Review of Say Anything... (1989) by Jared H — 04 Mar 2011

*Bumping this movie up to a full 5 stars. It has become a personal favorite and an all-time classic in my eyes.*.

This movie is a prime example of how awesome teen movies were in the '80s, and how much dumber they have gotten over the years. It is so authentic, and so well made, and so mother effing charming. It's a strong contender for my favorite teen movie ever (The Breakfast Club and Clueless have serious competition).

The reason that makes it so great is that the emotions between the characters seem so real. Cameron Crowe (who also directed the more recent gem, Vanilla Sky) is an expert at not only capturing romantic love on screen, but making it seep into the heart of the audience. He perfectly portrays the euphoria, the confusion, and the angst that is teenage love, and also nails that unique, awkward and loving relationship between parent and child. Like I said, all the emotions in this movie are so authentic.

The three main performances are all excellent, especially John Cusack's portrayal of the helpless but sincere main character. Cusack makes Freddy Prinze Jr. look like a pile of bacteria vomit. He's awesome in this movie.

Add in a couple truly iconic moments like the boombox scene and the airplane take-off scene at the end, and you've got yourself a real classic. This movie is timeless.