Skip to main content

You are...you are a good looking guy.

I hereby nominate "The Sure Thing" as one of the best movies of the 80's and one of the greatest romantic comedies of all time. I am one of the few who actually saw it in the theater (with my church group, no less) and I've loved it ever since. When I worked at American Video my last year of high school, I some how came to purchase the store's copy. We must have watched that movie a hundred times during the paint crew summers. Steve and I had so many lines memorized. Besides Boon and Otter from "Animal House," we wanted to be John Cusack's Walter "Gib" Gibson. While those "Animal house" guys were someone we aspired to be, but would never be cool enough to be, Gib was like us. He was one of us. He was a failure in love, but an optimist.

And then my copy got lost.

I believe it was Dillon, a guy we worked with, who borrowed it after one of the Malchus parties (one of the bigger one's). Though he claims to have never had it, for some reason I think he harbors that old VHS copy f "The Sure Ting" and pulls it out every so often. Just kidding Jeff.

Last Christmas I was given an Amazon gift certificate and I decided, what the hell, I'll buy "The Sure Thing". I was always reluctant top buy it because so many of the movies (and albums and books) that I treasured in college really don't hold up. Still, I was feeling nostalgic...

Last night I popped it in for some inspiration. I'm working on a script that will involve some acerbic banter between the male and female characters and I knew that Cusack and co-star Daphne Zuniga really had a spark. My intention of watching a few minutes turned into the first 20 and I was quickly reminded why I loved this movie. It's not because of the humor or the accurate college feel that Rob Reiner brought to the movie. And it's not for the cool music or even the great performance of Cusack (in one of his first starring roles... and best starring roles... and age appropriate starring roles). It's the heart, baby. This film has more heart than most of the romantic comedy feel good mushy love story lift yourself up by the boots underdog stories that come out every year. It rules!

So, if you have some down time, and want to check out some future stars of their generation (Anthony Edwards is hilarious, and keep a watch out for Tim Robbins), you MUST MUST MUST rent "The Sure Thing."

Comments

tcb77 said…
It´s my favorite 80´s teen movie. It´s like a time machine...A beloved film!

Popular posts from this blog

MARATHON FOOTNOTES (for those who didn't think I would really footnote a stream of consciousness thought): Footnote #1 Academy Award Winning Best Picture Films from 1969 to the Present: Midnight Cowboy, Patton, The French Connection, The Godfather, The Sting, The Godfather II, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Rocky, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Ordinary People, Chariots of Fire, Gandhi, Terms of Endearment, Amadeus, Out of Africa, Platoon, The Last Emperor, Rain Man, Driving Miss Daisy, Dances With Wolves, The Silence of the Lambs, Unforgiven, Schindler’s List, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, The English Patient, Titanic, Shakespeare in Love, American Beauty, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Chicago, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Footnote #2 Members of the band YES, from 1969 to the present: In 1969, Yes is formed with Jon Anderson on vocals Peter Banks on guitar, Bill Bruford on drums, Tony Kaye on keyboards and Chris Squire playing bass. This group records...

100 and Counting: Introducing The Epic Playlist

It started as all playlists do, an occasion that justified music for entertainment. In this case, it was a couples weekend getaway back in February. Super Dave proposed that he and I provide the tunes and we started a Spotify playlist: three songs at a time, no song repeats, no artist repeats. Dave would add his three, then text me that it was my turn. I would then add my three text him back. This cycle repeated until three hundred songs were compiled, and we drove off to Mammoth with our wives. A funny thing happened, though, it turned out we both enjoyed the challenge of trying to surprise or outdo the other so much that we continued building the playlist. We made a new rule of just three songs each a day and still no artist repeats. Soon, we came up with amendments to allow duets (The Emmylou Exception), multiple songs by the same band if said band had multiple lead singers (The Beatles Exception), or if there was a lead singer replacement that changed the artistic direction of ...

A Trip Through the "My 90's Tapes" Collection Pt. 6: Joan Jett and The Blackhearts "Up Your Alley"

Column 1, Row 6: Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, Up Your Alley In 1988, hair metal was on the rise and straight forward rock and roll was losing radio airplay. If the music wasn't a little slick and the mix didn't sound like the record was recorded in a sports arena, there was little chance of getting heard. There were exceptions, of course (Tracy Chapman comes to mind), but for the most part, loud and echoey was the sound of the day. At that time, Joan Jett and her latest version of the Blackhearts had been together for a few years and were clicking. The band members were Ricky Byrd on lead guitar and vocals, Kasim Sulton on bass and vocals, and Thommy Price on drums. Jett was coming off of co-starring with Michael J. Fox in Paul Schrader's film, Light of Day . Although the film wasn't a hit, it was high profile enough to bring the rock legend back into the public eye after years working the road and trying to rebuild the success of her early 80s albums, including the s...