Image: Touchstone Pictures Silver Screen Partners III Apollo Pictures The Mount Company
About This Quiz
This winning teen comedy, about a boy who buys his way into the popular clique at school, introduced the future "Dr. McDreamy" to the world! Now, show us how much you remember about this rom-com with our quiz!
Who played the zero turned hero, Ronny Miller? (If you read the intro, we dropped a big hint there!)
Orlando Bloom
Patrick Dempsey
Actually, in 1987, Tom Cruise would still have been young enough to play the lead. But in "Can't Buy Me Love," the honors were done by future "Grey's Anatomy" star, Patrick Dempsey.
Colin Farrell
Tom Cruise
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In what city is "Can't Buy Me Love" set?
Los Angeles
Denver
Seattle
Tucson
In one scene, Ronny's friend, Kenneth, explains that "everyone" in their class used to be friends, because they were all in the same classroom in grade school. Hmm -- Tucson must be a smaller city than it looks!
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What is the name of the girl Ronny has a crush on?
Annie
Cindy
Her full name is Cynthia Mancini. Amanda Peterson played her.
Heather
Shannon
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What does Ronny do to earn money?
cooks at a diner
shelves books at the library
mows lawns
Ronny mows lawns around the neighborhood. This takes him to the house of his dream girl, Cindy, regularly.
waits tables at a country club
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How much money has Ronny earned mowing lawns?
$350
$660
$1,000
$1,500
Ronny's done well this summer. Being a bit of a geek, he's also kept track of how many miles it took to earn that $,1500: 331 miles!
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What is Ronny saving up money for?
basketball shoes
a car
a motorcycle
a telescope
Ronny loves astronomy. In the movie's first scene, he wears a T-shirt with a picture of the Milky Way on it, and an arrow pointing the edge, reading "You Are Here."
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What does Ronny's mother *think* he is saving up for?
college
a car
a microscope
Ronny's mother isn't quite clear on what branch of science her son is into. The "microscope/telescope" thing is part of a running theme in the movie, in which people confuse similar words or names.
a trip abroad
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What is Cindy's boyfriend's name?
Arnie
Bobby
Cindy used to go out with the school's football star (naturally). Technically, Bobby and Cindy are still together, though he hasn't called since he left for college.
Collin
Quint
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What is Cindy's extracurricular activity?
cheerleading
Cindy is the captain of the cheerleading team. Of course, neither of her friends, Barbara or Patty, could fill this role: They're brunettes, for heaven's sake!
chess
swimming
she's a candy striper
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On TV, what does Bobby say he misses about his old high school?
Cindy
his teammates
the loyal fans
the hydromassage machine
In an interview, Bobby says he misses the hydromassage machine in the locker room, not his old coach, teammates, or girlfriend. Classy, Bobby!
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What game do Ronny and his friends play regularly?
Dungeons & Dragons
poker
Surprisingly, the nerds play poker, which is usually considered sophisticated and masculine. However, they're still in a basement while other guys are out dating or at parties ... which is why Ronny wants to break away.
speed chess
Mah-Jongg
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Why does Cindy find herself in need of money?
to pay her personal phone bill
to pay application fees for college
to replace her mother's suede outfit
Cindy steals her mother's white suede outfit to wear to a party. There, a jock spills red wine on it and ruins it. Fortunately, it's still available in the store -- and Ronny is on hand with his lawn-mowing money.
to repair her mother's car
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How much money does Cindy need?
$500
$700
$1,000
Ronny has saved up $1,500 for his telescope, but Cindy only needs $1,000. Maybe Ronny spends the rest on the flashy clothes he wears after his popularity project takes off.
$1,500
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For how long does Ronny want to "rent" Cindy?
a week
two weeks
a month
Cindy is at first offended by Ronny's idea that he can "rent" her. But she needs to replace her mother's suede suit, so she gives in.
the entire semester
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What does Cindy initially think Ronny's name is?
Donald
This is part of the movie's running theme of word confusion: Cindy calls him "Donald" right up until the moment they walk into school together as supposed "friends."
Ricky
Robert
Roland
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Which of these future "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" stars had a role in the movie?
Nicholas Brendan
Seth Green
A young Seth Green practically steals the movie as Ronny's dryly funny and prematurely cynical younger brother, Chuck. Fun fact: Max Perlich, who guest-starred in Season Two of "Buffy," also had a minor role in "Can't Buy Me Love."
Anthony Stewart Head
Michelle Trachtenberg
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What kind of car does Cindy drive?
an Aston Martin
a boxy Volvo
a white VW Rabbit
Rabbits were very popular in the late '70s through the '80s. Nowadays, it's rare to see one on the roads.
she has no car
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What business is Ronny's father in?
air conditioning repair
real estate
tile
Normally, this would be a pretty small piece of trivia. But it comes up a lot, since Ronny drives his father's Chrysler with "Tic Tac Tile" prominently on the side.
woodworking
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What does Cindy mistakenly call Ronny's astronomy hobby?
astrology
Cindy certainly wouldn't be the first person to call astronomy, "astrology." This is an excellent way to irritate astronomy buffs, but Ronny takes it in stride.
optics
rocketry
cosmology
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What is Cindy's secret hobby?
she listens to opera
she is training for a marathon
she plays the harp
she writes poetry
Cindy reveals her secret to Ronny, reading him one of her poems. He later betrays her by reciting it to another girl, as if it were his own creation.
