Say Anything...

Rating:
Summary: "I Wanna get Hurt!"
Review: Cameron Crowe has consistently and clearly spoken for post 70s children, whether it be through his extreme comedies like FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH which he scripted or his Oscar courting films JERRY MAGUIRE and ALMOST FAMOUS. Chief amongst his achievements is his directorial debut film, SAY ANYTHING. A film that single-handedly gave young teenager's hope in their otherwise frightening lives.

Upon graduation, Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack in the role he was born to play) decides to devote his time to getting to know and spending as much time with the beautiful valedictorian. But Diane Court (Ione Skye) is a brain trapped in the body of a game show hostess whose overprotective father has bigger and better plans for her daughter and they don't involve our young kickboxing hero. Wonderful John Mahoney portrays Diane's father. He has a couple scenes that leave you conflicted whether you should pity or hate him. His doomed run-in with a beautiful sales clerk is heart wrenching. And as the pressure builds on him, he seeks solace from the world in the safety of his bathtub, fully clothed. Supporting roles are great especially Lily Taylor as one of Lloyd's friends, a young musician infatuated with her break-up with Joe. She has written 65 songs about it.

Crowe does a wonderful job relating this film with his audience, creating an intelligent teen film. It even manages to deal with a political issue as a large element of the film centers on senior citizen care reform. By the end of the film, most teenage guys wanted to be Lloyd Dobler and most girls wanted to date Lloyd Dobler. When he spends an early morning holding his boom box over his head to win back Diane's heart, he created a catch phrase worthy of the guy who would later create "You had me at hello."

The DVD has a great audio video transfer as well as some deleted and extended scenes. But, it is the audio commentary by Crowe, Skye and Cusack that make this indispensable. Enjoy SAY ANYTHING.

Rating:
Summary: John Cusack's 2nd Best Movie of All Time
Review: There is no denying that "Say Anything" is quite simply one of the best films of all time!

HOWEVER...John Cusack's best role will always be that of Walter Gibson in "The Sure Thing".... which needs to be released on DVD IMMEDIATELY.

"Say Anything" is a different film than "The Sure Thing." It is in a class all by itself. It is quite simply marvelous, poignant and forever endearing. It deserves so much more than 5 starts! 10 stars for this beautiful film.

What can be said about this film that hasn't already been said? It is the perfect love story. Lloyd meets girl. Lloyd falls in love with girl. Girl's father objects to Lloyd. Lloyd loses girl. Lloyd wins her back. True love reigns.

This DVD is PACKED. Worth every cent you will pay should you wish to own a classic gem. There is commentary by director Cameron Crowe, John Cusack, & Ione Skye!! (Right there, worth the price!) There are so many behind the scenes stories and anecdotes to be listened to here. There are theatrical and television trailers, 10 deleted scenes, 13 extended scenes & 5 alternate scenes with commentary!! What more could you want?!

DO NOT miss out on owning this DVD. If you've by some chance never seen "Say Anything" do yourself a favor and do so right away! You're truly missing out.

SPOILER FOR THOSE WHO MAY NOT HAVE SEEN IT.... No matter how many times I have seen this masterpiece, I still get choked up when Lloyd tells Diane, "You've just described every success story." And then we wait for the "ding" along with them.

And then... the "ding." CUT TO BLACK. (Gets me every time.)

I love this movie. Absolutely love it.

Rating:
Summary: Great DVD
Review: I've been waiting for a Special Edition DVD of Say Anything for a long time. I'd been hoping for a commentary track by Cameron Crowe -- but I was extremely excited to learn that the commentary track featured John Cusack, Ione Skye and Cameron Crowe. There are also some deleted scenes, extended scenes and alternate scenes.
It's a great 80's movie with an excellent cast. John Cusack is great as Lloyd, a recent high school graduate with no definite plans for his future. He falls in love with Diane (Ione Skye) who is the stereotypical vision of perfection. She is intelligent, financially stable and beautiful. These two types bring out the best in each other as they fall in love and eventually come to conflict... and back into love at the movie's end. This is one of my favorite performances by Cusack. The amazing honesty and purity of Lloyd is wonderful and easy to identify with.
It's a great DVD. The extra and extended scenes are interesting and while it's pretty obvious why many were left out, some of them would have flushed out the character of Diane's father (John Mahoney) a little better -- but would have also cluttered the movie.
The commentary is in some ways pretty standard. Commentary tracks seem to be either really negative ("Oh man, I can't believe we did this like that!" "Remember that guy? He's so lame!") or extremely congratulatory ("Oh you were wonderful here..." "Oh no, it was YOU who was wonderful!"). This commentary track falls into the latter category. While this sometimes gets kind of annoying, there's very interesting dialogue between these three main players and some of the underlying storyline elements that I'd missed suddenly became clear. There are also some fun little bits of information revealed as well.
Overall, it's one of my favorite movies and the DVD does not disappoint. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: You must have this!
Review: Considered a "classic" from the late 80's (1989) "Say Anything..." is a wonderful movie with a flawless acting performance by John Cusack, and an adequate one by Ione Skye. With that said, this DVD will blow you away. The movie seems to be "re-born" with the clarity of DVD, but then that is what you expect. What you don't expect is over 20 deleted, extended, and alternate scenes. Just an amazing amount of "extra" scenes, especially for a movie so old. Usually the scenes on the cutting room floor are swept up and tossed. At least they were 10 years ago. The extend scenes are a must see. They incorporate the original scene (in black and white) with the deleted part (in color). Very cool. IF YOU LIKE THIS MOVIE, YOU MUST, MUST, MUST BUY THE DVD!

