In 1980's Chicago two attractive young people develop a very 1980's relationship. After falling into bed together on their first meeting they progress through a tentative relationship to moving in together, moving out again, and then possibly to some sort of reconciliation.
The film was made contemporaneously with the period it is set in and is one of those films that evoke their particular time with well-observed accuracy. Demi Moore and Rob Lowe deliver strong performances as the articulate, successful and confused - central characters, with Moore in particular able to reflect on the developing crises with astute asides.
The film possibly has two structural problems. First, it is too long. Boy endlessly prostrating himself in front of Girl he has sent packing gets tedious, and the tension regarding what may happen starts to dissipate.
Secondly, the more-or-less mandatory Best Friend characters are almost too strong. Lowe's buddy James Belushi is a chauvinist slob, but also a bit of a charmer - and with some of the best lines. Moore's confidante Elizabeth Perkins may be something of a shrew, but a damned attractive one. These two take an intense dislike to each other from the start, and as the main romance stalls their relationship becomes by far the more interesting one with its vague possibility that such a sparky loathing just might lead to something more positive - if pretty combustible!
