Say Anything

Say Anything is a film that doesn't come up so often among my friends. I actually wouldn't be surprised if I learned that some of them had also never seen it. And really, maybe the only reason it seemed like one I needed to catch up with is because of that one scene. You know it. The one where John Cusack holds the ghetto blaster above his head in the street below Ione Skye's bedroom, resorting to anything he can think of to make her understand how he feels. Ive seen it referenced and parodied time and again. It turns out, in the actual movie, that scene feels like a very small part of the story.

I'd say this film definitely fits in the "teen romance" genre. But it doesn't feel like the typical movies of that type that have poured over us in the last twenty years. Say Anything was a cut above. And while the style was a bit dated the movie holds up well after two decades.

What struck me the most was how believable it was. Teen movies (and John Cusack movies in general for tha matter) tend to force you to stretch your limits of disbelief. Think about Better Off Dead, One Crazy Summer, American Pie. All great movies, and all good examples of "teen movies". But I don't think any of them come close to the reality portrayed by Say Anything.

Sure, John Cusack maybe just thinks he's in love. Maybe he's too young to have a proper frame of reference. And ditto for Ione Skye. But I never once questioned the actions they took, never once thought, "come on, he'd never do that." Everyone in the film was true to their character, even if their character was an oddball teenager, and I liked that.

I would definitely recommend this movie.