Say Anything

3/4

Starring: John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, Lili Taylor

Rated PG-13 (probably for Some Sexuality and Brief Language)

The romance has to be the most difficult genre to get right.  That's my guess, at least (although action, comedy and horror seem to be pretty difficult too).  It's weird, since the central feeling of falling in love is so universal.  Just about everyone has fallen in and out of love at some point.

I think what makes the genre such a difficult playground is that it's essentially an all or nothing approach.  A romance either works, or it doesn't.  And the most important quality isn't something that can be generated with hard work or special effects: chemistry.  Writing, acting and directing are all important, but a romance is sunk if we don't believe that the two central characters are lovebirds who are destined to be together.  That's why our hearts swooned over Jack Dawson and Rose Dewitt Bukater (from "Titanic" of course) & Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist in "Brokeback Mountain."

The problems with "Say Anything…" are less about the chemistry between the two leads than the script.  It's paradoxically in need of rewrites and totally overwritten.  Some scenes end prematurely, others don't seem to have a point, and there are a number of times when the characters speak with such would be-eloquence that it becomes pretentious.

Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) and Diane Court (Ione Skye) are graduating from high school.  Diane, widely known as a brainiac, has a scholarship to a school in England where she is moving to at the end of the summer.  Lloyd, on the other hand, is a slacker who has no idea what he wants to do with his life.  After sitting with her briefly at the mall, Lloyd is infatuated with Diane, and asks her out the next day.  She eventually accepts his invitation, and they soon fall deeply in love.  But Diane's father James (John Mahoney), with whom she is very close, is concerned that Lloyd may be a distraction that will break her heart or worse.

I liked how the characters break out of their shells.  Writer/director Cameron Crowe doesn't allow them to become cookie cutter protagonists.  They have real feelings, fears, and are able to express them.  For example, Lloyd isn't some bad boy couch potato; he's an aimless guy who doesn't know what he wants to do with his life (who hasn't felt like that before?).  Diane had such tunnel vision about her future that it is only after graduation that she realized what she missed during high school.  And while James doesn't approve of Diane and Lloyd's relationship, he's not a sinister jerk solely to try and split them up.  His concerns are real and understandable.  Lili Taylor has a small role as Lloyd's earthy friend Corey, who provides some insight and humor.

The film as a whole is wildly uneven.  There are some scenes, such as the famous montage and boombox scene that are covered by "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel, that are just wonderful.  But there are others that either just don't work or are badly handled.  Some, such as the aforementioned boombox scene, are introduced but don't go anywhere.  Others, like some of the confrontations between Diane and James, go on for far too long.  A better editing job was needed.

One of things about movies I find most irritating is filmmakers who think their movies are more important and deep than they actually are.  I hate it when characters talk and talk and talk without saying anything (no pun intended).  It's egotistical and annoying.  That doesn't happen here, but there are definitely times when the characters say things with far more detail and eloquence than is believable.  There is a fine line between a literate script (such as Michael Mann's masterpiece "Heat") and verbal diarrhea ("The Rover").  Crowe doesn't cross the line, but there are moments when it comes close, and it hampers the superior efforts of the cast to make this movie magical.

As I have said before, I'm more lenient on movies that try to go the extra mile.  "Say Anything…" never settles for the easy road, and it's all the better for it.  It may not be perfect, but I do think it's worth seeing for the romantic in all of us.