Say Anything...
| Say Anything... | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Cameron Crowe |
| Written by | Cameron Crowe |
| Produced by | Polly Platt |
| Starring | John Cusack Ione Skye John Mahoney Joan Cusack |
| Cinematography | László Kovács |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates | April 14, 1989 |
Running time | 100 min. |
| Language | English |
Say Anything... is a romantic film written and directed by Cameron Crowe and released in 1989. In 2002, Entertainment Weekly ranked it as the greatest modern movie romance. This movie ranked number 11 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies.
Basic plot
The movie, which is set in Seattle, Washington, features John Cusack as Lloyd Dobler, an average student and aspiring kickboxer who improbably attempts a relationship with school valedictorian Diane Court (played by Ione Skye), despite the fact that some of his friends believe she is out of his league. Diane falls for Lloyd, partly because of his gallant ways and partly because he makes her laugh. However, their relationship is beset by several obstacles. Diane has just won a major scholarship to study in England and will be going there at the end of the summer. Her father James, played by John Mahoney, is under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service for alleged tax violations committed at his nursing home, and Diane worries she should be spending more time with her father rather than Lloyd. Also, Diane's father does not approve of his daughter dating an underachiever like Lloyd, and pressures her to break up with him, which she reluctantly does. Lloyd ultimately wins her heart before the summer's end and helps support Diane through her father's conviction. The film ends with Lloyd escorting nervous-flyer Diane to England.
Memorable scenes
- A little while after the break up, Lloyd is on the phone with his sister (who is his actual sister in real life) and says, "I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen".
- Four slackers hanging out at the gas station give Lloyd advice on his girl troubles, and he finally asks them, "If you guys know so much about women, how come you're here at like Gas 'n Sip on a Saturday night, completely alone, drinking beers, no women anywhere?" They pause, look around, and answer back, "By choice, man. Conscious choice."
- After Diane breaks up with Lloyd, he appears outside her bedroom window at night while she sleeps, in an attempt to win her back, holding a boombox over his head playing the song "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel. It is now a standard pop culture reference for romance.
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (November 2007) |
- Crowe asked The Smithereens to write and record the theme song to the movie. When the finished product, "A Girl Like You," was given to the producers, it was rejected due to the lyrics giving away too much of the plot. It was released on the band's album 11 and went on to be their first Top 40 single.
- Lloyd Dobler lives with his sister, Constance. Constance is played by Joan Cusack, the real-life sister of John Cusack.
- In the film, John Cusack is seen wearing a Clash t-shirt. This is a recurring reference in Cusack's films, even working with Clash frontman Joe Strummer in a later film.
- In the original draft, the story was set at Lakeside School, the most prestigious private school in the Seattle area. In the film, the school was changed to Lakewood.
In popular culture
- The Stereo scene:
- In the 2005 comedy Date Movie, Grant Funkyerdoder (Adam Campbell) tries to win back the heart of his girlfriend (Alyson Hannigan) by lifting a stereo over his head. His plan is futile however, because she ignores him, and the neighbors throw food at him to get him to shut up.
- Parodied on the Australian movie show The Bazura Project, Episode 1.04, as part of the episode's opening sequence.
- The Starting Line begins their video, "The Best of Me" by recreating the famous stereo scene.
- Webcomic XKCD has a strip that makes reference to the boombox scene, [1].
- In the Grey's Anatomy episode "Bring the Pain," Meredith references the holding a radio over her head scene
- In Lost, Hurley asks Sayid for the radio that plays only static so he can hold it over his head as a romantic gesture for Libby
- In the Arrested Development episode "Whistler's Mother", Oscar Bluth copies the scene to attract Lucile Bluth.
- In the fnal episode of Spaced the UK comedy. Tim plays theTake That song 'Back For Good', to appease Marsha, after she finds out he and Daisy are not a real couple.
- In the South Park episode "Raisins", Stan recreates the scene to win Wendy back, only instead of playing "In Your Eyes", Stan instead plays "Shock the Monkey". The scene with the boys explaining their girl troubles is also referenced.
- In the Family Guy episode "Stewie Kills Lois", Herbert recreates the scene to get Chris, only instead of playing "In Your Eyes", Herbert plays "Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee".
- On The Daily Show, a 2006 'check-in' with Stephen Colbert had Colbert recreating the scene, so he could do his toss within the time allotted that evening.
- In the movie A Night at the Roxbury, Doug Butabi (Chris Kattan) holds a radio over his head while playing the song "What is Love?" at his brother's wedding mimicing the scene from "Say Anything". He does this with the intention of keeping his brother Steve Butabi (Will Ferrell) from getting married.
- Band Names, Song Titles & Lyrics:
- Say Anything frontman Max Bemis named the band after the movie because he could relate to the character of Lloyd Dobler.
- Lloyd Dobler Effect is a band named after the film's lead character.
- The band Pencey Prep, fronted by singer Frank Iero (now guitarist of My Chemical Romance) wrote a song titled "Lloyd Dobler."
- The song "Niki FM" by Hawthorne Heights contains the lyrics "I'm outside of your window, with my radio." This is a reference to the scene from Say Anything.
- The Bouncing Souls have named the songs "Say Anything" and "Joe Lies (When He Cries)" in reference to the film.
- The Australian rock band Kisschasy have a song called Ione Skye on their 2005 album United Paper People.