Say Anything...

Rating:
Summary: A great love story
Review: Ione Skye was great,you can see the many faces of her in this movie.I have watch this movie alot and its my favorite. I fell in love with Ione Skye and now I can't get enough of her.

Rating:
Summary: It's Been Eleven Years...
Review: It's been a whopping eleven years since I first saw this film-- despite widespread advance critical acclaim -- in an extremely uncrowded theater east of San Diego.

Perhaps because it lacked star voltage, perhaps because it lacked (at least back then) any recognizable household names, perhaps because it was strapped with a low budget yet enthusiastic TV ad campaign (compared to the glowing newspaper ads published in L.A. and New York, which I clipped out and still own, tinted brown with age) -- almost everyone I know who has seen this jewel of a film -- never got to see it on the big screen. They caught it on video or on television.

The great news is that I don't know a single person today who has seen the film, who didn't fall in love with it.

Other reviewers here at Amazon have already done a terrific job discussing the machinations of the plot, the great acting, the fabulous, five-star ending ...that absolutely shatters you with happiness, joy and a sense of exhilaration that doesn't feel cheap or contrived. It feels earned, real, honest and true. And while most of my Amazon reviews run 900 to 1,000 words, this film has been blessed already with so many great comments written by others, that anything I could possibly add would be redundant.

So please let me just say this.

If you BUY this film, instead of renting it -- you will NEVER, EVER, EVER regret it -- as long as you live.

Some films are worth renting or seeing once and then perhaps catching up with few years later on television. But the story in "Say Anything..." hasn't aged at all, even though we're watching everything unfold based on objects and the perceptions of people in 1988 and 1989.

I see 50 to 60 movies in theaters each year. I don't do it for a living. In my mind, there were only two GREAT films worthy of the Best Picture Oscar in 1989. It wasn't the winner that year ("Driving Miss Daisy"). And it wasn't the favorite to win that year ("Born on the Fourth of July"). My first choice was "Glory." My second was "Say Anything..." Neither film was nominated in that category and neither film was a box office hit. But thanks to video and pay cable, both have gained many, many fans.

So BUY this film. There's no need to "test screen" it by renting it first. I guarantee you, you won't be sorry. END

Rating:
Summary: "The play's the thing"
Review: The acting is very good (John Cusack is excellent, as always) but the best part of this movie the the story, that draws in the viewer with some unexpected developments. The final scene is one of the best in film history.

Highly recommended.

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Summary: John Cusack's so cute
Review: I thought this movie was really good. Now being only the age of 18 i had never seen this movie for it was before my time. however after viewing i have to say that john cusack is really hot. Not to mention a really good actor. In the movie john plays the guy that all the girls want, someone to crush on you and would do anything for you. someone who would go to any lengths to keep you close to him. Of course only in the movies would someone like this exist.

Rating:
Summary: What every girl wants
Review: Absoultey wonderful. I was in my late thirtys when I saw this movie. The music is wonderful and so romantic. John is such a great actor. The storyline was perfect. Who wouldn't want a guy like that. I bought it a year later and I watch it about 2 time a month.

Rating:
Summary: Calling All Romantics...
Review: This movie is a perfect love story that all ages can enjoy. That about sums it up. But, I can't go without mentioning the boom box scene with "In Your Eyes" playing. This scene wrecks me every time and I always have thought this was one of the most moving, romantic moments of all time. I wish more guys could be like Lloyd Dobbler, the main character of this movie.

Rating:
Summary: An Earlier Film Showing Incredible Talent
Review: Viewers are now being given a second chance to own this wonderful film via this video rerelease of a work that covers a lot of territory: romance, family relations, coming of age, temptation into fraud and embezzlement plus the resolution of all this. Frankly, I like it BETTER than I liked its writer-director's later film, "Jerry Maguire", which is saying a lot. A very young John Cusack is the hero here. I'd only seen him in one other movie when I saw this one. I was incredibly impressed with his performance, of a young man without any firm goals of his own other than being extraordinarily committed to a young woman who has thought in terms of nothing but goals her entire life. She is played very well by Ione Skye. Unfortunately, I've only seen her in a few other roles over the years. Mahoney, the actor playing her father, does a shocking, but completely believable turn, as the ideal dad who turns bad. One line in this film stands out in my mind more than any other line. It is the father telling his daughter, "I did it for you," to excuse himself from his own fraudulent, criminal conduct. This is so true-to-life in so many family or friend situations, that I'm sure everyone will hear it with the shock of recognition. Cusack and Skye make it seem extremely likely that they will stay together through the long years after high school graduation, which is when we see them in this movie. I wasn't near their age when I first saw this film and it didn't make a bit of difference. It appeals to viewers of all ages. Hubby really liked it too.

