s music and gets immersed in the songs of that era. Unknown to Zoe, she is being pursued and followed by a stalker (played by Brad Hunt) Zoe's life will change when the stalker finds Zoe going to her car to pick up her cell phone. The stalker takes Zoe hostage and forces her to drive. When a police officer discovers that something strange is going on in the car, the stalker takes control, runs down the police officer and kills him. Following the incident, the stalker leaves the scene and Zoe is left facing a homicide charge. While awaiting her trial, her lawyer arranges for Zoe to be put in the "Bracelet Program". This is a program that essentially places Zoe under house arrest and uses a bracelet to electronically track that Zoe stays indeed under house arrest. Once the house arrest begins, the story basically takes on three sub-plots:
1) The main subplot involves a transformation in Zoe's social ineptness. House Arrest places Zoe in an isolated mode where she is not allowed to leave her apartment. This forces Zoe to confront her introverted personality and a good chunk of the movie will focus on Zoe's attempts to break free of the bracelet program. This will result in a transformation from her socially inept personality to a bolder personality. This is where you will see Tunney shine. Tunney is completely believable in her portrayal of Zoe from beginning to end - from socially inept, through her transformation, to eventually demonstrating a bold personality.
2) The second subplot involves Zoe's relationship with police officer Bill Daly played by Tim Blake Nelson. Daly plays the officer responsible for monitoring Zoe in the bracelet program. To some extent, Daly also suffers from social ineptitude. At first Daly is frustrated by Zoe - in particular because she is trying to break free of the bracelet program. This results in Daly putting stiffer restrictions on Zoe in the program. However as the story unfolds, Daly eventually takes a liking to Zoe and develops feelings for her. Nelson does an admirable job playing Daly, but his performance is not as strong as Tunney's.
3) The third subplot involves Zoe's attempt to find out who framed her for the murder. This wraps around the other two subplots in that Zoe eventually finds an ally in Bill Daly while at the same time takes bold steps to prove her innocence. In a way, this completes Zoe's transformation from being a socially inept person. It is this subplot where the film reaches an exciting climax.
There are really two elements that contribute to this film - both audibly and visually. Director Finn Taylor deserves a lot of credit for integrating these elements into the film. From an audio standpoint, this film uses music perhaps as good as any film I have seen. The music will grip you and match up perfectly to the scenes. Perhaps the best example of this is when Zoe calls her missing cell phone and gets the stalker. The stalker responds by putting on the stereo and blasting Daryl Hall and John Oates' "Private Eyes" into the phone. The opening sequence (to the song "Cherish") is another good example of how music is integrated with a scene. From a video standpoint, one thing that really shines out is the setting for where Zoe is under house arrest. Zoe is confined to a large warehouse style apartment in a seedy part of San Francisco. The large warehouse apartment is the perfect setting for Zoe to battle her isolation for being under house arrest. Not only does the seedy section of San Francisco provide a great backdrop to the story, but the whole city provides one as well. Perhaps one of the best scenes of the movie is when Zoe "escapes" from her apartment to try to prove her innocence. There is a terrific scene of Zoe running through the streets of San Francisco to get back to her apartment before the bracelet monitoring catches her.
There are two "larger" name performers who have small roles in the movie. Jason Priestly has a very small role as Andrew, a man who Zoe takes an interest in. Pop singer, Liz Phair makes her film debut as Brynn - a woman who works in Zoe's office. However there is one other performance that stands out - Ricardo Gil. Gil plays Max - a disabled dwarf who lives downstairs in the same building as Zoe and befriends her. While Zoe can't go downstairs from her apartment, Max's disability prevents him from going up to see her - yet the two strike up a friendship.
This movie was released in 2002 and both the film and Tunney's performance went largely unnoticed in many circles. I've heard some complaints about the ending, yet I was satisfied with how the film wrapped up. This is a very good movie - and one that you certainly will watch multiple times.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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I simply love this movie!
Added 8/5/2005
Mostly because of Robin Tunney. She really brought the character Zoe to life. She was so good at playng the way Zoe changed during the movie. I watch it most every day if I have time.She is stunningly beautiful, cute and sexy in it. (and in real life too) I have the VHS and plan to buy the DVD later (i wish it was double layer.) Buy this movie. You will watch it over and over. Some bad language was the reason for the R rating. Maybe they should re-release it in a PG-13 so younger people can enjoy it.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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