Movie Review --- Grosse Pointe Blank
Just to show the commitment I have for this community, since I have no car here on campus, I took the time to walk down town to a nearby video store and buy this DVD for the purpose of 1) Knocking off a movie from my latest Top 10 and 2) Review it to see if you guys were right. I hardly ever buy movies, so that alone was an awkward moment for me, but you guys were right to tell me to see this movie as soon as possible.
While looking at the cast, and seeing a movie involving a feud between two hitmen played by John Cusack and Dan Aykroyd, the first thing that pops into my head is Rob Gordon vs. Dr. Raymond Stantz. That actually added on to the comic genius of this movie, as this is not just one of the funniest but one of the most brilliant works of comedy I have ever seen. All the big characters involved, most notably Grocer (Aykroyd) have such a witty zing to them that it almost makes me jealous.
The hitman genre of movies can be hit or miss for me. I can only see a movie about a guy who kills for a living so many times, with so many shoot ‘em up scenes and catchy one-liners. Although this movie does have that, it’s only a sample of the real story to the movie, as we see that Martin Blank (John Cusack) has a soft spot, and he’s forced to work with it while doing another job while also being forced to attend his 10 year high school reunion, and maybe even catch up with some friends, like that cracked up Paul (well done by Jeremy Piven) and Debi (Minnie Driver), the girl who’s heart he broke at prom.
While looking like a tacky story in writing, it’s not by all means like that in execution. Nobody takes Martin seriously when he confesses that he’s a professional killer, so he has to pretend he’s not, although “I’d blow your head off if somebody paid me enough.” Right on, Martin. All the characters have their own wacky attributes. Martin’s shrink (Alan Arkin) is too afraid to work with him after finding out what he does for a living, Paul breaks down at the sight of an old friend (TEN YEARS!!! TEN!!! TEN! TEN YEARS!), Grocer is out to kill Martin but still enjoys exchanging witty banter in vain attempts to have Martin join his lame “union”; everyone’s got something to deliver here. And that’s why this movie is so damn good! Even the guys you hate you begin to love after seeing enough of them. Or maybe I’m watching this movie too many times.
So thank you, T5R, you have provided me with a movie that is making me consider redoing my Top Five Movies. I must share one complaint, the connection with ammunition capacity and shots fired. For example, the opening scene where Grocer takes out 5 guys with 2 six shooters, yet fires them both 20 times with no reloading. That stuff just to bother me. The movie has a pretty big case of that, the “infinite bullet syndrome” as my dad likes to call it. But it’s a small complaint for such an enjoyable movie. What the hell, a full score for this one. A+.