“Grosse Pointe Blank” – Nathan’s Movie Challenge, Week 30
“It’s *not* me! Why does everyone always think it’s personal?”
I’ve always been a big fan of John Cusack.
There’s something about his delivery, mannerisms, and characterizations that resonate with me stronger than almost any other actor. I feel like he reflects me somehow in a lot of the roles he plays.
Now, I’m not a contract killer, but I relate entirely to his “it’s just a job” mentality, his romanticism for his long-lost-love, and his no-nonsense attitude.
I really loved the film, and thought the action was really great (particularly any of the close, hand-to-hand stuff), and all of the quirk worked for me. Dark comedy sometimes misses, but with this one, I fell in love – with Minnie Driver as the love interest, with the larger world, with his secretary (played by real life sis Joan Cusack), with his adversary (by the great Dan Aykroyd)…
It’s just chock full of wonderful moments, clever dialogue, and well-realized characters.
Super fun.
Big, big fan.
Grosse Pointe Blank was at the time of this review at #389 on my Flickchart list of shame (ranked #753 among the best films of all time). Here’s how it entered my chart:
Grosse Pointe Blank vs. Open Water
Easy win for GPB. Open Water is a very middle-of-the-road movie, which makes sense given its current ranking.
Grosse Pointe Blank vs. The Great Dictator
While I appreciated Chaplin’s movie very much, it’s not as resonant with me specifically as GPB.
Grosse Pointe Blank vs. Pontypool
Oooh, this is a close one. Pontypool is excellent, but maybe a little narrow in scope. GPB has just a little bit more overall spark to it. This will be the closest match of the lot, I’d say.
Grosse Pointe Blank vs. Silver Linings Playbook
While a very good relationship movie, strangely not as affecting to me as GPB’s.
Grosse Pointe Blank vs. A.I.
A.I. is masterful. I think it’s a better film.
Grosse Pointe Blank vs. E.T.
E.T. still holds up. It’s magic.
Grosse Pointe Blank vs. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
I hesitated slightly, but FBDO is just too good to lose.
Grosse Pointe Blank vs. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
As much as I think TFA hit it out of the park where all bets were against it, I still feel like GPB is an even more “me” movie somehow – despite my love of all things Star Wars.
Grosse Pointe Blank vs. Three Kings
My favorite modern war film. Also, darkly funny. Also, visually spectacular. It’ll beat GPB.
Grosse Pointe Blank vs. The Mist
Definitely The Mist.
Grosse Pointe Blank vs. Triangle
Triangle! I love Triangle so much. Sorry, GPB.
Grosse Pointe Blank is now ranked #88 out of 1515 movies on my Best Movies of All-Time chart.
It’s now #4 on my Hitman / Assassin Films chart and ranked #4 out of all the movies I’ve seen from 1997.
Next up are The Hunt and Mud. In the meantime, check out the other films I’ve ranked during the challenge.