Say Anything… Um Okay Anything.
Say Anything…(1989): 7 out of 10: Repeat after me; Cameron Crowe is a genus. Nobody wrote dialogue for teenagers as he did. In his films they talk like actual people. (I have never written a screenplay myself but from the evidence of the sheer number of filmed screenplays, that fail absolutely at this, I would gander that it is quite difficult.) While Fast Times at Ridgemont High created his reputation, Say Anything cemented it. There is not a false note in the entire film. All three leads (Ione Skye, John Cusack, and John Mahoney) are pitch perfect. The situations are realistic and flow well. The supporting cast is also excellent. The ending is both realistic and sweet.
While Say Anything is without faults, it also is not very memorable. (Outside of the Peter Gabriel; In Your Eyes; boombox scene, of course). Unlike the previous Fast Times at Ridgemont High, there are only a few scenes that stick out. It is a pleasant story and is worth a revisit if it has been thirty years since you saw it.
I, on the other hand, saw Say Anything… for the first time a few days ago. Unfortunately, I was too busy watching movies like Less than Zero in the late eighties to see Say Anything. Imagine how much better my life could have turned out if I had only allowed Mr. Crowe to guide me one more time.
