Rating: 
Summary: One Of My Favorites
Review: Grosse Pointe Blank lived up to my expectations. It's very funny and witty, and it avoids running into cliches and slow points. John Cusak is great as a hit-man, Martin, going through sort of a "mid-life crisis" although he hasn't even hit his thirties yet. He ends up going back home to do his final job when he meets up with the girl (Minnie Driver) he stood up on prom night and ends up going to his ten-year high school reunion. During his visit, Martin is threatened by rivals and must watch his back to make it out of Grosse Pointe alive. Plot twists and turns come about and it's hard to predict what happens next. Dan Aykyrod delivers a nice performance as Martin's rival. If you enjoy sharp wit and somewhat dark humor, see this movie. Oh yeah, the soundtrack (The Clash, Violent Femmes, The English Beat, The Cure, David Bowie & Queen, etc.) is nice too.
Rating:
Summary: You¿re a Handsome Devil, What¿s Your Name
Review: This is a film which you can watch time and time again, but why is it such a good movie. It's got no CG, little special effects, and it's shot mostly in the one location. But what it does have is a story, which is not too far fetched and maybe one, which we can relate to. In our busy lives do we ever get time to stop and look back on our past, how are lives have turned out, and if were happy. It's this message that underlies this black comedy about a hit man on his final job, returning home, facing his decade old past and the people he left behind. It makes you stop and think, what have become of the people you used to know and ultimately left behind, and what have they done with their lives. The story is excellent both in content, and execution by John Cusack, (who also co-wrote the script, and starred along with a good proportion of his family) and Minnie Driver. A story of love in modern times with deeper meaning summarises this film. This film is a classic in the making, it's one which you can add to your collection knowing you've made a good purchase, and one you can watch over and over again. I recommend this movie to anyone, this is definitely one to own, you will not regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: black comedy at it's wittiest...
Review: anytime you'll attend a high school reunion, wouldn't it be nice to brag about a career, say a banker maybe. but how are you going to explain to a bunch of friends and an old flame you're a retiring hitman? there lies the plot.GPB may not be an oscar caliber movie but it sure delivers a punch and shot(all pun intended!). the script is very witty, most of them became a byword in everyday conversation. "a bimmer in detroit? that's sacrilege!" "ten years man! ten years!" "i freaked out. i joined the army. now i work for myself." "you brokered the sale of my house? well thank you for profiting in my childhood!" "we took your old pictures from the class album. special torture!" these are just some of the funny lines you'll hear in this movie. and john cusack was cool in this one. he played the very troubled and wary hitman so good you'd think he was once one before. jeremy piven as usual is so striking that if it's your first time to watch him, you'd either loathe him or love him right away. all in all the movie is great. even hank azaria has some funny moments here. if ever there is a crime here, it's about nepotism. all 3 of john's siblings are in here. but then again they all got away with it, marvelously.
Rating:
Summary: Black comedy with plenty of replay value
Review: When hit man Martin Blank (John Cusack) first receives an invitation to his ten year high school reunion he has no interest in going at all. That is until he agrees to a contract in the same area. Upon returning home to Grosse Pointe all Martin can think about is the ex-girlfriend (Minnie Driver) that he stood up on prom night. Martin appears to be fixing their relationship until rival hit man(Dan Aykroyd) shows up in town to eliminate Blank. For the first time Martin has to balance his job and a personal life. At first I had no desire to see this film but after the first viewing it became one of my favorites. Everything about this movie is great from the characters to the soundtrack, there is really nothing to complain about. John Cusack is excellent in his role and actually makes the audience feel sorry and care about the hit man. The supporting cast all fill their roles nicely (even Minnie Driver who I normally don't care that much for). This is one movie that I could watch over and over. Its a romantic comedy with a twist of action and is perfectly balanced.
Rating:
Summary: The 90s great underrated comedy
Review: Grosse Pointe Blank is maybe John Cusack's finest film - certainly, his finest film playing a full-fledged adult. Cusack and Evanston, IL home team D.V. DeVincentis and Steve Pink put together a smart screenplay that is equal parts comedy and drama. Of course, Cusack is the engine that drives everything. He pulls off the role of depressed hitman with aplomb. Cusack's co-stars excel here as well: - Brit Minnie Driver flexs her acting chops as Cusack's midwest high school girlfriend. - Dan Ackroyd has an over-the-top role as head of a Hitmans' Union. It's an absurd, demented role that fits Ackroyd like a glove. - Jeremy Piven turns in his usual solid stuff as Cusack's high school buddy (okay, not much of a stretch there, but no one does these roles like Piven). - And, of course, Joan Cusack is her usual hilarious self as Cusack's Admin. The delight of the movie is the delicious satire of wrapping the most non-professional of all "professions" (hitman) in the trappings of the modern world. Cusack's Martin Blank has an admin take his messages and set up 'appointments,' gets pressure from the union, takes therapy sessions (from Alan Arkin - brilliant as usual), battles competition for market share. It's wonderful stuff.
Rating: 
Summary: Back to School
Review: Combining elements of thriller, romantic/black comedy, con movies and some Tarantino references, "Grosse Pointe Blank" is a decent offbeat flick that manages to entertain but doesn`t make much of an impression. John Cusack plays a hitman who goes to a highschool reunion in his hometown. He meets his ex-girlfriend (played by Minnie Driver) whom he left ten years ago, and some contrived situations unfold in the process. His job causes a couple of problems, so he figures out that it`s better to choose another kind of life. Although this movie is witty at parts, it doesn`t work very well as a whole and seems too disjointed to convince. The acting is ok, the directing isn`t bad and the soundtrack is good enough (Violent Femmes, The Cure, The Clash, Eels,...), yet the plot and pacing are just too flawed and uneven. This kind of stuff has been done before (and better) in movies like "True Love", so "Grosse Pointe Blank" ends up being a mildly interesting but ultimately disposable effort. As watchable as it is forgettable.
