Say Anything...
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| Say Anything... | |
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Cameron Crowe |
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| Produced by | Polly Platt |
| Written by | Cameron Crowe |
| Starring | John Cusack Ione Skye John Mahoney Lili Taylor Joan Cusack |
| Cinematography | László Kovács |
| Editing by | Richard Marks |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | April 14, 1989 |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Language | English |
Say Anything... is a 1989 romantic film written and directed by Cameron Crowe and marked Crowe's directorial debut. In 2002, Entertainment Weekly ranked Say Anything... as the greatest modern movie romance. This movie ranked number 11 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the fifty best high school movies.[1] It is among the 50 best reviewed films of all time, according to Rotten Tomatoes.[2]
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[edit] Plot summary
Set in Seattle, Washington, the film features Lloyd Dobler (played by John Cusack), a mediocre student and aspiring kickboxer who attempts a relationship with valedictorian Diane Court (played by Ione Skye) immediately after their graduation from the same high school. Diane has just won a major fellowship to study in England, and will be going there at the end of the summer. Highly intelligent and yet socially inexperienced, Diane is intrigued by Lloyd's endearing manner and willingness to take a chance on someone like her. She agrees to Lloyd's request for a date, and the two of them begin seeing each other regularly.
Lloyd seeks advice and counsel from his sister and several close, female friends who are genuinely looking out for Lloyd's best interests as he embarks on his first serious, romantic relationship. Diane's father, Jim (played by John Mahoney), is under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service for alleged tax violations committed at his nursing home, and as the relationship between Lloyd and Diane deepens, she worries that she should be spending more time with her father, rather than with Lloyd. Also, Jim does not approve of his daughter dating an underachiever like Lloyd, and pressures her to break up with him.
Lloyd ultimately wins Diane's heart before the summer's end, and helps support her emotionally after her father's conviction. The film ends with Lloyd escorting nervous-flyer Diane to England.
[edit] Characters
- John Cusack as Lloyd Dobler
- Ione Skye as Diane Court
- John Mahoney as Jim Court
- Joan Cusack as Constance Dobler
- Lili Taylor as Corey Flood
[edit] Soundtrack
Allmusic said the soundtrack, like the film, is "much smarter than the standard teen fare of the era."[3] The soundtrack included 11 songs:
- "All For Love" - Nancy Wilson [4:37]
- "Cult Of Personality" - Living Colour [5:07]
- "One Big Rush" - Joe Satriani [3:25] (also on Satriani's Flying in a Blue Dream)
- "You Want It" - Cheap Trick [3:43] (also on the band's compilation album Sex, America, Cheap Trick)
- "Taste the Pain" - Red Hot Chili Peppers [5:04]
- "In Your Eyes" - Peter Gabriel [5:23]
- "Stripped" - Depeche Mode [6:41]
- "Skankin' To The Beat" - Fishbone [2:49]
- "Within Your Reach" - The Replacements [4:26]
- "Keeping The Dream Alive" - Freiheit [4:14]
- "Lloyd Dobbler Rap" [0:33]
[edit] Critical reception
Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert called it "one of the best films of the year — a film that is really about something, that cares deeply about the issues it contains — and yet it also works wonderfully as a funny, warmhearted romantic comedy."[4] It has also received a "100% Fresh" rating at RottenTomatoes.com.[5]
The film was not without detractors, however. Caryn James of The New York Times said the film "resembles a first-rate production of a children's story. Its sense of parents and the summer after high school is myopic, presented totally from the teen-agers' point of view. Yet its melodrama — Will Dad go to prison? Will Diane go to England? — distorts that perspective, so the film doesn't have much to offer an actual adult, not even a sense of what it's truly like to be just out of high school these days. The film is all charming performances and grace notes, but there are plenty of worse things to be."[6] Variety called it a "half-baked love story, full of good intentions but uneven in the telling."[7]
[edit] References in modern culture
Pencey Prep released a song titled "Lloyd Dobler" on their album Heartbreak in Stereo.
[edit] References
- ^ 50 Best High School Movies from the Entertainment Weekly website
- ^ Best of Rotten Tomatoes from Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ Say Anything...(soundtrack) at Allmusic
- ^ Review of Say Anything... by Roger Ebert
- ^ Reviews of Say Anything... at RottenTomatoes.com
- ^ Review of Say Anything... from The New York Times
- ^ Review of Say Anything... from Variety
[edit] External links
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