leeper@mtgzz.att.com (Mark R. Leeper) (04/22/89)
SAY ANYTHING
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1989 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: One more comedy about high school
dating, yet for once one that can be enjoyed by adults. John
Mahoney is excellent as the father of the school
valedictorian and John Cusack is nearly as good as a brash
and quirky kick-boxer intent on wooing Mahoney's daughter.
Rating: +2.
There must be at least a hundred high school dating movies made each
year by Hollywood since there are about two new ones on cable each week. It
would be very easy to assume that this type of film had been all mined out
and that there was not much more that could be done with it. But in fact
there is always room in any genre for a film of fresh and well-observed
characters. Humans like looking at humans and seeing how humans behave.
James Bonds are fun to watch too, or sexy mannequins doing unrealistic
things under some circumstances, but a film that shows fresh and real people
will always be a joy to watch. SAY ANYTHING is unique and a very human
comedy/drama.
Diane Court (played by Ione Skye) has it all. She is class
valedictorian, she has won a prestigious fellowship to study in England, she
is beautiful, and in all probability she has butterscotch in her veins.
Lloyd Dobler (played by John Cusack) is not good-looking and is below
average in his class. He has no goals except to be a better kick-boxer and
to date Diane. Sound familiar? Except for the valedictorian part it has
been done hundreds of times. Give the film half an hour and you will start
to like this film a lot better, particularly James Court, played superbly by
John Mahoney, who goes from bemused at Lloyd, to protective of his daughter
through a lot more changes until he becomes the focal point of the film.
SAY ANYTHING goes from a teen comedy to a very solid drama of human
interaction.
The writer/director of SAY ANYTHING is Cameron Crowe, who is best known
for screenwriting FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH based on his novel of the
same name. That film was about 90% teen comedy but had a surprisingly solid
piece of human drama at its core. This time the comedy is more even
balanced with the drama. SAY ANYTHING joins TERMS OF ENDEARMENT and
BROADCAST NEWS as a James L. Brooks produced film. of a woman choosing
between love and loyalty. That may, of course, be coincidental, but because
each triangle is resolved in a different and believable way, the films make
an excellent trilogy. Through unlike Debra Winger and Holly Hunter, Ione
Skye cannot quite hold her own for audience interest against the other two
vertices. While it is not quite the strength of a BROADCAST NEWS (nor
probably TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, though I am not as fond of that film), SAY
ANYTHING does the nearly impossible of making a satisfying film from a high
school dating comedy. I rate it a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
att!mtgzz!leeper
leeper@mtgzz.att.com
Copyright 1989 Mark R. Leepermoriarty@tc.fluke.com (Jeff Meyer) (06/29/89)
SAY ANYTHING
A film review by Jeff Meyer
Copyright 1989 Jeff Meyer
Speaking for myself, I really enjoy a good romantic comedy, heavy on the
romantic side. Unfortunately, there aren't too many good examples of that
genre leaning towards the romantic. It is a credit to John Cusack that he
stars in the only two that really come to mind over the last five years: THE
SURE THING, and now SAY ANYTHING. Of the two, I enjoyed SAY ANYTHING the most;
while THE SURE THING takes place in a reality I know exists, SAY ANYTHING
unfolds in a reality I know. What is amazing -- what is truly amazing -- about
this film is that it is able to nurture the spirit of romance in a setting that
never forsakes its hold The Way Things Work to keep the romantic plot going.
Nothing less than hope for frustrated romantics everywhere....
The film opens with Cusack's character graduating from high school. He's
living with his sister (played by Cusack's real-life sister Joan in an
uncredited role) with only two things certain in his mind: that he enjoys
kick-boxing, and that he has fallen in love, from afar, with the the most
brilliant graduate in his graduate class, played by Ione Skye, who hardly knows
him from Adam. Skye has just found out that she's won a prestigious fellowship
to study in England starting in the next fall; she is delighted -- almost as
delighted as her doting, affectionate father, played by John Mahoney.
Cusack's character is hardly a scholar (though his honesty and good nature
alone make him exceptional), but he manages to generate enough uneasy courage
to ask Skye's character to go out with him to a graduation party. She, in
turn, gets the chance to encounter a (wonderfully accurate) group of people she
has gone to school with for three years, separated from by her exceptional
scholarship. And she finds herself liking Cusack's character very much....
This is one of those rare films where the plot could have fallen into the
ruts of cliche at almost any point, but through superior direction, writing and
acting, scrapes off the layers of cinematic reworkings and literally shines.
John Mahoney's character could so easily have degenerated into the
parent-who-thinks-boyfriend-no-good role, but he's witty and imaginative; he
affection and friendship with his daughter are immediately endearing, and if he
dislikes Cusack's character because of the threat he sees to his daughter's
future, you can also see his occasional delight with the special character
Cusack plays. Cusack, Skye and Mahoney's characters are all wonderfully
written and acted, but the other exceptional point of this film is how well the
smaller roles are created and performed. The three girls who are Cusack's
closest friends are a delight, like ducats found on the side of the road during
a pleasant journey. They are funny without being absurd, and telling without
being preachy or sounding artificial. Indeed, it is amazing how much character
the creative team is able to develop in so small a time. Joan Cusack can't
have more than a minute and a half in this film, but she manages to create a
harried, worried, loving sister during that time.
Get the message? One of the two or three best films I've seen this year
(and that includes the entire SIFF). Don't take the chance that you'll miss
it: see it now.
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
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