I can't remember ever watching it, but I shall now. I'm scratching around for things to watch/do in my remaining seven weeks of bachelordom. I've even taken up making sourdough.
This came out roughly around the time of my own ten year high school reunion, of which I did not attend as I was glad to be done with the place.
It's a favourite of mine for all the reasons you listed JB but also, it made me reflect on who I was and what I had done so far and where I was going I life.
I'm not sure if the film was supposed to evoke such introspection but it did, and in a good way. My own take away from the film is that sometimes you have to deal with issues and people from the past but you shouldn't seek to dwell there.
Great review, JB. Coincidentally, my partner and our 26 yr old were hanging out at the beach a couple of weeks ago and as we do at such times we were thinking about which classic 70s-90s movie with which to continue his general education, and almost at the same moment we said ‘Grosse Pointe Blank’!
I hadn’t watched it for about 15 years and while it was always a favourite had forgotten just how great it is. And yes, that soundtrack! Happily the 26 yr old loved it too, but he still had to make some comment about our generation and it’s devotion to organised labour as a representation of the patriarchy (or something like that), but on the other hand he said that he appreciates the slacker vibe that pervades classic 90s movies.
This is such a brilliant movie. I own it on DVD, just to illustrate how fricking good it was to make the pre-streaming cut of treasured physical media.
It's just so so good, and Joan Cusack as Blank's assassin PA is another scene stealing tour de force.
The assassination gone wrong where the target wakes up just before the poison dripping down a thread from the ceiling reaches his open mouth is brilliant. That assassination technique was allegedly used by ninja in feudal Japan, presumably with more success than Martin Blank.
Sad to hear Armitage has died. I will re-watch his masterpiece in his honour.
its funny how these mid budget made to please a lot of people movies have now become niche and the special interest groups movies (for nerds, like star wars or marvel etc) have now become mainstream. We were trying to pin it down the other month - we think it goes back to the success of LOTR. Studios discovered that the nerd dollar was worth mining (full disclosure, i am one of those nerds lamenting the lack of good fantasy movies)
There's also something that i dont really like about John Cusack, but i can't put my finger on it. And that's despite the fact that he's in a lot of movies that i like, such as grosse point blank. Its a weird irreconcilable argument in my head. He is of course in that other great movie, Better off Dead. Still find myself saying "where's my 2 dollars!"
In the opening scene of Grosse Pointe Blank, John Cusack shoots a gun wielding cyclist. I have read that the cyclist was a reference to the psychotic paperboy in Better off Dead.
well as they say you can never go home again, Brimo... but I guess you can shop there.
Deep cut. I approve.
Such a fucking good movie. The union pitch in the middle of the gunfight is a classic.
I can't remember ever watching it, but I shall now. I'm scratching around for things to watch/do in my remaining seven weeks of bachelordom. I've even taken up making sourdough.
Does someone use the term KenTacoHut in that movie, or am I thinking of something else?
This came out roughly around the time of my own ten year high school reunion, of which I did not attend as I was glad to be done with the place.
It's a favourite of mine for all the reasons you listed JB but also, it made me reflect on who I was and what I had done so far and where I was going I life.
I'm not sure if the film was supposed to evoke such introspection but it did, and in a good way. My own take away from the film is that sometimes you have to deal with issues and people from the past but you shouldn't seek to dwell there.
Great review, JB. Coincidentally, my partner and our 26 yr old were hanging out at the beach a couple of weeks ago and as we do at such times we were thinking about which classic 70s-90s movie with which to continue his general education, and almost at the same moment we said ‘Grosse Pointe Blank’!
I hadn’t watched it for about 15 years and while it was always a favourite had forgotten just how great it is. And yes, that soundtrack! Happily the 26 yr old loved it too, but he still had to make some comment about our generation and it’s devotion to organised labour as a representation of the patriarchy (or something like that), but on the other hand he said that he appreciates the slacker vibe that pervades classic 90s movies.
This is such a brilliant movie. I own it on DVD, just to illustrate how fricking good it was to make the pre-streaming cut of treasured physical media.
It's just so so good, and Joan Cusack as Blank's assassin PA is another scene stealing tour de force.
The assassination gone wrong where the target wakes up just before the poison dripping down a thread from the ceiling reaches his open mouth is brilliant. That assassination technique was allegedly used by ninja in feudal Japan, presumably with more success than Martin Blank.
Sad to hear Armitage has died. I will re-watch his masterpiece in his honour.
its funny how these mid budget made to please a lot of people movies have now become niche and the special interest groups movies (for nerds, like star wars or marvel etc) have now become mainstream. We were trying to pin it down the other month - we think it goes back to the success of LOTR. Studios discovered that the nerd dollar was worth mining (full disclosure, i am one of those nerds lamenting the lack of good fantasy movies)
There's also something that i dont really like about John Cusack, but i can't put my finger on it. And that's despite the fact that he's in a lot of movies that i like, such as grosse point blank. Its a weird irreconcilable argument in my head. He is of course in that other great movie, Better off Dead. Still find myself saying "where's my 2 dollars!"
In the opening scene of Grosse Pointe Blank, John Cusack shoots a gun wielding cyclist. I have read that the cyclist was a reference to the psychotic paperboy in Better off Dead.
oh that is great lol