20th Century Fox | 1989 | 100 mins. | Rated PG-13
Was 1989 really twenty years ago? I suddenly feel very old. A year away from graduating high school, I spent many a Friday night at the local Cineplex watching the endless stream of teen movies that were so popular in the late eighties. Some of them were sweet to the point of being saccharine, but most were full of crude humor, endless jokes about bodily functions and all together forgettable. In the midst of all that, Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything… hit theaters. It really wasn’t like anything that had been released up to that time; personal, heartfelt and involving, Crowe managed to deliver a story that almost any teenager dealing with first love could somehow relate.
Set in the suburbs of Seattle, Say Anything… stars John Cusack as Lloyd Dobler a recent high school graduate with no particular future plans. He likes kickboxing, and as he says, “I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don’t want to do that.” But that’s the only thing Lloyd is sure of.
Future be dammed. Lloyd knows what he wants to do today, and that’s all that matters. After working up enough courage, Lloyd calls valedictorian Diane Court (Ione Skye), and asks her to attend a huge year-end party with him. Diane is portrayed as unattainable, but not in the classic sense: she’s not a bombshell, but she’s very smart and shy with the kind of girl-next-door good looks and has intimidated her classmates with her aloofness. They’re definitely an odd pair—he has no particular ambitions, while she has been awarded a fellowship to study in England. While their courtship begins cautiously, there’s no denying these two people share something special between them.
Diane lives alone with her father, Jim (John Mahoney). When her parents divorced she chose to live with him because of the open and caring relationship the two have—they made a pact they could say anything to each other. Diane respects her father immensely, and sees him as a good man, who works hard running a nursing home because he wants to help people. Feeling like Lloyd is taking his place in his daughter’s life; Jim suggests that Diane break up with Lloyd. Realizing she’s headed to school in England soon, Diane agrees. Undeterred, Lloyd does whatever he can to win her back, including the iconic scene where Lloyd stands outside his love’s window, holding aloft a boom box playing Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes.”
However, her rock-solid faith in father is shattered when she discovers he’s being indicted for tax fraud that involves his nursing home business. Suddenly, Diane finds herself questioning everything about the man she thought she new best, and wondering if Lloyd will take her back. One of the reasons Say Anything… works so well, is the fact that Cameron Crowe resisted making the answer to that question immediately obvious. The characters are so well written; the audience isn’t sure how things are going to turn out until the credits roll.
Twenty years after its theatrical release, Say Anything… is still one of, if not the best of Cameron Crowe’s films. It’s easy to see why the movie still strikes a chord for so many people. Who couldn’t relate with Lloyd and Diane (at some point in our lives)? They’re young, in love for the first time. They kiss in the rain. They write each other love notes. They make love in the backseat. Somehow, it all just makes sense.
Say Anything… comes to Blu-ray with an excellent 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer. While obviously not as sharp and defined as a contemporary release, the film displays an impressive sense of clarity, depth, and detail throughout. The film’s thin grain structure is intact, there’s no DNR, and I didn’t see any edge enhancement or technical defects. Colors are vivid, with the exception of a few brief moments where things look a bit duller than one would have liked, but those are few and far between. Fleshtones look natural throughout. 20th Century Fox has done a great job with this catalog title.
Say Anything’s… DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track reproduces the many pop/rock songs in the film with solid, depth, and fidelity. Bass response is strong without being overpowering and the music is enveloping. Aside from the music, this is a dialogue-driven, front-heavy film, but the rear channels do occasionally offer up some ambience, like neighborhood noises, and street sounds. Dialogue is a expertly prioritized and the whole track has a spacious and well-balanced mix. Say Anything… sounds full and clear, and you really can’t ask for much more than that.
Say Anything… offers the following special features:
• Audio Commentary: In this track by writer, director Cameron Crowe and stars John Cusack and Ione Skye, Crowe describes his lead (Cusack’s character) as representing, “optimism as a revolutionary act.” Also on the commentary—which starts 20 minutes before the film begins—Crowe, Cusack, and Skye talk about the challenges of creating a feeling of naturalism, and all three praise the performance of John Mahoney, the actor who portrayed Skye’s father.
• An Iconic Film Revisted: Say Anything… 20 Years Later (1080p, 21:57) Featuring interviews with Cameron Crowe, John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, and Nancy Wilson, Crowe discusses his inspirations for writing the film, while the actors share their memories of working together.
• A Conversation with Cameron Crowe (1080p, 9:31) Culled from the same interview as the previous documentary, Crowe here explains how he came to direct the film, admits John Cusack’s initial reluctance to do the film, and reminisces about the process of learning to become a director.
• I Love Say Anything… (1080p, 7:31) Comedians, including Weird Al profess their love for Say Anything…, relive their favorite moments, and quote liberally from the film.
• To Know Say Anything… Is To Love It! Trivia Track Trigger a steady flow of “pop-up video” style trivia bubbles throughout the film.
• Alternate Scenes (SD, 11:05 total) Includes alternate takes of five scenes, including attempts at the now- iconic boom box scene.
• Deleted Scenes (SD, 13:17) There are ten deleted scenes.
• Extended Scenes (SD, 24:39) To differentiate the old from the new in these thirteen extended sequences, the parts of the scenes that exist the film are shown in black and white, while the excised pieces are in color.
• Vintage Featurette (SD, 6:58) Standard EPK stuff—talking head interviews, clips from the film, and a bit of behind-the-scenes footage.
• Photo Gallery (1080p, 6:20) This self-playing gallery contains publicity shots, stills, and on-set photos.
• TV Spots (SD, 4:17 total)
• Trailers (SD, 4:36 total)
[xrrgroup][xrr label=”Video:” rating=”4.5/5″ group=”s1″ ] [xrr label=”Audio:” rating=”4.5/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Extras:” rating=”3.0/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Film Value:” rating=”4.5/5″ group=”s1″] [/xrrgroup]
