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 obody knows
"a good thing" when they see it more than
Hollywood. Which is why when a filmmaker strikes on a particularly interesting
subject (i.e. a killer asteroid threatens all life on Earth) there will usually
be two or three other groups in the same town writing their own version of said
subject. The Killer Asteroid idea is a case in point -- besides two big
blockbuster films on the subject (Armageddon and
Deep Impact)
there was a TV mini-series called "Asteroids" and a host of other, smaller
productions on TV or direct-to-video. Another case in point is the Killer
Tornado idea that came a few years before the Killer Asteroid fad.
When 1996's Grosse Pointe Blank came out, it
wasn't the first Dysfunctional Criminal Sees a Shrink movie of its year.
Besides the Robert De Niro mob comedy Analyze This
(where a mob boss (De
Niro) goes to see a shrink) there was the HBO TV show "The Sopranos" just
gearing up for production. Not soon after, there was the wonderful Panic
with William H. Macy, and others in-between and better left unexplored.
Grosse Pointe Blank stars John Cusack as Martin
Blank, a professional hitman who is having an increasingly hard time justifying
his lucrative profession. But that's the least of Martin's problem. A fellow
hitman name Grocer (Dan Aykroyd) is trying to kill him because Martin won't
join his union. If that wasn't bad enough, Martin has just gotten an
invitation to his 10th high school reunion! Martin's reluctant
shrink (Alan Arkin) convinces Martin to go to the reunion, mostly because the
shrink is terrified of Martin and wants to get rid of him any way he can. Back
at his old stomping ground after a 10-year absence, Martin has to confront his
past, his family, and his ex-girlfriend Debi (Minnie Driver) who he dumped on
Prom Night. If facing a woman scorn, a dysfunctional family, and bad high school
memories wasn't enough to destroy Martin's already fragile psyche, Grocer
and two FBI agents have followed Martin back home and both have plans for him…
John Cusack (Serendipity)
makes Grosse Pointe Blank work. The actor has more than a casual hand
with the film, and acts as producer and one of the writers. This is essentially
Cusack's movie, and everyone else, including the director, are hired hands.
It's Cusack's paranoia, his flippant attitude about his profession (he tells
everyone he's a hitman if they ask), and his charm that carries the movie from
beginning to end.
Like all movie hitmen, Martin Blank isn't really a bad
guy, since he only kills those "who deserves it." This is a cheat, of
course, but considering that the movie is something of a spoof on the hitman
genre, it's not all that big of a deal. The movie also has a lot of fun with
Martin's profession and how everyone he meets at the reunion thinks he's
being a jokester when he tells him or her he kills people for a living. An old
friend played by Jeremy Piven replies (after Martin tells him he's a hitman), "Do you get dental with that?" The movie's one running gag is that no one
takes Martin seriously when he confesses his occupation, and it's quite funny
to see the nonchalant way people react to his declarations.
Grosse Pointe Blank could be called a Romantic
Comedy masquerading as a Hitman film -- up to a point. Martin's Prom Night
dumping of Minnie Driver (High
Heels and Low Lifes) takes up much of the film's focus once Martin returns
home, and thankfully Driver is quite good and likable. The two leads have good
chemistry, and Driver's public humiliation of Martin via live on the radio
when he first arrives in town is believable. Debi's woman scorned -- but still
in love -- makes a nice counterpart to Martin's paranoid -- but correctly so
-- hitman.
The film's other highpoint is Cusack's interaction with
his high school buddy Paul, played by Piven, whose character feels betrayed that
his best buddy just took off without saying goodbye. The two recently starred
together again in Serendipity,
and seeing how easy they work together, it's a good bet we'll see more of
them in the same movies and same roles. Piven seems destined for sidekick roles,
since he's too short and, well, is losing his hair fast. The phrase, "Not
leading man type" comes to mind, although I've always been fond of his
characters.
The movie does falter a bit when it wanders into action
category. The movie tries to have it both ways -- it wants its gunfights to be
realistic, but the end result is much too cartoonish and outlandish. For
instance, there are a number of very violent, bloody action scenes, one in the
middle when Martin takes on a hitman hired to kill him, and the climaxing
gunfight with Aykroyd's Grocer. Considering the film was so tongue-in-cheek
throughout, the stark violence of those two scenes were somewhat jarring. The
action really makes one question if the filmmakers knew what kind of film they
wanted to make, and as a result Grosse Point Blank feels "off"
somehow.
"Off", but good in an odd sort of way.
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