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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