Cameron Crowe goes for the heart in 'Say Anything ...'

John Cusack stands up for love in 1989’s “Say Anything …” (20th Century Fox/MovieStillsDB.com)

"Say Anything ..."
Released April 14, 1989
Directed by Cameron Crowe
Where to Watch

"Say Anything …" is incredibly earnest, then and now. It's what makes it special and unique amongst teenage romances in film history.

The teenage romance comedy/drama and feature film directorial debut of Cameron Crowe was released in 1989. So many of the teen movies of the era were either by writer/director John Hughes, or at least inspired by him, and featured lead characters who always seemed wiser than their years. What made "Say Anything …" stand out was these teenagers were more emotionally expressive about their thoughts than waiting to launch the next quip. They were intelligent enough to recognize their emotions without the life experience to navigate the twists and turns.

John Cusack stars as Lloyd Dobler, a unique high school senior who's not popular but not an outcast; he firmly exists in this middle space of the social circle where he's confident and self-aware but remains unsure about life after high school outside of his kickboxing hobby. Lloyd has a crush on Diane Court (Ione Skye). This high school valedictorian sacrificed socializing to focus on her studies and a potential fellowship opportunity in England (which she wins early in the movie). Besides brief physical proximity encounters, Lloyd remembers that Diane remains oblivious; they have no relationship when they graduate high school. 

That changes when Lloyd works up the courage to cold-call Diane and invite her to the end-of-the-year party with their other classmates.

This scene is an excellent example of Crowe's talents as a filmmaker, particularly with how he uses dialogue to establish character. As we learn through the movie, Lloyd often wears his heart on his sleeve, while Diane is more prone to thinking with her head over her heart. During this conversation, Lloyd keeps throwing out reasons why Diane should go out with him and eventually why she should go to the party. Diane listens more than she talks and finally agrees when Lloyd hits upon an idea that interests her: Interacting with her classmates. The appeal of hanging out with Lloyd is a distinct second.

Much to Diane's surprise, the date goes well. She gets to see many elements of Lloyd's personality beyond being verbose, and they enjoy each other's company enough to begin seeing each other that summer before her fellowship in the fall. Diane brings Lloyd more into the life she built with her divorced father, Jim (John Mahoney), who eyes Lloyd with wary that he's about to disrupt the carefully planned path to success Diane has carved out for herself. The very idea that Lloyd doesn't have any aspirations for his future (beyond dating his daughter) is nearly enough to cause Jim to jump out of his skin.

But maybe what's really eating at Jim is the constant scrutiny into his life by the I.R.S. Jim runs a retirement home for seniors that Diane works at, but agents are continually showing up in Jim's affairs. The questions around Jim's business finances become frequent enough that Diane, ever the intellectual, decides to end her relationship with Lloyd to focus on helping her father. And Lloyd, ever the nakedly emotional one, can't help himself trying to win her back.

... which, in hindsight, might have given many young, impressionable boys the wrong message about courtship. One person's romantic gesture is another person's unwanted stalker; still, mad props to one of the most iconic and loving moments from the 80s.

Lloyd's vulnerability at the moment is one of the most enduring features of "Say Anything …" because the culture at the time didn't have much room for sensitive young men. It's earnest in a painful way, like watching a beautiful, kind person you know running through a glass window they don't see coming. With enough life experience, we can see how badly a breakup can go – as we see in the ongoing subplot between Lloyd's friends Corey and Joe – but Lloyd and Diane are winning together. He obviously adores her and will support her ambitions in every way, while Diane realizes Lloyd's off-kilter thinking is remarkably compatible with her intelligence. They sit together at the end of the movie, in a moment very similar to the famous ending of 1967's "The Graduate" when the lead couple looks ahead to an uncertain future. But instead of physical distance and looking away from each other, Lloyd and Diane hold each other and look in the same direction. The future is uncertain, but here, there's hope.

While Crowe was directing his first film, he already earned juice for himself through his writing, first as a freelancer for magazines like Rolling Stone and later screenplays, including 1982's "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." He gained the attention of the writer, director, and producer James L. Brooks, who championed Crowe to the director's seat for "Say Anything …" The partnership happened just as Crowe was preparing his final statement on teenage life.

"Our feeling was let's give an audience credit for being able to see a movie about young characters that isn't just about being young and going to the prom," Crowe said in a retrospective featurette. "It's about that, but it's also about real love happening and the harshness that comes with the joy and euphoria. The roots in 'Say Anything …' are about real characters. It's always been that way for me. I love writing about people you know, and the oddest, small things that can be the road into a whole story – a whole movie – and a feeling you want the movie to be about."

The movie opened in third place at the box office, grossing $4 million during its opening weekend. "Say Anything …" managed to hang onto much of that initial audience through good word of mouth, enjoying a two month run at theaters before the first big franchise summer ("Batman" and sequels to Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, Lethal Weapon, and Star Trek) dominated the marketplace. "Say Anything …" finished with a total domestic gross of $20.7 million, but the great word-of-mouth continued as more audiences found it on video and cable. It wasn't long before "Say Anything …" was one of the defining romances for the Gen X crowd. 

"In one sense, 'Say Anything …' is a romantic comedy, but it's firmly grounded in reality (rather than the fantasy world of hearts and candies where many love stories exist)," wrote film critic James Berardinelli for ReelViews. "The film isn't over-intellectual in its approach, but it is smart. It doesn't demand anything from its audience except a willingness for each viewer to turn over a couple of hours to these two characters and the special magic they weave while together. 'Say Anything …' hardly has a misstep, and, despite the passage of a decade since its release, it's just as hip today as it was at the time of its theatrical run."

Next Week: "The Bride of Frankenstein"