Barry Germansky
Contributor
Grosse Pointe Blank is easily the most effortlessly entertaining film of the last 20 years.
An amiable, frothy generation X satire about the modern indiscriminate desire for money, Grosse Pointe Blank strives to create the best possible entertainment without being bogged down with heavy-handed allusions to more artful movies or literary sources – take note, Christopher Nolan. What’s even more surprising is how this fun-loving movie has never found an audience.
The film centres around Martin Blank (John Cusack), a 20-something-year-old hit man who is convinced by his shrink (Alan Arkin) and assistant (Joan Cusack) to attend his 10th annual high school reunion in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Once there, Martin has to reconnect and contend with a characters ranging from old school buddies to government agents.
In a way the movie wouldn’t have been possible without Pulp Fiction’s genre-bending brand of post-modern fun, and yet it seems to surpass Tarantino’s far more famous film. This is mostly due to John Cusack’s sense of romantic decency in both his performance and writing – he co-wrote the script with a bunch of his old high school chums, and also produced the film with them. The film’s romantic tendencies clash with its violence and sarcastic slacker dialogue to create characters we can relate to and who have resonance beyond cinematic playtime, unlike many of Tarantino’s creations.
Cusack and Minnie Driver – in the role of Martin’s old girlfriend, Debi – don’t play their parts as caricatures. They realize that the absurdity of the story is part of its satirical, screwball charm, and so they create living, breathing lovers to occupy it. In the middle of this offbeat dark comedy about a hit man, you find yourself watching a genuine romantic couple come to terms with each other. When they share a dance at the high school reunion near the end of the film, we can feel their attraction.
Not only does Grosse Pointe Blank feature John Cusack’s career-best performance, it also showcases his witty writing talents and uncommonly good sense as a producer. Everything in Grosse Pointe Blank works and guarantees repeat viewings.