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What does Cindy buy Ronny at the mall?
a Cinnabon
a Smiths CD
sunglasses
Cindy is helping Ronny update his image. When he worries about the price of the sunglasses, Cindy says, "It's on me!" and shows him her mother's credit cards. (Strange but true: Girls overspending with their parents' credit cards used to be considered cute in the '80s).
a tuxedo
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Where do Ronny and Cindy go on their most serious date?
the airplane graveyard
Cindy mistakenly calls it the "airplane junkyard," and Ronny corrects her. They then spend the afternoon poking around among the antique and WWII-era aircraft.
the desert
the drive-in
the ballet
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As they are stargazing, what does Cindy imply she wants Ronny to do?
kiss her
Cindy says she wants this "next step" to happen naturally. But Ronny thinks she's talking about their staged breakup the next day, since his month-long "rental" is up.
teach her about astronomy
take her home
propose to her
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Which of these does Ronny give as a reason for "breaking up" with Cindy?
she's costing him too much
she compares him to Bobby
she's a bad kisser
both #1 and #2
For a science geek, not a drama-club geek, Ronny proves himself a good actor. He opens his wallet and loudly complains that he's gone broke dating Cindy, and then says he's tired of being compared to Bobby, her one-time football-star boyfriend.
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Which of these girls does Ronny date after Cindy?
Barbara
Iris
Patty
all of them
Ronny enjoys the rewards of his popularity, especially with girls. Barbara and Patty, Cindy's two closet friends, have no qualms about pursuing Ronny after the "breakup."
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Whose house does Ronny help vandalize on Halloween?
Bobby's
Kenneth's
Big John and Quint say they've egged the house for the past three years; senior year will be the fourth and last. Ronny reluctantly goes along with their plan.
the school principal's
his own
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To what kind of dance does Ronny mistakenly introduce his school?
a contemporary ballet
an American Indian rain dance
a Swahili ritual dance
Ronny sees the dance on TV, thinking he is watching "American Bandstand." After some confusion, his classmates pick up the dance from him, and it becomes a craze!
a Viennese waltz
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Which of the girls has a reputation for being "easy"?
Barbara
Iris
Angry at Ronny for his fickleness, Cindy tells Ronny that Iris has given "more rides than Greyhound." Ronny retorts that "at least her ticket won't cost me $1,000." (He's got a point, Cindy!)
Patty
none of these
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Who shows up unexpectedly at the New Year's Eve party?
Bobby
Don't laugh about Paula Abdul. She did the choreography for the movie and appeared briefly in it as "Dancer." (Which "dancer" isn't made clear by the credits.)
Kenneth
all of Ronny's geek pals
Paula Abdul
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What does a drunk Cindy tell the entire party about Ronny?
that he's a lousy kisser
that he pressured her for sex
that he paid her to go out with him
Cindy reveals the secret about the $1,000, which ruins his reputation, but leaves Cindy's intact. Which seems odd: Isn't there a word for girls, or women, who accept money for their companionship?
that he cheated on final exams
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When Ronny calls the Mancini house, what does Cindy want her mother to tell Ronny?
that she's on a date with someone else
that she's studying
that she's out of the country
According to Ronny, Cindy had also used the excuse that she was "washing her hair" before upgrading to "out of the country." He calls the second excuse his favorite one.
that it will cost another $1,000 to speak with her
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Whose defense does Ronny come to at lunchtime, when he's back at school after his humiliation?
Kenneth's
Kenneth was tutoring Patty in math at the "cool kids" table. One of the jocks took offense at this and threatened Kenneth, but Ronny came to Kenneth's aid. (With a baseball bat, no less!)
Cindy's
Iris's
Big John's
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Where do Ronny and Cindy finally make up?
the airplane graveyard
a high school dance
the drive-in
her front lawn
Ronny is back to mowing lawns by the film's end. Cindy ditches her friends to run back to him and jump on the back of his riding mower, and they ride off into the sunset together.
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Who performed the title song, "Can't Buy Me Love"?
the Beatles
The movie makes no bones about its inspiration. The Beatles' song plays over the opening and closing credits.
Ray Charles
the Monkees
Dusty Springfield
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How old was Patrick Dempsey when he played Ronny?
15
17
19
21
It's not uncommon for young-adult actors to play teen roles, and Dempsey was no exception. He'd already had acting roles in several teen films before landing the lead in "Can't Buy Me Love."
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You Got:
/35
Touchstone Pictures Silver Screen Partners III Apollo Pictures The Mount Company