Rating:
Summary: All single men should watch this film before a first date.
Review: John Cusack's character in Say Anything, Lloyd Dobbler, is a cinematical stud. No he's not a sports champ, or the smartest guy around. He's just a good honest guy who knows how to treat others.

After Lloyd takes Diane Cort out on their first date, they walk across a Seven-Eleven parking lot. Diane is about to step in a pile of broken glass when Lloyd jumps ahead and clears her path. Not that big of a deal, but that's the type of caring gesture that men should preform on a regular basis. Lloyd continues these acts throughout the movie, delivering his best preformance toward the end. When things are looking grim between Lloyd and Diane(an obvious happening in chick flicks), Lloyd stands outside of Diane's house by his Chevy Malibu, lifts up his radio, and plays 'In Your Eyes' by Peter Gabriel. This scene, of coarse, will go down as one of the most romantic scenes in cinematic history.

Now I'm not saying that us single men should use Lloyd Dobbler as a roll model. Nor am I suggesting that the next time your romantic life turns sour to run over to your girlfriends house with a boombox and play some romantic toon to her opened bedroom window (although it did work for a friend of mine). Granted Lloyd is purly fictional. However, he does appear to be a genuine guy who could teach us all a thing or two.

Rating:
Summary: Ding!
Review: This is the movie I use to see if someone is worthwhile. "Do you love '...say anything'?" I'd say. If the answer is 'yes', then I have a friend for life. If the answer is 'no', then be gone with ye.

This movie has many outstanding moments. Of course, there's the 'In Your Eyes' scene outside Diane's window. But I also love the moment where John Mahoney (who is great as always) breaks down in the bathtub. Or when Lloyd has his picture taken with Diane after graduation. "I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen". I could go on and on.

In most romantic comedies, it is essential for me to fall in love with the girl as deeply as the boy does. Usually that's the kicker for me. This is the exception. I didn't fall in love with Diane Court. I don't blame this on Ione Skye - she did a great job with what she had. It's just that what she had is nothing spectacular. There's something cold and distant and unaware about Diane that I just can't wrap my head around. She is the kind of person I probably wouldn't think twice about. Come to think of it, she's the kind of person who probably wouldn't understand '...say anything'? Hmm.

And you know what? None of that matters. Because I fell in love with Lloyd Dobler. One of my three all-time favourite screen characters (along with Hannibal Lecter and Max Fisher), Lloyd is a unique individual. He's confidant yet vulnerable, extroverted yet shy, pure yet complex. John Cusack does a great job here. He plays Lloyd with pitbull intensity (witness the kickboxing) and yet puppy dog emotion. His relationships with his friends and his sister and his nephew are all super sincere and beautiful.

And just like his friends, I can totally see someone like Diane Court falling for someone like Lloyd Dobler. It's in the details, it is. He checks up on her at the party; he points out the broken glass; he teaches her to drive a stick; he eases her fears on the airplane. And that's why this movie is so great. Because even though I may not have fallen in love with Diane, I can still understand Lloyd's passion for her.

Rating:
Summary: It's Too Bad They Don't Make Movies Like This Anymore...
Review: First, I wanted to say that just about all the customer reviews here were really pleasing to read. "Say Anything" is without a doubt one of my all-time favorites, but as much as I love John Cusack's Lloyd Dobler, I do not love this film because he is "the ideal boyfriend", but because all the characters are so well-drawn and thoroughly human, a quality that is lacking in teen films of recent years. As much as I like 90s teen films like "American Pie", we simply do not get to know characters on a deeply-personal level. Cusack, Ione Skye and John Mahoney all portray many dimensions to each of their characters, just as humans are complex in real life. I love this film because it is so deeply human and relatable. Anyone who has seen this film and doesn't love it is probably crazy, or just an aspiring screenwriter who is bitter at Cameron Crowe for so beautifully and effectively conveying the emotions of the human spirit onto the screen.

Plus, a bunch of great quotes come from this movie: "You must chill! I have hidden your keys! Chill!"; "Joe Lies, Joe Lies, While he cries, while he cries..."; "Friends with potential"; "If you were Diane Court, would you honestly fall for Lloyd Dobler?" "Yeah..."; "You're shaking" "No...I'm happy"; "Don't be a guy. The world is full of guys--be a man"; "Let him do what he wants"

Another great 80s love story is "Some Kind of Wonderful" with Eric Stoltz and Mary Stuart Masterson. Though not as thoroughly enjoyable as "Say Anything" it is very similar being in the "unlikely love" category and is especially great to catch if you have ever loved someone who was in love with someone else.