High school reunions are obsolete. Before Facebook and other social media, former friends and classmates could conceivably go for a decade without reconnecting, but in today's world that's rare and usually because they don't want to be found. My ten year high school reunion is coming up in 2013 and I'm probably not going to go. I actually just got back from a week long vacation to my hometown of Norwich, CT. I love it there and I always say I wish it was forty miles outside of Los Angeles so I could have both. I did stop by my old high school to say hello to some teachers and scope the place out and that was enough to hold me over until 2023 or whenever. I don't need to revisit my childhood since I still eat Gushers and Lunchables anyway. But that nostalgia is interesting to watch on screen. A group of people in their late twenties standing around awkwardly in the old high school gymnasium pretending to care about what an old acquaintance has been up to is inherently funny.
I was shocked at how great this movie was. The plot almost sounds like a comedy sketch, "Hitman goes to his ten year reunion", but it's treated in a way that draws you into this world, no questions asked. John Cusack is Martin Blank, a well-liked classmate who disappeared after standing up his long time girlfriend Debi Newberry (Minnie Driver) the night of their senior prom. Turns out he joined the army and was found to have a psychological profile necessary to be an assassin for the CIA. Ten years later, he's an independent hitman living in Los Angeles with a secretary and paintings of ships hanging on the wall of his office. He's even invited to join a burgeoning hitman union thought up by his friendly rival Grocer played hilariously by a joyful Dan Aykroyd. When his secretary (Joan Cusack) informs Blank that an invitation to his ten-year reunion has arrived, Blank brushes off the idea, but after meeting with his reluctant psychiatrist (Alan
Arkin in an awesomely dry performance) to deal with the leftover feelings for Debi and getting booked for a hit in the same Detroit suburb as the reunion, Blank unexpectedly finds himself back in Grosse Pointe for the first time in ten years.
Many popular comedies today follow the Apatow school of thought which is to have a script, but then shoot hours and hours of additional improv to get wild non sequiturs for bonus laughs. I grew up loving that stuff, but there's just not enough variety when a combo of Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen and the "Parks & Recreation" cast are in every mainstream comedy. Here we have a script which was rewritten by Cusack and his old high school buddies which has the spontaneity of improv without the randomness of an improvised scene. Cusack smartly fills the cast with people like his sister Joan and his best friend Jeremy Piven (as Blank's high school BFF) so the dialogue is fast and easy. The chemistry Cusack has with Aykroyd, Driver, and Piven is Altmanesque. And the romance between Cusack and Driver differs from the norm in that while she is upset with him leaving her all those years ago, she's missed him just as much as he has her. It was a relief to watch two leads who like each other from the start without any obstacles thrown in just to extend the courtship. And the conflict once she sees Blank kill a dude is believable and untarnished by any prior problems between the two of them. Driver was a big discovery in this and looking back over her credits, really was the queen of late '90s down to earth romances. She's not 27 anymore, but I bet she could be good in more movies like this.
The interesting thing about this film is how it combines comedy with action, but in a lighthearted way. While Blank is in town, he's being tailed by four rival hitmen all looking to kill him in retaliation for a hit gone wrong. However, "Grosse Pointe Blank" seems more concerned with the interactions of Blank with all the people he's reconnecting with which does wonders for the film as a whole. I never got tired of hearing people react to Blank's confession of killing people for a living. I would totally go back to my high school reunion just to have conversations like that. And since no one reacts like, "OMG YOUR A HITMAN WTF!!!" the film is able to explore this world without having to bring in the law or any outside forces that would interfere with the fun of seeing a hitman returning home. I can't stress enough how normal this all seems in the movie and I really enjoyed that. Even, the hit Blank is in town for is pushed into the background until the very end and the encounters he has with the other hitmen still feel like they could really happen in a normal setting. Cusack's ease at throwing off understated one liners lets the audience identify with him despite his profession and he's just a really likable guy.
This is what "popcorn movies" should be defined as in the dictionary of film. An absurd situation treated in a down to earth humorous manner. It can't stand on the same shelf as the Godfather, but in some ways it's just as good.
Rating - 4.5 stars out of 5.
Random Thoughts -
The nineties are all over this movie which I love. The
overall feeling of detachment, the killer soundtrack and the realistic
levity towards the concept of a hitman explaining to old friends what he
does for a living are all great. A world is built here, very similar to
ours, but with a bit more heightened realism which is still treated as
normal. And it was really cool remembering what bags of Cheetos used to
look like.
The soundtrack really is killer. Driver's
character has grown up to be the "cool DJ" with a studio right on main
street. Because the "class of '86" is back in town, she's running an
all-80's week with such awesome artists as the Violent Femmes, the
Clash, the English Beat and the Specials. The soundtrack of this movie
is still worth getting as a decent mixtape. Seeing bits of this at the
age of thirteen at summer camp introduced me to "Blister In The Sun" for
the first time.
Dan Aykroyd runs away with every scene he's in. He obviously the villain since this is Blank's story, but his obsession with forming a hitman community with him as the ringleader is so funny. What the hell happened to Aykroyd? When I was growing up watching old VHS's of the best of early SNL, he was always my favorite even over Belushi and Murray. He has an Oscar nomination and "Ghostbusters", "Blues Brothers", and "Tommy Boy" on his resume. He disappeared from big screen comedies after "Blues Brothers 2000", which as a kid I thought was WAY better than the original. I guess he got sucked down into the black hole which was "Soul Man", but I really wish he would pull a Bill Murray and do something outside his comfort zone and get a nice comeback. Just forget about "Ghostbusters 3" Danny Boy.
Alan Arkin also gets a great small role as Blank's psychiatrist pre-Sopranos. Arkin obviously doesn't want to be in the same room as this killer, but is still able to offer some sound advice, "Don't kill anybody for a few days. See what it feels like" and listen to Blank's recurring dream of being the Energizer Bunny.
Joan Cusack gets to have a lot of fun in her scenes as the secretary. Wearing a Sgt. Pepper wardrobe, we get to see her deal with errands like ordering ammo, burning down the office once Blank has decided to leave the hitman business and correcting her sister's soup recipe.
I'm sure I'm not the only person who realized that Martin Blank might just be Lloyd Doppler ten years later. And Rob Gordon is Blank five years later after giving up the killing business and settling down with a shit-ton of records.
Next - "The Iron Giant" Sunday the 21st.
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