Say Anything

I'm trying to catch up on my 80s classics this year. This is the first, in a long list, that I planned to watch.

If I hadn't seen him in anything before this movie, it would have turned me into a new fan of John Cusack. He is so good at really becoming the characters he portrays, but the problem I find with him lately is that all his romantic characters are the same guy. I really should branch out and try to see him in something truly dramatic and different.

This was a decent movie. These two very different people find love but go through trials to be together, and what pissed me off is the stupid petty things that kept them apart. It's the whole he's-not-good-enough-for-you-because-he's-from-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks storyline. We're all familiar with it, but, in this story, a tax-evading-law-breaking dad doesn't approve. It all works out in the end, but when Diane gave Lloyd that pen, I wanted to slap her and her dad! I felt so bad for Lloyd. John Cusack really makes you feel what he's feeling at that point.

I didn't mind Ione Skye as Diane, but she was annoying at times. Maybe it was just the bad 80s wardrobe that was hard to take. John Mahoney is the dad. I liked seeing him in his younger years and without a cane, as I am use to seeing him walk with one on "Frasier." Sarah Jessica Parker played a small role in this, too. I always like her in everything she does. Jeremy Piven and Joan Cusack both briefly make appearances as well.

Pretty much a good teenage love story. I thought the ending made it worth my $3 to rent; seeing whether or not the 'no smoking' sign would ding and signal that everything would be OK was a good way to go.