Say Anything... (1989)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Cameron Crowe

Writer (WGA):

Cameron Crowe (written by)

Release Date:

14 April 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

To know Lloyd Dobler is to love him. Diane Court is about to know Lloyd Dobler.

Plot:

A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.

Plot Keywords:

High School | England | Love | High School Graduation | Graduation

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

John Cusack	...	Lloyd Dobler
Ione Skye	...	Diane Court
John Mahoney	...	James Court
Lili Taylor	...	Corey Flood
Amy Brooks	...	D.C.
Pamela Adlon	...	Rebecca (as Pamela Segall)
Jason Gould	...	Mike Cameron
Loren Dean	...	Joe
Glenn Walker Harris Jr.	...	Jason Dobler
Charles Walker	...	Principal
Russel Lunday	...	Parent
Polly Platt	...	Mrs. Flood
Gloria Cromwell	...	Ruth
Jeremy Piven	...	Mark
Patrick O'Neill	...	Denny

Also Known As:

...Say Anything... (USA) (promotional title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Seattle, Washington, USA

Company:

Gracie Films

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Cameron Crowe]and wife Nancy Wilson as pedestrians in front of the mall as Lloyd passes by while recalling the site of their first "date".

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Joe arrives at the party with his girlfriend, she says "I'll be in the kitchen, Joe", but her lips say "Bye, baby".

Quotes:

Diane Court: Nobody thinks it will work, do they?
Lloyd Dobler: No. You just described every great success story.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Aliens in America: No Man Is an Island (#1.2)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Brandy

Romantic Masterpiece

I rented this movie solely based on the excellent reviews that it has gotten everywhere. I missed it during its theatrical release (as so many others did) and had the hardest time finding a copy of it at our local video rental stores. Not because it wasn't popular but b/c, according to the clerks, people kept stealing or "losing" their copies...especially around Valentines Day. When I finally got my hands on a copy I was blown away. I had thought this was going to be just another in a long link of Pretty in Pinkish movies with predictable characters and a bad case of puppy love, but what I got was a surprisingly refreshing, unconventional story with a complicated and well-developed emotional depth flawlessly captured by the actors and Cameron Crowe.

And talk about role reversals! I'm so used to seeing the man take the assertive and mature role while courting a woman of limited financial or intellectual means...but in this film it's the girl that's got her future together and the guy who's more than willing to concentrate his attention on making her happy. And Lloyd Dobler isn't just a shiftless man with no future. He's an eternal optimist who lives in the present and recognizes, admires, and compliments the qualities in Diane that go beyond her amazing intellect. She becomes his dare-to-be-great situation and his absolute love and devotion to her is anything but unmanly. The force of it is palatable and immensely erotic without being reduced to cheap teenage lust. The sight of Lloyd in the shadows defiantly blasting out the truth of their love through the boombox is a scene which would have seemed awkward and goofy in any other movie but this one. It's easy to understand why even the critics of the time gave Say Anything two enthusiastic thumbs up. This is one of the few films that really captures the feeling of love.