Grosse Pointe Blank

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Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

Directed by George Armitage

Starring: John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Dan Aykroyd

This 1997 American black comedy was directed by George Armitage. The cast includes John Cusack, Minnie Driver, and Dan Aykroyd. Interestingly, two of the three (Cusack and Aykroyd) would star in War, Inc.  another black comedy released in 2008. In addition to starring in this movie, Cusack also helped to write the screenplay for the film.

Martin Blank (Cusack) is a professional killer. When his new contract comes in, he’s sent back to Grosse Pointe, the city he grew up in. Now he’s forced to face all the people he left behind, and his own 10 year high school reunion. This also includes seeing the girl he left behind, Debi Newberry (Driver). Martin is also dealing with Grocer (Aykroyd), another killer who’s looking to eliminate the competition. Soon Martin is looking for a way to fix the past and stay alive for the future.

Despite being a fan of both Cusack and Aykroyd, this is the first time I’ve seen this movie. It is a good story with some great dialogue throughout. The acting is really great as well. Cusack and Aykroyd both make the movie for me. The rest of the cast all come together with great performances as well. This includes Driver, as well as Alan Arkin and Joan Cusack. There are actually a lot of other familiar faces in the movie which led to a lot of “hey, it’s that guy” moments for me.

I also loved the music in this movie. The songs are all from the eighties and really feel like they belong.

The movie does have a bit of a weak payoff for me. The flaw to this movie is that the ending seems a bit lazy or cheap. This isn’t to say that it’s not worth seeing, simply that the ending might have made this a great movie instead of a good one.

This is a fun and dark comedy with some great lines and a lot of action. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes dark comedies, or is a fan of the stars of the film. I give this one 3.8 out of 5 stars.

Rating: R

Running Time: 107 minutes

8 comments

  1. One of my absolute favorite movies. Critically speaking, I agree that the ending isn’t that great of a payoff, but I love it anyway. “Ten years! Ten…. TEN!!!”

    Like

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