Say Anything... (1989)

Cameron Crowe had written and produced on earlier works, but this movie was his debut directing. His own writing, his own directions and an amazing result. Say Anything... is made with so much heart it's seen in every scene, and there are line's and dialogue in it screaming instant classic.

To know Lloyd Dobler is to love him.

That's the first half of the tagline..., and John Cusack is excellent as 'Lloyd Dobler'. I've never hidden my admiration for him as an actor, and as late as yesterday I mentioned in my review of Grosse Pointe Blank that he's heading for my Wall of Talent. The revisit of Say Anything... makes it an even safer bet I'll have to write him up there soon. Cusack gives life to the character 'Lloyd' like probably no-one else could have done. Crowe's writing and direction paired with the cast of Cusack in the lead was a match made in heaven.

Diane Court is about to know Lloyd Dobler.

..and that's the second half of the tagline. Ione Skye haven't become a household name, but she's been around doing smaller parts all over the place. She'll always have 'Diane Court', and she did a great job in this role. She's very credible as the valedictorian without social experience, and along with John Mahoney as her father the most important and accomplished supports for Cusack.

There's some problems with Crowe's debut. It's not exactly balanced in how it spends its time. There's much runtime used to present the main characters and their relationships to others, and it's spent quite a while at one party. Then there's a prolonged time hardly covered at all. Overall in the end it works quite well, but with better focus and grasp of the complete story this could have been a masterpiece.

There's one-liners and dialogue in it, I've got to restrain my self not to burst out reviewing this movie. And I've got this visual image of a moment in the movie, a image I've later seen printed on t-shirts. There's a reason for both, just as they are among the reasons this is such a cult classic. Much like with Office Space, Grosse Pointe Blank and Bang Bang You're Dead, I had also seen Say Anything... before, but forgot just how good they are. My advice? If you haven't met 'Lloyd Dobler', it's much overdue. If you have met him, I'd say it's about time to reacquaint yourself with 'Lloyd Dobler'. Remember. To know him is to love him.