Review of The Sure Thing (1985) by Andy F — 27 Mar 2005

There was a time when Rob Reiner was on the top of his filmmaking game, but that time has been long since gone. In the 80's he directed the now classic [i]This Is Spinal Tap[/i], [i]Stand By Me, The Princess Bride[/i], and one of the greatest romantic comedies ever, [i]When Harry Met Sally. [/i]The only mentionable film he released in the 90's was [i]The American President, [/i]because in my opinion [i]Misery [/i]wasn't as good as it was received. Even though he has been on more than a small slump over the past 15 years or so, the string of films he started his directing career off with are so great that it should still consider him an important filmmaker. One film that has seemed to be sort of overlooked is one he made in his prime, right in the middle of it to be exact. It was his second and was released in 1985. It's called [i]The Sure Thing [/i]and it's what I'm going to write a little about.

There have been many attempts at creating an equally funny and realistic view of opposite attraction in films, and a lot more have failed than succeeded. In the 80's Reiner succeeded both times he tried to do this, and most are familiar with the second of the two, [i]When Harry Met Sally[/i]. His first take on this subject came four years earlier in the film that brought on the first great performance from one of the best actors in cinema, John Cusack. This film is of the rare kind, it has heart, humor, and it's surprisingly smart and gets real performances from the entire cast, thus creating a realistic take on a tough subject to perfect. Maybe the only reason the film kind of faded away without recognition was the lack of "star power", which is a terrible reason to hurt a film's chances but that's how it is. The love interest of Cusack's character here is played by Daphne Zuniga who is probably best known for her role as the Princess in Mel Brooks' [i]Spaceballs[/i]. She is the perfect choice to play the uptight girl in this film as she shows a wide range of emotions. Other actors who add great comedic effect are Anthony Edwards as Cusack's high school friend who constantly tries to persuade him to come to California, and Tim Robbins who begins his numerous appearances alongside Cusack as a showtune singing and old fashioned man that happily gives people a lift in his sky blue station wagon.

There's just something about this film, something that takes it a step above many films of its kind. It's a crime that it has been so underappreciated still 20 years after it was released. The outstanding Cusack officially began his amazing career here. It's the kind of movie you're almost always in the mood to watch.