Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 18-August-02
Spoiler Rating: Medium

Say Anything . . . (1989)

Although I have loved John Cusack from the first, I never understood the passionate affection that many movie lovers of a certain age feel for "Say Anything . . .", Cameron Crowe's debut film featuring Cusack in his signature role as romantic kick-boxer Lloyd Dobler. I remember going to see the picture with my mother when it first came out and turning to each other at the end with matching expressions of "Huh?" It struck me as a flimsy tale without an ending about people on whom I couldn't get a handle. Thirteen years later, I decided to give the movie a second look, mostly as a sociological study: I wanted to figure out why Lloyd Dobler --- usually remembered standing by his car, hoisting a boom box over his head --- has become a cultural icon. And, for whatever reason (maturity and experience, the ingestion of countless crappy romances over the intervening years, the alignment of the stars, or a Wednesday night humor particularly suited to Crowe's vision), this time I think I got it.

An interesting thing to note, however, is that Lloyd Dobler isn't exactly the central character of "Say Anything . . .". He is, from beginning to end, the same good, sweet, thoughtful person, a catalyst to others but fully formed and wonderfully complete within himself. He is a Hero, a veritable knight in shining armor (quoth he, "I'm looking for a dare-to-be-great situation"), and that's probably why people love him; but the battles in the film are not his to fight. The person who develops and changes through the story's events is the object of Lloyd's affection, Diane Court (Ione Skye). The movie is, in fact, an old-fashioned love triangle (vaguely reminiscent of the Arthurian tale) in which a beautiful and accomplished maiden must compare the virtues of an older and a younger man to decide in whom to entrust her future.

The film opens with Lloyd and Diane's graduation from high school. Lloyd is a well liked but not too popular kid, an unambitious student who enjoys kick-boxing and hanging out with his two female best friends. He has an unlikely crush on Diane, the pretty, overachieving valedictorian who is admired by her classmates but actually known to none. Lloyd's future is uncertain --- he doesn't consider college and resists his father's wish that he enter the army --- while Diane has received a prestigious fellowship to study in England in the fall. It appears at first that the only point in common between the two is their fractured families; he lives with his harried, single-mother sister (Joan Cusack), and she lives with her father (John Mahoney), who is also her only close friend. (Notably, at the time her parents divorced when she was 13, Diane had to choose with whom to live, and she chose the one who made her feel "safe.")

Fueled by youthful exuberance and undeterred by the odds, Lloyd calls Diane and asks her for a date, to which she eventually agrees even though she doesn't know exactly who he is. Diane quickly recognizes Lloyd's natural kindness and starts to welcome his friendship, which causes friction with her father, who thinks that Lloyd is beneath her and fears that he might disrupt her carefully planned future. As if that weren't stressful enough, Diane's home life is further strained when her father comes under investigation by the IRS for tax evasion and unlawful management of the finances of his nursing home clients. This sets up the moral element of the triangle; the truly admirable Diane, who has learned to expect honesty and honor from the man in her life, is forced to rethink exactly where those qualities lie.

Though Lloyd is eventually shown to be the most worthy protector of Diane and her heart, her father is never depicted as an out-and-out villain. His failings are highlighted by the movie's underlying theme of communication, and how what is said and projected on the surface is not the full measure of a man. This theme, suggested by the title, is developed in several scenes: when Diane and her father give mutual assurance that they can tell each other anything (which proves not to be true); when Lloyd expresses envy at the way Diane and her father know each other so well they can complete each other's sentences; and when a pen is used as a symbol of a break in honest communication, first between Diane and Lloyd, and then between Diane and her father. The heroine must judge the men who would accompany her through life not by their stated motivations and goals --- indeed Lloyd is the first to admit that he has neither --- but by their actions, which reveal their true desires and, ultimately, their inherent characters.

"Say Anything . . .", which Crowe wrote as well as directed, depicts the romance of Lloyd and Diane, and their relationships with friends and family, in carefully written and chosen scenes that smack of real life. This, coupled with excellent performances by the leads, creates the impression of watching a very believable situation, whether or not we can directly relate to the characters or their dilemmas. As with most romantic movies, particularly ones centered on teens, there are a few deliberately comic moments, but these are also well written and don't in the least detract from the emotional pitch of the film.

I am surprised that "Say Anything . . ." didn't hit home for me when I first saw it. Perhaps, being young and callow, I missed the histrionics and emotional hyperbole that are so often used to depict passion and attachment in the movies. But this film offers so much more of truth and wisdom. Crowe's simple conclusion is that nobility of character is the strongest foundation for true love. Wherefore, I'm glad that Lloyd Dobler is admired by many, and I now count myself among them.

Copyright © 2002 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.