'Pretty Thing' reminded Alicia Silverstone of her film 'The Crush'

UPI

02-07-2025

1 of 5 | Alicia Silverstone, seen at the 2022 Bloomingdale's and Harper's BAZAAR fête in New York, stars in "Pretty Thing." File Photo by Gabriele Holtermann/UPI | License Photo
LOS ANGELES, July 2 (UPI) -- Alicia Silverstone says her new movie, Pretty Thing, in theaters and video-on-demand Friday, reminded her of her first movie, 1993's The Crush. While both are thrillers about stalkers, Silverstone played the teen stalker in The Crush and is the object of obsession in Pretty Thing.
In a recent Zoom interview with UPI, Silverstone, 48, discussed the similarities and differences between the two films. In Pretty Thing, Silverstone portrays Sophie, a successful businesswoman who begins an affair with Elliott (Karl Glusman), a younger man and caterer she meets at a party. Elliott becomes obsessed with Sophie after she ends the relationship.
"It's fun to revisit it," Silverstone said of the stalker thriller genre. "They're both in some kind of addictive game. She wants this to stop and he wants it to keep going. They're both equally determined."
Silverstone is also clear that Pretty Thing is purely entertainment. Sophie attempts to handle Elliott's stalking herself, which the actress does not recommend.
"Sophie doesn't call the cops, for example," she said. "That's a good thing to do. She takes it upon herself because she feels so threatened and she thinks she's in control."
In The Crush, it was immediately apparent Silverstone's character, Adrian, was obsessed with an older man -- the tenant of her parents' guest house. In Pretty Thing, Sophie and Elliott enjoy several dates and travel to Paris together before she decides to end it.
"It's an erotic thriller and it starts like a romance," she said. "You think, 'Oh, this is like this really beautiful, romantic story' and then it takes a turn. I love that about it."
One of the moments that makes Sophie realize Elliott is too young for her is when he plans a date night. He takes her to the production of his friend's play, and Sophie is visibly uncomfortable.
"I remember just being like oh God, this is so bad," Silverstone said. "She would've only gone to the finest Broadway performances or if it's going to be off Broadway, it's going to be something that is just hailed as incredible. This is just some sort of amateur play."
Elliott also made a miscalculation by thinking the play would be an appealing surprise.
"She didn't get told she was going to a play," Silverstone said. "You have to be prepared for that."
Pretty Thing filmed under a waiver during the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists strike of 2023. Director Justin Kelly, with whom Silverstone filmed King Cobra previously, cast her three weeks before production.
Silverstone trained quickly, as Sophie is shown boxing at the gym. She also worked with costume designer Matthew Simonelli on Sophie's look, which involved changing her trademark blonde hair, and enjoying high fashion.
"He had a vision for my hair to be dark and it was just fun," she said. "We borrowed clothes from Christian Siriano but also vintage. [Simonelli]'s vision was sort of Helmut Lang."
This year also sees renewed interest in another popular Silverstone movie: Clueless turns returned to theaters in June ahead of its 30th anniversary. For Silverstone, however, the teen comedy has never gone away.
"It happens almost every year," she said. "I've been hearing about the anniversary of Clueless, I think, for the last 15 years at least."
Silverstone attended a sold out screening at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures with director Amy Heckerling and cast mates this summer.
"That was really neat to see everybody laughing," she said. "I'm grateful that so many people love the movie so much."
Clueless was the ninth film Silverstone made in a two year period. The movie's ensuing popularity created another whirlwind for her.
"My life was different then," she reflected. "It was all very new and overwhelming but I'm always grateful for how this film has made people really happy over the years. It's lovely."
For years after Clueless, people quoted her character, Cher Horowitz, saying, "I'm Audi" or "As if." Decades later, subsequent teen generations created new lingo like "on fleek" and "delulu," and Silverstone said her now 14-year-old son still springs new words on her.
"My son has his own language that he brings to me so he refers to me as 'cuh,'" she said, referring to slang for "cousin." "You know when they go, 'Bruh? Bruh?' Now I'm Cuh. 'What's up, Cuh?' It makes me laugh."
Still, Silverstone looks back at The Crush as the beginning of her career. The late director Marty Callner, who directed Silverstone in three Aerosmith videos, cast her after seeing that film. Then Clueless director Amy Heckerling wanted to cast her because of the "Cryin'" video.
"I also got two MTV Movie Awards for The Crush - Best Villain and Best Newcomer Actress so that was the beginning," she said. "The Aerosmith videos came alongside all of these films."