“Maybe I didn’t really know you. Maybe you were just a mirage. Maybe the world is full of food and sex and spectacle and we’re all just hurling towards an apocalypse, in which case it’s not your fault…” – Lloyd Dobler to Diane Court, via her answering machine
I’d like to begin this post by simply saying: Thank you, Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire), for creating this masterpiece of a film.
Say Anything (1989) is a romantic comedy starring John Cusack and Ione Skye that’s most famous for the scene in which Lloyd Dobler (Cusack) raises a boombox over his head blasting the quintessential ’80s movie love song “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel in hopes that he will win back his ex-girlfriend’s heart.
Lloyd Dobler and Diane Court are fresh out of high school…and strangers to one another. Well, that’s not completely true; Lloyd has been in love with Diane, the most popular and academically-gifted girl at his school, for a long time. Diane doesn’t really know much about Lloyd, despite the fact that they ate lunch by each other at the mall once, a fact that Lloyd proudly remembers years later. Unlike Diane, he doesn’t have a master plan for his future, although he thinks kick-boxing (“the sport of the future”) looks like a promising ambition.
Lloyd takes a chance right after graduation: he calls the girl of his dreams and asks her out.
(courtesy of fanpop.com)
Well, what do you think happens next? She takes a chance and agrees to attend a big party with him.
Lloyd Dobler defies the “hot guy of the ’80s” thing. Although both scenarios can be considered pretty cliche, Say Anything is clever enough to dodge the cliche-bomb. Lloyd and Diane are three-dimensional characters and so is Diane’s supporting but troubled father, portrayed by John Mahoney (four years before his debut on Frasier).
Say Anything wears its feelings on its sleeve. The chemistry between Lloyd Dobler and Diane Court is red-hot while somehow remaining charmingly innocent. There’s a scene toward the beginning of Lloyd and Diane’s relationship that shows Lloyd helping out at the nursing home owned by Diane’s father. Diane volunteers her time to help take care of the residents. After her shift ends, they decide to hang out and grab some coffee, where they decide to be “friends with potential”. Then, Lloyd takes Diane out and teaches her how to drive. As they bond over it, their potential comes through quicker than expected. It’s a really sweet moment:
One of the other bits that stands out to me is the scene which takes place the morning after Lloyd and Diane attend the party together. After they drop off the last remaining (and totally wasted) party guest, they wander into a 7-Eleven before Lloyd drops Diane off at her house. As the leave walk through the parking lot, Lloyd stops Diane before she steps on a pile of glass, brushes it away with his shoe, and then proceeds to walk, making sure the rest of Diane’s path is safe. The simple but sweet gesture doesn’t go unnoticed by Diane, either, who cites it as one of the reasons why she really likes Lloyd.
John Mahoney does an outstanding job in the role of Diane’s father. The big subplot involving a dark secret kept by Mr. Court is played out well between Mahoney and Skye.
Say Anything is available to watch in various formats – it’s super cheap to purchase on DVD from Amazon – so please, please, please sit down for all 100 minutes and soak in all of its greatness if you haven’t watched it. Or re-watch it if you haven’t seen it in awhile.
vitaphonedreamer.wordpress.com 