(Where have all the Lloyd Doblers gone?)
CAST: John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, Lilli Taylor, Loren Dean.
DIRECTOR: Cameron Crowe.
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and one very charming (and underestimated)slacker straight ahead…
IT’S LIKE THIS: It’s the summer after high school graduation, and sweet Seattle-ite underachiever Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) decides to pursue a relationship with hot, ambitious brain Diane Court (Ione Skye) before they part ways forever as she moves to England to pursue an education at Oxford University. Unfortunately, just as with any great love story, it ain’t going to be that easy. First of all, Lloyd’s friends think he’s got a Haagen Daaz bar’s chance in hell of making it work. Second of all, Diane’s over-protective father (John Mahoney) thinks Lloyd is nothing but a slacker. Third of all, Lloyd’s kind of unsure of himself. Let’s just say there have been easier hook-ups in the long History of Romance…
THE DUDE (OR DUDETTE) MOST LIKELY TO SAVE THE DAY: Lloyd. Never underestimate the power of a slacker who finally decides to get his act together.
EYE CANDY MOST LIKELY TO FIRE UP A WOODY: Well, maybe not fire up a woody, exactly, but enough to make you consider tying him up to a bed and giving him a “Very Happy Ending” massage: John Cusack.
MOST INTENTIONALLY SWEET SCENE: The Lloydster serenading Diane with a boombox (can you tell this was made in the 80s) blaring Peter Gabriel’s awesome “In Your Eyes”. See video at end of review.
MOST UNINTENTIONALLY SWEET SCENE: The Lloydster meeting Diane’s dad for the first time - and fucking the whole thing up royally.
HOTTEST SCENE: Nothing is hotter than a man serenading you with a boombox blaring an awesome Peter Gabriel song. Somehow, using an Ipod and mini-speakers is just not the same thing. You know who you are. The next time you serenade me, jackass, bring the right equipment.
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: Can Lloyd and Diane’s romance get kickstarted? And if it does, will it survive the end of summer? Why does Diane’s dad object to Lloyd so much? And what issues of his own is Pops dealing with? Will Diane have to choose between helping family - and loving Lloyd? Will Lloyd accompany Diane to Oxford? Or are they going to have to settle for a long-distance relationship? If so, good luck with that, kids…
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH “SAY ANYTHING”: If you like youth romances that eschew the usual “horny teens” formula and creates its own world and rules. And, if you like John Cusack, who has never been more charming onscreen.
WHY YOU MAY NOT ENJOY “SAY ANYTHING”: If you like the “horny teens“ template and do not forgive any deviations from it. And if you don’t like John Cusack - which some people don’t.
FINAL ANALYSIS: I have to admit that the first time I watched SAY ANYTHING, I felt a little disappointed. Then I realized it was because I had been expecting it to conform to the rules and beats of the Teen Comedy Romance Genre, which dictate that themes don’t run any deeper than your average puddle. What writer/director Cameron Crowe, though, is treat the characters - young and old - with respect and sensitivity. The result is a film that transcends the confines the Teen Comedy Romance Genre - to become something bigger and more profound. When I re-watched SAY ANYTHING with this frame of mind, everything fell into place - and just as Diane can’t help falling for the quirky Lloyd, so could I not help falling for this movie.
This “adult” approach is perfectly appropriate since we have here a romance that blooms between two teens during the summer after graduation - that last chance for youthful abandon before “growing up”. In SAY ANYTHING, it’s the love between Lloyd and Diane that matures them, courtesy of the obstacles and complications they must surmount to be together. The result is a love story of uncommon sensitivity - especially from what is essentially packaged as a teen film. Much like John Hughes’s earlier oeuvre, SAY ANYTHING is filled with deeper undercurrents about family, friendship, romance, sacrifice, and the different kinds of love that cross our paths everyday. In fact, you’d be forgiven for thinking SAY ANYTHING was the latest entry in John Hughes’ body of work. Crowe, however, makes this movie his own and doesn’t mimic Hughes style too much.
The “maturity” carries forward in the performances. John Cusack is perfectly cast as the one-of-a-kind Lloyd Dobler. Lloyd is clearly one of those charismatic non-conformists whom certain camps view as either a “slacker” or a “underachiever” - but is actually quite intelligent and talented. It’s these hidden qualities that his many “fans” see and adore him for. As the poster’s tagline reads: “To Know Lloyd Dobler Is To Love Him. Diane Court Is About To Get To Know Lloyd Dobler.” This is perfectly appropriate, because it’s the novelty of having the focused, pulled-together, formidably ambitious Diane fall for the seemingly-polar opposite Lloyd that gives SAY ANYTHING its power. Underneath their very different exteriors, though, they are soulmates.
John Mahoney, Lilli Taylor, and Joan Cusack (John’s sister), are all terrific in supporting roles. But, as with any great romance, the two main leads of John Cusack and Ione Skye own this film. You know a screen couple has won you over when you find yourself hoping they’re still together out there somewhere in some parallel universe where movie characters live on…
In closing, please find below a video of Peter Gabriel’s lovely “In Your Eyes,” which is the song that Lloyd uses to serenade Diane…