Rating:
Summary: I hope I'm never too old
Review: My wife and I saw this film when it was first released. We saw it once. That was enough to make me want it on DVD. While the details were hazy for my wife (I think that's a gift sometimes since after a while things still seem new to her) I remembered almost everything about the film, it's story and characters, after all these years. John Cusack and Joan Cusack as acting brother and sister was a nice touch. Ione Skye as Diane had such a warmth and sincerity as she tried to mix with Loyd and his world while drawing him into hers that you knew these two had to be a match from the start. John has had an arresting every man quality in his film career. As Loyd, despite the age and difference in experiences, I saw a kindered spirit (I know, why bother with this overused "revelation", but this really was odd, because everybody wants to relate to characters they like but in this case I had no choice). I started my adult life a lot like Loyd was starting his, albeit 10 years before the film. Art imitating life became a real concept. Needless to say that was quite a hook. Sorry for the digression into my life. Anyway take those similarities (pathetic as that may come off) and couple that with insights about young adults which are really timeless and acting that never feels like acting, and this resulting film had me. I can't help but think that every generation needs a story like this one. Timeless as it is at it's heart, people too often need something that is easy for them to relate to. Window dressing is all it takes to draw in the crowd to get the same truths. Cameron Crowe has delivered a teen film that is not a teen film. I hope the young audience today will find this as easy to watch as I did with 10 years out but still related to this story.I like the extras. They don't add anything to the story but they are fun to see. I'm particularly surprised to hear the music that was used in the Boom Box scene outtakes. It was good music but it seemed out of place with the scene. I'm glad they went with the one used in the film.

Rating:
Summary: Remembering HS
Review: Say Anything is about a loser named Loyd who has a crush on a female nerd. They get into a relationship, hit a few bumps on the road and they live happily ever after ("when the sign goes ding you know everything will be all right")
It's not a complicated film but for anyone who was a misfit in HS like I was then you'll probably enjoy this film a great deal. And who hasn't had daydreams that they and their HS sweetheart would stay together forever and ever?

Rating:
Summary: I'm incarcerated, Lloyd!
Review: I can only say to be sure that many, many people born between about 1965-1977 probably either highly identify with Lloyd Dobbler (John Cusack's watermark character from this film), or have wished they could meet someone like him. The appeal of this film makes it one of a very rare breed of teen movie - the kind that last.
This DVD edition gives you great insight into both the original concept and the making of the film. You learn for example that Cusack wasn't keen on what turned out to be one of the most identifiable scenes in 80's film, and that Crowe almost wasn't able to snag Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes due to a bit of a mix-up.
Many times watching deleted scenes on DVDs only serves to make you realize how necessary the deletions were in the first place. In this case, though, the deleted scenes give you an insight into the film that might've been. I don't want to give too much away, but mainly I'll say that the depth added to Mr. Court (John Mahoney as Ione Skye's father) really helps to understand what eventually happens to him.
Being a DVD freak and a huge fan of this movie, I strongly recommend this edition.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful Movie
Review: Say Anything is, in my opinion, the shining film in Cusack's incredible career. Funny, charming, and original, Cameron Crowe wrote and directed a "teen" movie that appeals to any generation without using any of the typical "adolescent" flair. No cheesy humor, no stereotypical characters, and certainly no cookie-cutter plot. What we see is an emotional masterpiece: Lloyd Dobler, a nervous but charming 18-year-old, and Diane Court, the beautiful valedictorian. Portrayed by Cusack and Skye, their on-screen chemistry convinces you of their true desire and love for one another.

The DVD is PACKED with extra goods: ten deleted scenes, thirteen extended scenes, and five alternate scenes. The extended scenes even change between color and black & white so you can tell what's new, and what's in the movie. Not to mention two full length trailers, eight TV spots, and of course the best of all, the commentary! John Cusack, Ione Skye, and Cameron Crowe all reunite to pay tribute to and reminisce the wonderful film from 1989. The picture and sound quality are perfect; this is well worth your hard earned money.

Rating:
Summary: Still a favorite!
Review: I first saw this film at the movies when I was in my late 20s. It reminded me so much of my own summer after HS graduation, I went back to the theater to see it the very next day (dragging 2 friends along)!

The script and direction are perfect, and this was deservedly Cusack's breakout role. This movie rises miles above the typical "teen flick" to deliver rich, three dimensional characters who are funny and heartbreaking at the same time.

Besides Cusack, the standout performance in this film belongs to Lili Taylor. Any female who suffered through the pangs of teenage first love can relate to her hilarious, endlessly morose songs about Joe.

Lloyd Dobler is the guy that every girl wishes she had met when she was 17. Ione Skye is appropriate beautiful, but her performance seemed a little wooden to me. I also was less than thrilled with John Mahoney's portrayal of the father - a little too broad and two dimensional, I would have liked to see a more subtle actor in this part. (Dennis Hopper's performance as the dad in "Pretty in Pink" comes to mind)

But those are minor complaints. Cusack's performance and Crowe's vision are a combination for the ages. Even all these years later, the film is not dated, and I still love it. I'm so glad it's finally on DVD and can't wait to check out the "extras."

Rating:
Summary: A truly great love story.
Review: By focusing on the realities of growing up, being accountable for your actions, and the depth of trust and faith it takes to even attempt to make love work, Cameron Crowe fashioned a near masterpiece of dramatic comedy.

When the class drifter (John Cusack) dares to date the seemingly ultra-focused class valedictorian (Ione Skye) it seems a predetermined disaster. But it isn't, the two find that their wavelengths aren't that different at all, and romance blooms. Too bad the girl's father (the excellent John Mahoney) thinks that it would be better if his girl dumped this 'distraction' before it ruins her life.

By remaining true to his characters, writer/director Cameron Crowe builds a story that is both conventional and unconventional, honest yet optomistic. Thus he creates a contemporary love story that is an essential in a romance lover's collection.