Alumni

Rom Com "Fools Rush In" Based on Life of FIDM Grad

The 1997 romantic comedy Fools Rush In, starring Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek, follows the unlikely romance that occurs after a wild night in Las Vegas. Based on the whirlwind relationship and subsequent marriage of Doug Draizin and Anna Marie Davis, who served as the movie's co-producers, Fools Rush In highlights the idea of building a life with someone you don’t know very well. The film takes numerous liberties with the couple’s real life story, which began when Davis was a Merchandising & Marketing Student at FIDM and Draizin was pursuing a career in Hollywood. 

Davis and Draizin, who came from different cultures and backgrounds, found out they were pregnant six weeks after meeting for the first time and they decided to get married. Hayek’s character Isabel hails from Nevada in the film, which is where Davis is originally from. According to The Cinemaholic, the scene where Isabel implores Alex to meet her parents is based on the time Davis did the same with Draizin soon after the two decided to get married. Another true-to-life scene was when Isabel’s brothers take Alex shooting in Red Rock Canyon.

The Cinemaholic noted that the story for Fools Rush In came to fruition after Draizin, who was pitching ideas to Columbia Pictures, was asked if he could draw on anything “real,” and he suggested his own life. Throughout the development and writing process, the story was fictionalized for comedic effect. For example, unlike the movie, their child was not born on the Hoover Dam. Davis, whose father had worked on the Dam’s electrical crew for 30 years, came up with the idea. Draizin went on to produce several other films, including Dad’s Week Off and A Jersey Christmas, while Davis has worked as a writer, producer, and host for many years.

Categories:  Merchandising & Marketing Alumni