SAY ANYTHING (1989)

SAY ANYTHING (1989)

Tagline : A Lloyd meets girl story
(Comedy, Drama, Romance) [PG-13]

The world is full of guys…be a man…

In this one Lloyd Dobler (played by John Cusack) has graduated from High School and wants to date the schools smartest girl named Diane Court (played by Ione Skye). He spends quite a bit of time trying to get to know her up against the wishes of her father, and the fact that she has a scholarship for a school in England, and will be leaving in weeks. 

This movie moves along pretty quickly so we aren’t waiting for an hour for the romance or comedy portion of the movie to get going. You can tell right away that this isn’t an average flick, it’s really well written, the characters don’t feel like filler and it’s loaded with not just heart-warming moments but actual universal truths. It’s one of the very, very few teen-love romance flicks ever (especially from the 80’s) that isn’t crass or degrading to men. This movie actually makes you want to be a better man if you are a man. Unless you are a girl and this movie makes you want to be a man… but that’s between you and yourself. 

Anyway, the acting is superb, and many from this movie are still working today. Lili Taylor plays a heartbroken songstress named Corey who obsesses over her x-boyfriend. The movie’s lead John Cusack, Ione Skye and others are also examples of talents still around and working. Director Cameron Crowe nails it with this thing, and even after several times having watched it now I still love it. 

There are a few scenes in this movie I wasn’t crazy about including part of the ending, but even those, kind of rough out the edges on a story that might have otherwise been seen as too “fairytale-ish”. The setting and cinematography are pretty standard for the 80’s, but this is another film from that era really assisted by a decent score and pretty great soundtrack. It also features one of the most iconic scenes in any drama romance ever. Even some of the lines from the movie have been celebrated over the years. 

Overall, trying to dig for flaws in this movie proved to be tough. It’s not perfect but it’s really freakin close. If you are looking for an 80’s romance drama with some nice touches of comedy, this one I highly recommend. It’s not a cult classic either. This is one of the quintessential romance comedies of our time. 

For me this one gets a solid 6 out of 7. It’s not a movie I turn to every other month, but this is a great once a year or once every 2 years, return to some refreshing high quality film making.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF GRACIE FILMS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.  

Please check out the link below by clicking on the picture. Because no one should die buttonless. Until next time.