Grosse Pointe Blank (11 April 1997)
directed by George Armitage
starring John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Alan Arkin, Dan Aykroyd, Joan Cusack, Hank Azaria, K. Todd Freeman, Jeremy Piven, Mitch Ryan, Barbara Harris, Benny Urquidez, Steve Pink
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MPAA rating: Studio: Caravan Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, New Crime Productions Script: Tom Jankiewicz, D. V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, John Cusack Music: Angie Rubin Running time: 107 minutes Tags: assassination; Comedy; explosives; high school reunions; hit men; murder; poisons; rifles; Romance; therapy Tactical strength: [9/10]
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for strong violence, language and some drug content
Up front, I have to say that I would probably put Grosse Pointe Blank in my top ten favorite movies of all time. I have probably watched this movie two or three times each year since it came out. I love John Cusack's underplayed delivery, and I love the concept of the intellectual hit man going to his high school reunion as an assignment from his reluctant therapist.
Cusack plays Martin Blank, a freelance hit man. He has a successful business, but he's starting to have problems with work. He tells his therapist Dr. Oatman (Alan Arkin) that he has lost interest in his profession. When Martin learns about his ten-year high school reunion, his therapist recommends that he make the trip to Michigan "and don't kill anyone." Martin takes part of his doctor's advice. He goes to Michigan, but he figures he can do some work and go to the reunion.
Ten years before, Martin had set a prom date with Debi Newberry (Minnie Driver), but he "freaked out, joined the army, and became a professional hit man." He still has feelings for Debi, but he's pretty sure that leaving her stranded on prom night doesn't give him much of a chance at a reunion. So Martin goes to Grosse Pointe, and nothing goes as planned. His competition, Grocer (Dan Aykroyd) has let the NSA know that Martin plans to hit a government witness, and two federal agents (Hank Azaria and K. Todd Freeman) follow Martin's every move. An independent hit man (Benny Urquidez) has followed Martin with an assignment to kill him in revenge for one of Martin's prvious jobs. Martin's mother lives in an assisted living facility and barely knows him. His mother has sold his childhood home, which developers have destroyed and erected a convenience store in its place. Martin says, "You can never go home . . . , but you can shop there." Things look a little better for Martin when Debi does agree to go as his date to the reunion, but his chances with Debi fall apart when she sees him at the reunion hovering over a dead body with blood on his hands.
Grosse Pointe Blank works because all the elements fit together synergistically. The script gives all the characters witty lines that simultaneously make you laugh and develop the characters. You can tell the actors have fun with their roles, and that fun comes through in the delivery. The director Geroge Armitage keeps events moving at a good pace. The story combines hit men, romance, fights, explosions, and comedy. And all this accompanied by well chosen music from the 1980s.
