Justin's Rating: An Al Pacino "Hoo-Yah!"
Justin's Review: I am pretty picky and demanding of romantic comedies, more so than of any other genre-genre. A romantic comedy must contain: (1) A hopeless romantic worldview, that if you just believe in true love enough, it'll happen; (2) A girl that's pretty enough to get my interest but not so gorgeous as to depress me because I could never get a girl like that; (3) Lots of genuine comedy and laughs and witty repartee; (4) An ending that doesn't depress me; and (5) John Cusack. Obviously, I've limited myself to just a few selections on the video store rack, but I'm a man of disciminating tastes. Thus, I was more than pleasantly surprised to find and watch The Sure Thing for the first time, over 15 years after it was released in theaters.

This was Cusack's first big film, and it's slightly ironic that they place his character Gib in college. After all, he then follows this film up with two *high school* comedies (Better Off Dead and Say Anything). But this is only a passing irony.

Gib has just graduated from high school and is slightly depressed that his sexual prowess has declined over the past couple years. He vows to good friend Anthony "Pre-Jon-Luc Picard Hairstyle" Edwards to live it up in college. Flash forward a couple months, and Gib is just scraping by as an English major (hooray for English majors, which has the highest concentration of druggies, certifiably insane freaks, artsy-fartsy pompous rich kids pretending not to be rich, homeless recovering alcoholics, theater majors who don't want to admit their homosexuality, and me). A little disappointed with college life, Gib receives a letter and a photo from Anthony "10ccs Of Acting, Stat!" Edwards describing a woman who's a "sure thing" for Gib. The catch? Gib has to travel to the opposite coastline in just a few days to hook up with her. The second catch? He has to team up with Alison, a fellow English major who's both a woman and a frozen popsicle. This girl also is a dead ringer for Cusack's love interest in "Say Anything", and I had to double-check to make sure I was wrong on that.

So on one very shallow level, you have a saga about a guy's desire to have hot, meaningless sex with some fantasy girl and how that is supposed to be the American Dream for every guy under 25. And over 25. And 25. But, fortunately, that's largely overshadowed by the romantic tension between the slacker and the cold fish. 75% of this movie is a road trip, and every convention is used to keep the unlikely pair together for the journey. They begin the trip with a pair of straight-laced showtune-singing folks, who ditch them when Alison is goaded by Gib to flash a passing truck.

If I could take a moment to try to delve a little deeper into the meaning of these characters, I promise to jump right back out in the next paragraph. Gib is confused and messed up with many preconceived notions of how love and sex should work. He botches many romantic moments with typical male machismo, and only really succeeds when he's not thinking about getting laid. Alison is so stereotyped as the Type A career-oriented "I have no real life, so I don't know what I'm missing" woman that we're not often forced to feel much for her. By themselves, they're not much to look at, but together they begin to make a pair. Gib teaches her things like shotgunning a beer while she, well, she basically nags him to hold a higher standard for things. Like junk food.

Really, in retrospect this movie isn't the deepest romantic film in terms of plot, but it's just chock-full (what's a chock, anyway?) of snappy dialogue and funny situations that I really decided to instantly like this film. Cusack shows enormous promise at the beginning of his film career with his trademark droll wit and exuberant outlets of expression. It just seems like most of the movies he's in wouldn't work quite the same without him to fill the lead character. For instance, Gib's roommate fills him in on his patent sincere speech to get girls to buckle. The beefy roommate sits on a bed next to Gib and begins to speak words of wooing, touching Gib softly, looking into his eyes, etc. It's one of those scenes that starts funny, but quickly becomes uncomfortable as you begin to consider a homosexual subtext, and then when the roommate finishes Gib deadpans, "That's the biggest load of bulls**t I've ever heard". It's strange yet funny, and that's highly representative of college life right there.

Plus, and I think I just speak for me, I really liked Gib's faded leather jacket. I want one. My birthday's coming up soon.

Didja Notice?
A poster for director Rob Reiner's previous film, This Is Spinal Tap, hangs on the closet in Gib's dorm room.

The Movie Store!
The Sure Thing: Movie [VHS]
The Sure Thing: Movie [DVD]

Intermission!
Cusack finished this movie right before graduating from his own high school, Evanston High School.

Groovy Quotes:

Lady in car: What are you gonna name it?
Alison: What?
Lady in car: The baby.
Alison: Well, if it's a girl, Cynthia, and if it's a boy, Elliot.
Lady in car: Those are lovely names.
Gib: Elliot? You're gonna name the kid Elliot? No, you can't name the kid Elliot. Elliot is a fat kid with glasses who eats paste. You're not gonna name the kid Elliot. You gotta give him a real name. Give him a name! Like Nick.
Alison: Nick?
Gib: Yeah, Nick! Nick's the kinda guy you can trust. Nick's your buddy. Nick's the kinda guy you drink beers with. The kinda guy that doesn't care if you puke in his car. Nick!

Gib: I flunk English, I'm outta here. I gotta get a job, and you know what that means. That's right, they start me at the drive-up window and I gradually work my way up from shakes to burgers, and then one day my lucky break comes: the french fry guy dies and they offer me the job. But the day I'm supposed to start some men come by in a black Lincoln Continental and tell me I can make a quick 300 just for driving a van back from Mexico. When I get out of jail I'm 36 years old. Living in a flop house. No job. No home. No upward mobility. Very few teeth. And then one day they find me, face down in the gutter, clutching a bottle of paint thinner and why? Because you wouldn't help me in English!

Gib: Sorry I'm late. There was this big problem... and I'm late because of it.

Alison: What are you doing?
Gib: I'm going to bed.
Alison: Not with me you're not.
Gib: I'm not going to bed with you, I'm going to bed in a bed you happen to be in also.

Gib: You know, I've never met anyone like you before. Usually when I meet someone new I feel awkward and shy. But with you it's different. I can talk to you. You know what I'm thinking without my having to explain to you in fancy terms. We speak each other's unspoken language... fluently. I love you.

If you liked this movie, try these:
Better Off Dead
Say Anything
The Cutting Edge