1997 crime drama and romantic comedy, dir. George Armitage, John
Cusack, Minnie Driver; IMDb /
allmovie.
What could go wrong with combining an assassination job with your high
school reunion?
This is almost brilliant, and close enough that I still enjoy it
a great deal. The script is all right; the acting raises it to
excellence. John Cusack as Martin Blank doesn't wink at the audience:
he plays everything straight, and becomes thereby much funnier than
he'd be if he were mugging for the camera. Minnie Driver (Debi)
convinces as the girl he abandoned just before the Big Dance at the
end of their school days, who's got on with her life even though
there's still clearly some feeling there. (Though it would have been
nice if she'd had any friends.)
But the supporting players do a solid job too; I was especially
impressed by Dan Aykroyd with a veneer of charming professional rival
over a strong undercurrent of lethal menace. Aykroyd was solid in
Ghostbusters, and not bad in Trading Places, but I think he's very
often ready to overdo things and go for the overt comedy. Here he's
much more subtle and restrained, and the role works superbly. I also
rather like Joan Cusack's small part as Marcella, our hero's
administrative assistant (happy to berate an arms supplier then
instantly switch back to talking soup recipes on the other line). OK,
so I also want to see the film about her.
There are also some splendid two-handers between Martin and Debi, as
he tries to justify his job to her and one can see that not only is
she not buying it, when he comes to listen to what he's saying he
doesn't really buy it either.
The soundtrack is never obtrusive; this isn't "my" music of
adolescence, but the way it's used one can see how it could be someone
else's, which is a pretty neat trick.
The only real weak point for me is the ending: we go straight from
Debi and Martin being somewhat at outs but him having to save her and
her father's life anyway, to them going off together for a happily
ever after. There were various versions of intervening scenes written,
and even filmed, but nobody was happy with them; the quick cut is
better than doing it badly, I suppose, but there are great gaps in the
story. What's Martin going to do now that he's not temperamentally fit
to be an assassin any more? What sort of life are he and Debi going to
have together?
But still, I love it.
As usual if you want more of my witterings you should listen to
Ribbon of Memes.
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