Rod's Unofficial SAY ANYTHING Page

Alright, fans of teenage angst, here's the announcement you've been waiting for? Just in from Fox is a 3/5 street date for a quartet of my high school favorites, all with spiffy new anamorphic transfers. The long-awaited Say Anything features audio commentary with Cameron Crowe and actors John Cusack and Ione Skye, no less than 10 deleted scenes and 13 extended scenes, a making-of featurette, and trailers and TV spots.

Many movies have influenced me. "Taxi Driver", "The Godfather", "Breakfast Club", "Sixteen Candles", "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "Pink Flamingos", you name it. But one quintessential 80's flick really had an enormous impact on my life. That film is "Say Anything."

Released in 1989, it was the first film written and directed by Cameron Crowe, who earlier had written "Fast Times at Richmond High." He would go on to write and direct "Singles" and "Jerry Maguire." The film starred John Cusack and Ione Skye. The role was significant for Cusack because this role led to eventual turns in films like "The Grifters", "Fat Man and Little Boy", and "City Hall." With this film, John Cusack grew up. He had earlier appeared in "Sixteen Candles", "The Sure Thing", "Stand by Me", and a personal favorite, "Better Off Dead."

Prior to this film, Ione Skye appeared in only two films: "River's Edge" and "A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon." "Say Anything" was her first real leading role.

The film centers on Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) and his quest to win the heart of school valedictorian Diane Court (Ione Skye). However, everyone around them thinks that the odd pairing of the two can only doom them. The one most deadset against the union is Diane's father (John Mahoney). He is looking out for his daughter's best interests, and that includes a scholarship she has won, in which she has to travel to England.

Lloyd lives in Seattle with his sister and her son. His sister is played by Joan Cusack, John's real-life older sister. His best friends are Corey Flood (Lili Taylor) and D.C. (Amy Brooks). They are sort of his advice counselours, and they're the ones who initially tell Lloyd that he's crazy for even thinking of asking Diane out on a date. They dont want to see him get hurt. But as Lloyd himself says, "I wanna get hurt."

So Lloyd calls Diane up, and after much persuading, and charm, he asks her to go to the big Graduation party, which is held every year at the home of Valhere (Eric Stoltz). This party is probably one of the best shown in a teen movie in some time. You have to remember that Crowe wrote "Fast Times", so he knows a thing or two about parties. You see the usual drunks, louts, loud music, food thrown about, and Corey singing 100 songs about Joe and pain.

They eventually start dating, but not without complications. There is Diane's father, who has raised Diane by himself. He wants Diane to just concentrate on going to England to goto school with the scholarship she has won. He sees Lloyd as a detriment to his daughter and to everything she, and he, have worked all their lives for. And eventually, all his persistence pays off, and Diane and Lloyd break up. Their break-up scene in his car is very heartbreaking, especially to those who've been there in that situation.

So to try to win Diane back, Lloyd does what is probably the one of the more romantic scenes I've seen. Or at least had seen up to that point. While Diane is in bed, Lloyd holds up his boombox and blasts "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel, the very song that was playing the first time they had sex. When I saw that scene, I was going, "Damnit!!!! Get out of bed and run down to Lloyd!! Cant you see he still loves you? You know you still love him!!" Ah, but I digress......

But enough about giving away the plot and all. I suggest running to your video store and renting the damn thing. Then again, most of you have already probably seen it. So why not go out and watch it again? You'll be glad you did.

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