Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), directed by George Armitage.

This is something like a bizzaro-sequel to Say Anything... (1989), as if Lloyd Dobler finally went into the army and found his vocation, but then had to return to high school to patch things up with his great love. Same quirky, witty patter, meeting the girl's Dad and the friendly teacher, going to the old folks home. Jeremy Piven again. Joan Cusack fanclub again!

It has a lot of fun stuff, but also sometimes seem strained, a bit too calculated, meaning it is not as clever as it wants to be.

Something I would have played up: Joan Cusack and the other hit-man secretaries sharing info through their own back channels.

John Cusack is listed as one of several writers and producers. I wonder if this contributed to the problem William Goldman described when talking about The Ghost and the Darkness (1996): that producers who also act in their films can't resist inflating their roles to make them more lovable, to the detriment of the story.

The director said he wrote as much of the film as anyone.

Since this is a class of '86 reunion we have a rich 80s music score.

Available on Blu-ray. The image looks like an old master from the DVD era.