George Armitage
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Grosse Pointe Blank (the title echoes John Boorman's 1967 hitman thriller Point Blank, but Lee Marvin didn't have Jeremy Piven as a high school buddy), directed at a trust-smart-viewers pace by George Armitage (Miami Blues), is buoyed aloft in its warped universe of as-seen-on-TV violence and late-Gen-X irony with an unusually keen-witted script by novice screenwriters Steve Pink, D.V. DeVincentis, Tom Jankiewicz, and John Cusack.
For fans of John Cusack , the last few years have been a fairly bewildering time as the actor whose mere presence in a film was an almost certain indication that it would be of greater intelligence, ambition and quality than most ("The Sure Thing," "Tapeheads," "Say Anything," "Grosse Pointe Blank" and "High Fidelity" to name but a few) has lately been found in a string of projects so questionable that even Nicolas Cage might have hesitated to appear in them if they had come his way.
On that movie, director Steve Pink and star John Cusack continued a theme they established in both "Grosse Pointe Blank" and "High Fidelity," which they co-wrote.
Here’s why: With the original, director Steve Pink (Grosse Pointe Blank, High Fidelity) turned what should have been a bullshit, nonsensical comedy into a wryly clever parody of its star’s past resume.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
influenced Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
Visuals Themes
Its influence is apparent in movies as far-ranging as "Grosse Pointe Blank," "Go" and "Memento."
The first is Grosse Pointe Blank, and before it gets dismissed as yet another Quentin Tarantino rip-off (as were most of the post-Pulp Fiction films of the late 90s, and rightly so), let's remember that its director, George Armitage, shot his own Tarantino-esque film before QT ever became a Hollywood player.
This action-comedy may have been inspired by Pulp Fiction (there's a poster for the video release in a convenience store), but it very quickly takes on a life of its own.
And on that scale, "Grosse Pointe Blank" is more like "Fargo" than "Pulp Fiction."
In reality, Grosse Pointe Blank is a bleak, black satire that occasionally strays all the way into Pulp Fiction territory.
Debuting director Steve Pink wrote the screenplays for the John Cusack films "Grosse Pointe Blank" and "High Fidelity," both of which are fairly sophisticated bits of scribesmanship.
Steve Pink, who wrote "High Fidelity" and "Grosse Pointe Blank," makes his directorial debut, and he makes the most of what looks like maybe a $3 million budget.
In his directorial debut, Steve Pink--best known for co-writing comedies such as High Fidelity and Grosse Pointe Blank --understands this and hits most of the right beats.
And here's a strange little note: Accepted marks the directorial debut of Steve Pink, frequent John Cusack collaborator and co-screenwriter on both Grosse Pointe Blank and High Fidelity.
Steve Pink, John Cusack's writing partner on Grosse Pointe Blank and High Fidelity , makes his directorial debut with Accepted, a flat comedy based on a flimsy premise and filled out with the usual "snowballing lie" plot, climaxing in the "rousing speech."
I’m not sure it would have ever been great, unless they brought in a guy like George Armitage, whose Miami Blues is, in many ways, the indie version of this film.
American Ultra (2015)
Directed by Nima Nourizadeh
influenced by Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
Themes Plot
There are shades of the enjoyable Grosse Pointe Blank in its sense of humour, mayhem levels and momentum.
We've seen some passable entries since, including Grosse Pointe Blank (hit man goes to his high school reunion), and Pineapple Express, which brought the strain of weed into the mix.
Garden State and Grosse Pointe Blank, are just a couple that come to mind, but I suppose you could trace this plot all the way back to the biblical story of the prodigal son.
Taking a leaf of the Hotel Sorrento and Grosse Pointe Blank playbook, the film contrasts the lead character’s metropolitan hustle bustle — time is money, talk to the hand, ain’t got time for this — as a personality trait dramatically at odds with the atavistic values associated with their small-time origins.
But for folks who appreciated the dark humor of "Prizzi's Honor" and "Get Shorty," they'll find "Grosse Pointe" in that vein, only with a hipper cast, snappier dialogue and more slapstick-like violence.
