Review of Say Anything... (1989) by Shane D — 02 Jan 2012

To the average person on the street, this film is known as "the one where John Cusack holds the boombox over his head". I was kind of surprised to learn, upon watching it for the first time, that in the big scheme of things, that scene has very little significance or impact in the actual film.

I mean, its a great scene but for all these years I'd pegged it as being the big climax, which it's not. Cusack is at his most charming here, which isn't a surprise. The father-daughter relationship at the core of the film is a little strange, running from creepy, to unbelievable, and back to creepy.

..but that aside, the whole thing is a big bag of wonderful 80s kitsch. The soundtrack especially. Great film, glad I got around to watching it.