Customer Reviews
If you like John Cusack, you will love this movie 
2008-10-01
This is one of the most down to earth romantic movies I have ever seen. Who would not love to be the object of Lloyd Dobbler's affection. I can see this movie over and over again and never tire of it. John is an incredible actor and is so real, it stings at times.
don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything 
2008-07-01
Cameron Crowe directed this little movie, and he has created a feminist statement. It is from the romantic comedy, subdivision teen, genre, but it is a story told from a female perspective. It is like a female fantasy, new age sensitive guy--but the problem is, in real life the girl would never go for the guy, even though in the fantasy movie they do, in real life, not so much. But if you can suspend your disbelief long enough, it is an entertaining little tale.
Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) met Diane Court (Ione Skye) in a mall food court, but she is way out of his league. She has a fellowship and she is headed for the Ivy League. Lloyd Dobler has only feeble dreams of kick boxing glory, but though he is hopelessly outclassed, he goes for her anyway.
Her father, Jim Court (John Mahoney), presents Lloyd's main obstacle. Hey, it's Martin Crane, from the Frasier TV Show. His character here is much meaner than Marty Crane:
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Jim Court: You're not a permanent part of her life. You're a distraction.
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He is so protective of his daughter; you'd think he was jealous. He just wants the best for her, though. But what he does to get it, you don't want to know. That is the skeleton in his closet.
Lloyd is a post-modern, sensitive male. He even has female friends--chief among them Corey Flood. She and D.C. (Amy Brooks) offer moral support and advice:
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Corey Flood: Diane Court doesn't go out with guys like you. She's a brain.
D.C.: Trapped in the body of a game-show hostess.
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But Corey has a few issues of her own. She has more baggage than a three-wheeled cart stuck on a Jet Blue tarmac. She has written 65 songs about Joe, her ex-boyfriend, and she carries a guitar to parties where she makes her friends listen to them all. In spite of their advice about the hopelessness of pursuing Diane Court Lloyd soldiers on. He is persistent, I'll give him that. And it pays off:
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Corey Flood: Did you sleep with her?
Lloyd Dobler: I admit nothing.
D.C.: Lloyd, it's us.
Corey Flood: Look at his face. He did the deed.
D.C.: You're an inspiration, Lloyd. You should go on the 700 Club or something.
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They are not the only ones who are baffled by the headway Lloyd is making with Diane Court:
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Mike Cameron: I don't know you very well, you know, but I wanted to ask you - how'd you get Diane Court to go out with you?
Lloyd Dobler: I called her up.
Mike Cameron: But how come it worked? I mean, like, what are you?
Lloyd Dobler: I'm Lloyd Dobler.
Mike Cameron: This is great. This gives me hope. Thanks.
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This story is boy-gets-girl, boy-loses-girl, so you know the boy just simply must get-girl-back. But not without a lot of pain and anguish on the boy's part:
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D.C.: Lloyd, why do you have to be like this?
Lloyd Dobler: 'Cause I'm a guy. I have pride.
Corey Flood: You're not a guy.
Lloyd Dobler: I am.
Corey Flood: No. The world is full of guys. Be a man. Don't be a guy.
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Lloyd finally has his epiphany, and sets out after Diane with renewed purpose:
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Lloyd Dobler: The rain on my car is a baptism, the new me, Ice Man, Power Lloyd, my assault on the world begins now.
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In summary, this was a very solid effort by director Cameron Crowe. The young John Cusack totally carries the film, an unlikely but irrepressible leading man, a veritable force of nature. Ione Skye, the daughter of Scottish singer Donovan, has the rock star daughter looks of a Liv Tyler, but with brains, or she can at least pass for a valedictorian. She hits all the right notes, and looks smart doing it. Lili Taylor really stood out in her small part of female pal. And great laughs at the contrast when he hangs out with the guys. They give stupid advice, much worse than he gets from his female friends. My favorite character here is Mark (Jeremy Piven).
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Lloyd Dobler: I got a question. If you guys know so much about women, how come you're here at like the Gas 'n' Sip on a Saturday night completely alone drinking beers with no women anywhere?
Joe: By choice, man.
Mark: Yeah. By choice.
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Lloyd might not know what he wants to do, other than hang out with Jim Court's daughter, but he knows what he doesn't want:
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Lloyd Dobler: I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that.
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Cameron Crowe ... Director
Almost Famous (2000)
Jerry Maguire (1996)
Singles (1992)
John Cusack ... Lloyd Dobler
High Fidelity (2000) .... Rob Gordon
Being John Malkovich (1999) .... Craig Schwartz
The Grifters (Miramax Collector's Series) (1990) .... Roy Dillon
Sixteen Candles (1984) .... Bryce
Ione Skye ... Diane Court
Wayne's World (1992) .... Elyse
River's Edge (1986) (as Ione Skye Leitch) .... Clarissa
John Mahoney ... James Court
"Frasier" .... Martin Crane (263 episodes, 1993-2004)
- Goodnight, Seattle: Part 1 (2004) TV episode .... Martin Crane
- Goodnight, Seattle: Part 2 (2004) TV episode .... Martin Crane
- Crock Tales (2004) TV episode .... Martin Crane
- Detour (2004) TV episode .... Martin Crane
- And Frasier Makes Three (2004) TV episode .... Martin Crane
(258 more)
Reality Bites (10th Anniversary Edition) (1994) .... Grant Gubler
Barton Fink (1991) .... W.P. Mayhew
Lili Taylor ... Corey Flood
The Notorious Bettie Page (2005) .... Paula Klaw
Factotum (2005) .... Jan
High Fidelity (2000) .... Sarah Kendrew
Pecker (1998) .... Rorey Wheeler
I Shot Andy Warhol (1996) .... Valerie Jean Solanas
Prêt-à-Porter (1994) .... Fiona Ulrich
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994) .... Edna Ferber
Dogfight (1991) .... Rose
This movie is like having a conversation with a close friend, someone you can "Say Anything" to.
