No Small Affair (1984)

Director Jerry Schatzberg (SCARECROW, THE PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK) tries his hand at outright comedy with this lighthearted coming-of-age tale, featuring Demi Moore in one of her earliest roles. Jon Cryer is Charles Cummings, a 16-year-old dreamer whose life ambition is to become a photographer. He finds his world turned upside down when he meets--and immediately falls for--an older woman. Laura (Moore), a 23-year-old rock 'n' roll singer, wants nothing to more than to get a big break. Obsessively in love with her, Charles spends his life savings on an advertising campaign that puts her face atop every cab in San Francisco. Surprisingly, Charles's efforts pay off, and Laura receives attention from a popular record company. The only trouble for Charles is that Laura still refuses to see him in the glowing, romantic way that he wants to be seen. Just when he's about to give up all hope, a lucky break changes things once and for all. Schatzberg's tender comedy captures the confusion of adolescence in a sensitive, yet hysterical, way. In the lead role, Cryer displays his uncanny ability to be a character that the audience can relate to, making NO SMALL AFFAIR an enjoyable document of the pressure of impending adulthood.