Say Anything... (1989)

Want to see it?

Seen it?

0
1
2
3
4
5
Rate this movie.

Buy it now on DVD

Starting at $10.59

Want to buy it?

Write a review

Discuss it

Add to lists

Recommend it

Get recommendations

Watch trailer

Directed by Cameron Crowe.

Starring Amy Brooks, John Cusack, John Mahoney, Ione Skye, Lili Taylor.

Watch trailer

Ione Skye plays Diane Court, high-school valedictorian on the verge of heading to England on a prestigious scholarship. This is especially thrilling to Diane's divorced father, James (John Mahoney), who has always shared a special relationship with the girl, less father/daughter than friend/friend. When Diane begins dating irresponsible army brat Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack), her father despairs at her choice of an "underachiever." Pressured by her dad to break off the relationship, Diane spends the rest of the summer being pursued by the lovestruck Lloyd, who does everything he can to win her back. Diane finally realizes there's more to life than perfection when her sainted father comes under the scrutiny of the IRS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

[more]

Reviews and discussions

Re:Pick a Pair
by unclefestering in Movie Games

hasn't rated it.

"[quote user="SkyPilot"] [quote user="nickbianco13"] Say Anything... (1989) Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) My girlfriend wrote a paper on GPB being the the future Loyd Dobbler who later became a hitman it should have been a sequel and they should be seen together. In my opinion. [/quote] Wow, that's really funny and interesting! This would be an interesting game. Black Snake Moan might be Jules from Pulp Fiction fifteen years later. [/quote] I once tried to trace history of Kurt Russell through his movie characters. I was trying to figure out what turned The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes into Snake Plissken. Maybe it was selling Used Cars? " [More]

Re:Pick a Pair
by SkyPilot in Movie Games

liked it.

"[quote user="nickbianco13"] Say Anything... (1989) Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) My girlfriend wrote a paper on GPB being the the future Loyd Dobbler who later became a hitman it should have been a sequel and they should be seen together. In my opinion. [/quote] Wow, that's really funny and interesting! This would be an interesting game. Black Snake Moan might be Jules from Pulp Fiction fifteen years later. " [More]

Re:Pick a Pair
by nickbianco13 in Movie Games

hasn't rated it.

"Say Anything... (1989) Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) My girlfriend wrote a paper on GPB being the the future Loyd Dobbler who later became a hitman it should have been a sequel and they should be seen together. In my opinion. " [More]

Say Anything
by sarcastig in As cool as a Fruitstand

liked it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"I've always been on the fence when it comes to Cameron Crowe. He has a true talent for writing believable characters and great dialogue, and a fantastic ear for music, but many of his films fail to convince me in the end. I think it's his inherent sentimentality that does him in, but this seems a strange accusation for a man who tries so hard to avoid typical Hollywood sentiment.He creates indelible scenes: Jerry Maguire yelling "Show me the money!", Billy Crudup standing on the roof yelling "I am a Golden God", John Cusack holding his boombox playing "in your eyes" over his head... Even the exercise-machine suicide and the road trip in Elizabethtown are scenes that are memorable even if the film is now. But ultimately, to me, his films are often more a collection of nice moments than a good, coherent, film. I like his films, but I don't love themSay Anything was the first exception to that rule. This movie is also not coherent, it kind of meanders, but for the first time it didn't ... " [More]

Lloyd Dobler at Burning Man
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com

hasn't rated it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"Burning Man, the infamous annual week-long neo-hippie desert sojourn, is partnering with a number of corporations in the name of getting green. Predictably, this has ruffled a few feathers, as it seems to fly in the face of at least one or two of Burning Man's core principles. Brian Doherty, who literally wrote the (or, at least, a) book on Burning Man, says the problem lies in the fact that some members of the Burner community have watched a certain Cameron Crowe movie a few too many times. To quote liberally from an article published today at Reason Online, titled "Generation Dobler": Emotionally, I don't understand why so many people get so upset at being marketed to, or at gleefully acknowledging the good that comes from crafting a social world that is dominated by people willingly exchanging skills, services, and goods. These types could be called Generation Dobler, after the famous quote from the sad sensitive man-child character, Lloyd Dobler, played by John Cusack in th ... " [More]

Bad 80's Boyfriends
by marymcilwain in Dollar Video Curator

is neutral about it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"Ah romance. Every good video watcher is acutely aware of the down-on-love, romantic teenage flicks that played out with so many star-struck Romeos and Juliets in the idealistic 80’s. We cheered for our plucky, beautiful, yet misunderstood Andie Walshes, Diane Courts, and Wattes in the face of so much love adversity, whether what they lacked was money, an understanding father, or girl’s underwear, and rested easy at the end when they got their men. But should we have? For every one of these “ideal” movie boyfriends, sure signs of loser-dom each display. Here’s just a few reasons why you should’ve run for the hills ladies! Ferris Bueller(Matthew Broderick) –He of the Day OffMajor Flaw: Too eager Yes, he’s charming, cute, fun-loving, inventive and obviously coveted by every other girl in your school, but sheesh. The dude’s talking marriage and he hasn’t even graduated from high school. Sloane, you are way too hot to hitch your star to that wagon. Advice: go to college first and ... " [More]

Lloyd Dobler at Burning Man
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com

hasn't rated it.

Bad 80's Boyfriends
by marymcilwain in Dollar Video Curator

is neutral about it.

She gave me a pen....
by stngchck96 in stngchck96 Blog

loved it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"I still watch this movie atleast once a month :) Romantic, teenage chick flick.... John Cusack is great in this movie, when isn't he?? " [More]

HOW did you manage to get in th ...
by mattypro in What Happened

hasn't rated it.

"I don'g get it. How do some actors end up playing roles in certain movies.You know what I am talking about. Like when Owen Wilson shows up in Behind Enemy Lines as a pilot...Sometimes these performances turn out ok and sometimes you just dont understand how an actor who was so good in a different movie could manage to be so bad in this one.Im gonna make a list of what I mean:John Cusak: This guy might be the king of this genre for me. I just dont get how he could be so brilliant in movies like High Fidelity and Say Anything but SO horrible in movies like Identity. Seriously...that movie is BAD.Owen Wilson: As mentioned before, this guy is similar but the opposite of John Cusak in that he has been the only redeeming part of MANY of the non-Wes Anderson movies that he has been in such as Behind Enemy Lines. Seriously...how does your career survive being in movies like You Me and Dupree and The Big Bounce? TERRIBLE!Ashton Kutcher: this guy seems like a tool to me. He is so ... " [More]

[More reviews]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

liked it.

Returning to the milieu that served his first screenplay, Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), so well, Cameron Crowe's writer/director debut Say Anything is more than just another 1980s teen flick. Free of John Hughes-esque slickness and clichéd generational warfare, Crowe's trio of main characters, including (gasp) Diane's father, are complex people with problems and emotions that are not easily resolved. As in Fast Times, all of the teen characters are quirky and natural, especially Lloyd's female best friends D.C. and Corey (played by an acerbically lovelorn Lili Taylor). John Cusack makes eccentric kickboxer Lloyd utterly charming in his earnest verbosity and unabashed adoration of Ione Skye's smart, ambitious Diane; no teen-film romantic gesture can match Lloyd's boom-box blasting of Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes." In addition to hilariously and sensitively illuminating the mixed feelings of outsider-dom and first love, Say Anything is also that rare film (teen or otherwise) that honestly celebrates female strength and male sensitivity without resorting to offensive pap, confirming Crowe's arrival as one of the potentially more astute filmmakers in Hollywood. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Tags: love , romance , Loved-It , johncusack , in-your-eyes
View all