High Fidelity (2000)
Directed by Stephen Frears
influenced by Miami Blues (1990), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
Dialogue
1990's Miami Blues was a quirky crime thriller packed with eccentric characters and rat-tat-tat dialogue, and this follow-up operates in much the same manner.
While it's obvious that neither element is particularly novel, the way in which director Frears ("Dangerous Liaisons," an Oscar nominee for "The Grifters") and co-screenwriters Cusack, Scott Rosenberg ("Con Air," "Beautiful Girls") and D.V. DeVincentis & Steve Pink ("Grosse Pointe Blank") interweave them into the story works rather well.
But this is hardly a surprise, coming from the director of Dangerous Liaisons and the writing-producing gang behind Grosse Pointe Blank.
In films like "Say Anything...", "The Sure Thing" and "Grosse Pointe Blank", Mr. Cusack has honed the hapless good guy character - charming in his own clueless way - to a fine point.
(I think he has a soft spot for the '80s; for more, see "Say Anything�," "Grosse Pointe Blank" and others.)
GROSSE POINTE BLANK (1997) / HIGH FIDELITY (2000).
The Bourne Identity (2002)
Directed by Doug Liman
influenced by Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
Characters
Although Damon might not have been everyone's first choice for the role, his performance reminded me of John Cusack's terrific one in "Grosse Pointe Blank" playing the troubled but physically proficient hitman.
The narrative is reminiscent of a high school reunion movie – Romy and Michele or a bloodless Grosse Pointe Blank – crossed with a house party pic, and is quality-wise somewhere between the endearing Risky Business and the woeful Project X.
Way back in Pretty Woman Julia Roberts showed how to successfully transition from prostitute to love interest while hired killers have been going downhill since John Cusack gave us Martin Blank in Grosse Pointe Blank .
It seems like just yesterday John Hughes was pumping out two or three teen angst movies annually, yet here we are in 1997 witnessing not one, but two 10th class reunion comedies aimed at the "The Breakfast Club"/"Pretty in Pink"/"Say Anything" crowd.
Of course, emotionally damaged hitmen are common nowadays, as seen in Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Panic (2000), The Matador (2005) and on "The Sopranos," but Dahl and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely ( The Chronicles of Narnia ) find a fresh take, balanced between deadpan humor and nasty violence.
Central Intelligence (2016)
Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber
influenced by Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
Themes Plot
In the grand tradition of “The In-Laws,” “True Lies” and “Grosse Pointe Blank” — a film from which “Central Intelligence” perhaps cribs most — it finds middle class types caught up in gunplay and intrigue.
The casting is impeccable (no joke, Dwayne Johnson has never been better), and the premise is a strangely beautiful marriage of “Grosse Pointe Blank” and “True Lies,” with a few jabs at Facebook for good measure.
Some movies use the hit-man as a useful launchpad for commentary: Grosse Pointe Blank, for instance, was a slyly satirical view of middle-class mores, and Collateral explored the human cost of murder for hire.
It seems like just yesterday John Hughes was pumping out two or three teen angst movies annually, yet here we are in 1997 witnessing not one, but two 10th class reunion comedies aimed at the "The Breakfast Club"/"Pretty in Pink"/"Say Anything" crowd.
Screenwriter Tom O’Connor was going for “Pulp Fiction” meets “Grosse Pointe Blank.”
Following the likes of Matt Damon ("The Bourne Identity") and John Cusack ("Grosse Pointe Blank") in surprising viewers by their realistic (or maybe even actually real) martial arts prowess, Statham is completely believable and is a great deal of fun to watch as the explosive transporter who delivers illegal goods for others for pay.
What do you bring to the table, In Bruges, that necessitates our driving out to the movie theater on a cold February night instead of just firing up our Grosse Pointe Blank DVDs and being done with it?
But joining “The Whole Nine Yards” and “The Whole Ten Yards” were the annoyingly yakkety-yak “You Kill Me” and the politically overwrought “War Inc.,” a sad sort-of sequel to the great “Grosse Pointe Blank.”