Rating:
Summary: A great, great movie
Review: The art of dialogue is lost in most movies today. Either a script is flat (quite often pathetic), or relies completely on traditional writing practices. This movie restores my faith in American screenplays. Everything about the movie is hip, inventive and entertaining. The pristine writing is performed flawlessly, with an incredible mesh between all the players. John Cusack's dialogue with Driver, Akroid and Joan Cusack is stunning. Everything about the performance cries honesty. I watch this movie again and again and every exchange continues to delight me. Though the writing/performance is what makes this a personal top 10 movie, let me not belittle the rest of the film. The darkly comic plot comes alive and flows very smoothly from scene to scene. It is highly intelligent, and in no way 'dumbed down'. I've watched this movie a dozen times, and still I'm always in the mood to put it in the DVD player again. If you want a smart and engaging movie, get it.
Rating:
Summary: Cusack and Driver In Top Form
Review: A one time Government agent turned independent contract killer, in need of some time off and a career change, goes home for his ten-year High School reunion in "Grosse Pointe Blank," a black comedy from director George Armitage. Martin Blank (John Cusack) is on edge; two dissatisfied customers and a competitor want him off the board, and his life is somehow unsatisfying. He's become "dispassionate, bored and uneasy." When he receives an invitation to his reunion, he is encouraged to go, first by his secretary, Marcella (Joan Cusack), and then by his analyst, Dr. Oatman (Alan Arkin), who tells him to go and have a good time: "Don't kill anybody for awhile, see how it feels." When one of his unhappy customers demands that he take a contract to make amends for what they consider a botched job, and it coincidentally turns out to be in his home town, that cinches it; he's off to Grosse Pointe, Michigan, to take care of business and reevaluate his life. When he hits town, he runs into an old flame, Debi (Minnie Driver), the girl he stood up on prom night, after which he subsequently vanished into thin air for the next ten years. It was the very night he ran off to join the army, which lead him to his current "vocation" when his psych profile indicated that he had a certain "moral flexibility." Quickly, the old flame reignites between Martin and Debi, but there's a complication; Debi's father, Bert (Mitchell Ryan) is Martin's intended victim, the fact of which Martin is thus far ignorant, because he hasn't yet opened the dossier he's been given, which contains the details of the job. John Cusack gives a magnetic performance as the somewhat apprehensive Martin, whose cool stoicism is beginning to erode in the face of some personal misgivings concerning his chosen occupation. He plays him for what he is, just a working guy, no different than the postman or a grocery clerk; and it's that realistic approach that makes this character believable. Minnie Driver is delightful here, thoroughly engaging as Debi, giving her just the spark that's needed to make the connection between her and Martin real. Alan Arkin, too, brings his own style of dry humor to the part of the anxious Dr. Oatman, who refuses to treat Martin (he's admittedly afraid of him, as well as intimidated), but who has to, because Martin keeps showing up at his office at the same time every week. And Joan Cusack adds that something extra with an energetic, funny performance that raises the level of the movie just that much more. Rounding out the supporting cast are Dan Aykroyd, who does a good turn as Grocer, the rival killer whose efforts at forming a "union" for the independents of their profession are all for naught; Hank Azaria (Steven), K. Todd Freeman (McCullers), Jeremy Piven (Paul), Ann Cusack (Amy) and Jenna Elfman (Tanya). With a driving soundtrack integrated into the action, clever dialogue, some good action sequences, and especially the performances of Cusack and Driver, "Grosse Pointe Blank" is a funny, entertaining film; and with some imaginative touches by Armitage, who does a great job of keeping the story on track and moving along, this is one you're going to be glad you didn't let pass you by.
Rating:
Summary: Gross Dumb and Blank
Review: This is a typical Cusak movie. Everything in this movie is to draw attention to him and make him look good. The hip eighties music, the droll but hip sounding conversation, the idea that Mr. Cusak has the skill to kill someone with a... pen, the romance of a sensitive killer going back to reclaim his high school sweethart, and finding meaning in the innocence of a baby's face. Don't fall for this hopeless, romantic "bad-ass." The premise for the movie simply doesn't work- the "cold-blooded killer has feelings too" theme. Only someone as pretentious and unfunny as Cusak could think like this. Somewhere along the line, the art of good movie making gets lost. That's what happens here and in all Cusak centered movies.
Rating:
Summary: Back to School
Review: Combining elements of thriller, romantic/black comedy, con movies and some Tarantino references, "Grosse Pointe Blank" is a decent offbeat flick that manages to entertain but doesn`t make much of an impression. John Cusack plays a hitman who goes to a highschool reunion in his hometown. He meets his ex-girlfriend (played by Minnie Driver) whom he left ten years ago, and some contrived situations unfold in the process. His job causes a couple of problems, so he figures out that it`s better to choose another kind of life. Although this movie is witty at parts, it doesn`t work very well as a whole and seems too disjointed to convince. The acting is ok, the directing isn`t bad and the soundtrack is good enough (Violent Femmes, The Cure, The Clash, Eels,...), yet the plot and pacing are just too flawed and uneven. This kind of stuff has been done before (and better) in movies like "True Love", so "Grosse Pointe Blank" ends up being a mildly interesting but ultimately disposable effort. As watchable as it is forgettable.
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