Here Goes Anything

Though it's a fairly iconic film of the 1980s, and became a template for many teen romantic comedies to follow, I'd never seen Say Anything until just recently. But I've now crossed Cameron Crowe's directorial debut off the list.

It's a rather enjoyable movie, but that's mostly due to the excellent acting across the board. John Cusack once again proves why he was the go-to guy for "quirky but likeable" for so many movies; he's fun and relatable, and does everything effortlessly. Ione Skye is strong as the object of his affection; she takes the shy bookworm character that was too cliché in other films like this, and is very believable. John Mahoney and Lili Taylor (who would later be better known for Frasier and Six Feet Under, respectively) each make a lot out of their secondary characters.

But the script does feel a bit lightweight at times. The emotions never feel that deep. There's a reliance on a few gimmicks, such as a too-cute little boy (that would figure more prominently in Crowe's subsequent Jerry Maguire) and moments of sentiment bordering on saccharine (in my mind, the movie poster ghetto blaster moment).

Ultimately, there's more to like here than not, but I still wouldn't regard the film as highly as I think many do. I'd rate it a B-.