This week’s movie is Say Anything… (1989).
The romance is about Lloyd Dobler, an all-around nice guy but underachiever (by societal norms) who falls in love with the beautiful and driven yet isolated Diane Court. The film is directed and written by Cameron Crowe, and is his first feature. Crowe is known for his love of music and its incorporation into his films. Here, the film is set in Seattle at the birth of grunge, yet only features a couple songs by local bands of the movement (which is maybe why his next film was Singles taking place within grunge culture) – the film’s most notable soundtrack moment (and iconic in cinema history) is the use of Peter Gabriel’s In Your Eyes (which is also a great song). Crowe had a lot of talent on the film behind the camera with producer James L. Brooks, composers Anne Dudley and Richard Gibbs, cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs (who also shot Paper Moon and Ghost Busters), and production designer Mark W. Mansbridge. He also had great talent in front of the camera. John Cusack and Ione Skye star and have great chemistry together. John Mahoney co-stars, while Lili Taylor, Amy Brooks, Pamela Adlon, Loren Dean, Jeremy Piven, Eric Stoltz, and Joan Cusack make up a wonderful group of supporting characters. What makes the film great is John Cusack’s Lloyd Dobler. Cusack plays the everyman extraordinarily well, appealing to both guys (who would want to hang out with him) and girls (who would want to be with him) – plus he is wearing a The Clash shirt throughout, so that is pretty cool too. He is just really cool without seeming to try at all, but also sort of goofy and vulnerable – it is a great mix. Crowe’s script has the right amount of romance and comedy, feeling both light and meaningful. The film is a must for fans of romantic comedies and John Cusack. Check out the trailer.
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