Tiro al blanco

I love this movie. Grosse Pointe Blank is smart and witty and has a stunning 1980s soundtrack. Martin Blank (Cusack) is an angst ridden international hit-man who has stopped enjoying his work. He searches for meaning in his life and returns to Grosse Pointe, Michigan for his 10th year High School reunion and one last job. Blank meets his mom, some old friends and discovers that his childhood home has been knocked down to make way for a convenience store. He ponders his life choices and has recurring dreams about Debi Newberry (Driver) the girl he stood up on Prom night.

Blank's activities have attracted a collection of hit men trying to find an excuse to kill him. These include Aykroyd, two federal agents and a freelance Basque hit-man. There is a shoot-out at the end and overall the film has a large body count, but Cusack makes Blank seem like a lovable version of Jason Bourne. The film is something of an ensemble piece with great comic performances from Alan Arkin, Joan Cusack, Jeremy Piven and Aykroyd. The film pokes fun at the loner tough guy hero featured in so many Hollywood movies. At the time of its release the story was a little unusual but Mr and Mrs Smith has since explored similar territory of rich cosmopolitan assassins trying to blend into ordinary American life.

Blank spends most of the movie in pursuit of Debi. Will she forgive him? Will he have time to complete his assignment? This is my idea of a great movie. It's funny and clever and the characters are flawed but likable.

Watched this for the first time in 20 years and all I could think of was "what ever happened to John Cusack and why doesn't he make great films like this???" Fantastic sound track to a black comedy.

About the same time as this film was made there was a spate of hitman focused comedy dramas (from Leon to Coldblooded) so this risked being viewed in the same way as these. This is strictly a comedy - there's no deep soul searching here, the analyst is also in it for comedy value.

The story is funny and lively, the soundtrack reminded us that not all 80's music was rubbish and the whole feel of the film is one that it must have been fun to make. John Cusack is excellent as the hitman, he just seems to bring the character to life and play him in a jokey way without making fun of the film, Dan Akroyd gets the best role he's had in years as the hitman trying to get Cusack to join his union, while Minnie Driver is girly and fun - the whole cast are excellent in fact!

The film is not a classic by any means and many see it as a down side that it ignores any serious issues or that the film is set so far away from reality but for me this is part of the fun. Sit down, don't take it seriously and just enjoy the ride!

One of the complaints about movies these days, and justifiably so, is that they're predictable. This movie is not predictable, and I never thought I'd be able to say that about a movie with four credited writers. Every time you think you can guess where it's going, it throws a curve. It was also very funny, which is nice because good comedies are becoming a rare species. John Cusack continues to show what a great actor he is as hitman Martin Blank. He doesn't wink at the audience, saying, Oh look, I'm a hitman, but plays him as normal, with the right amount of misgivings and tenacity. Minnie Driver is quite good as the woman he's still obsessed with (although she was good in GOOD WILL HUNTING, she should have been nominated for this performance), and Alan Arkin and Jeremy Piven were good, as ever, in support. The surprise, however, is Dan Aykroyd. Just when I was prepared to write him off forever, he comes through with a great performance here. The soundtrack is terrific too, avoiding the cliched 80's songs to provide a fresh, and compatible, score.

Man, I really love this black comedy. It's very well put together, with many great performances and a dialogue that is very well-written. The action is brilliant aswell - you'll definitely see some cool stuff here. The soundtrack consists of many nice tunes from the 80's, that lift the film even higher. Well, you just can't go wrong with this one - A classic in my book.