Decent romantic drama. 
2008-06-06
People love this movie but Say Anything is the kind of teen film that fades with time. The soundtrack is the true winner but I felt kind of felt disappointed after watching this John Cusack flick. He is a great actor and so is Ione Skye who plays his love interest but I feel writer/director Cameron Crowe's writing is overrated, not sure why he gets so much attention. This film is good just not as tender-hearted as I thought it would be.
Enjoyable 2008-04-12
I was actually surprised, after watching this film, of how mediocre it was. I guess my expectations were so high, as my older sister (born in the mid-70's) hails this as a classic. Don't get me wrong, I can very easily see this film being a classic for her generation, but for someone out of that age bracket, someone like myself born in the mid-80's, this was simply an enjoyable film. Perhaps it just didn't carry the weight it did for her.
As far as the film direction is concerned, as an independent-minded film goer, I was quite surprised to see Cameron Crowe's concentration on dialog (as opposed to a certain stylistic appeal most independents go for). The dialog feels so real to me, less scripted, less "this is a film your watching". Cusak is superb, but very Cusak. John Mahoney's performance is also beyond excellent.
As for the storyline, I disagree with many claiming this to be a formulaic romantic teen film. In fact I find its storyline to be extraordinarily unique, particularly given the nature of the father/daughter relationship and Cusak and Skye's character types, where Cusak was the popular guy at school who everyone seemed to love and Skye was the brainy/beautiful/mysterious girl, who everyone was always intrigued by but never seemed to do anything about it.
The bottom line is Crowe wrote a fantastic story and it worked well on the screen. For people like myself, who want to see this film for the first time in the 00's, get your expectations down a few levels and be prepared for a sweet feeling and generally good movie. For those interested, I plan on discussing/reviewing all of Crowe's films in the upcoming weeks as I watch them, so stay tuned.
*Great 80's Movie!* 2008-01-18
A great movie for fans of 80's movies.It reflects the times just like most of the 80's movies.I enjoyed it.John Cusack was great.Also,he was very cute.
Great story 2008-01-16
A freespirited teenager falls in love with the nicest, smartest girl in school.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 13-JAN-2004
Media Type: DVD
Say anything 2007-11-04
This movie is a classic. This is not just a date movie but the date movie.
Say Anything is great. 2007-07-31
Say Anything
This is John Cusack at his earliest, clearly showing he will be BIG as he ages. I bought this for my daughter and thoroughly enjoyed it and have now watched it several times!! John is a good guy, rebel, hero and heart breaker in this movie (not specifically in this order). If you are a Cusack fan, or if you wonder who he is, buy this movie. You won't be disappointed.
Great Acting, predictable Story 2007-07-28
I'm not exactly sure what to make of it. Judged as a whole I would say I didn't really like it, but taken as individual scenes or moments, there's a lot to like.
I'll start with the negative first. One of the big reasons I didn't care for this movie is because it is another teenage romance that follows the typical boy-gets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl again format. I hate that format. I'm not a huge romance fan in general, but I can live with "the hero overcomes huge obstacles to get the girl at the end" type story. But to have the hero win the girl's heart twice during the same movie seems needlessly repetitive to me. Whenever the hero gets the girl in the first half hour of the movie, you know you're in trouble, because there will be some manufactured crisis that doesn't make any sense that will cause them to split, and then there will be a lot of sappy emotions and fake crying, and then there will be another manufactured crisis at the end that will cause them to get back together again.
(At least this movie didn't follow the boy-gets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl, boy-loses-girl-again, boy-gets-girl again, etc format. Like "10 Things I hate about you", which could have been a great movie if it would have just ended an hour and a half earlier than it did.)
Also I didn't really care much for the actress who plays the heroine of this movie. And I could have done without most of those father/daughter sappy scenes.
John Cusak however is great. He does a good job of playing up the friendly guy, but nervous talker who doesn't know when to shut up.
Also at points I thought his character in this movie reminded me of my old roommate. Which is why I think John Cusak is such a great actor. He does a great job of playing the everyman, and has a way of vaguely reminding you of somebody that you actually know from real life. And when you think about it, this quality is surprising rare in Hollywood actors. When was the last time Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt actually reminded you of someone you know?
Also the quirky humor in this movie is great if particular scenes can be isolated. Like the conversation about old people and the way their mouths move. Or the scene with the guys out in front of the drug store on a Saturday night. Or John Cusak as the awkward dinner guest. All of those scenes are enough to redeem this movie into the category of watchable and even re-watchable.
80's genre 2007-07-23
This movie is a goodie too. For fans of John Cusack like myself, it's a touching story of a a father who doesn't really give his daughter much time to socialise. John Cusack's character is in love with her and wants to get to know her better, but her father has other ideas. Great music and even Eric Stolz makes a cameo in it too. Watch out for him in a scene wearing a bird suit. It's a soft version of the teenage angst, but still delightful to watch.
