Review of Say Anything... (1989) by Daniel K — 16 Nov 2009

3: It doesn't do it for me quite as much as it apparently does for many, but it still works everytime. The performances work, the chemistry between most of them works, there are enough oddball and funny moments to keep one occasionally laughing, the story is engaging and credible, the time period is ridiculously captured on film, more than one scene and line ends up being fairly memorable, etc.

I did find it interesting that this is essentially the same film that is being made now, despite all the recent talk of new gross-out romantic comedies being all about the loser guy getting with the winner girl.

They were already making that exact film back in the 80's. Did the majority of the critics simply forget this minor detail? I'm not sure what the explanation is, but perhaps the reason many seem to have placed this picture in a different category is due to John Cusack's on screen qualities.

In many ways, he's the romantic comedy male lead of his generation and perhaps of all generations working over the past three or so decades. He makes a loser seem like much less of a loser simply because we can't quite buy that Cusack could be a loser.

He elevates the work of those around him as well. This is one of those feel-good little pictures that will last, at least until the generation that grew up with it dies away anyway.