Chris: King of River Shotgunning
The Sure Thing, with John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga. Pretty laugh out loud funny, I have to say. I think a couple things are interesting about this movie that elevate above a general romantic comedy. One, I was initially puzzled by Cusack's character, as he seemed something of a dick; but as the character progressed through the movie (and his own development), the more Cusack-esque character aspects shined through. So, in a sense, it wasn't just a growing-up thread, but a growing-up-into-a-Cusack-character thread. And fans of the actor will know what I'm talking about, I think. And in that, except for the cardboard cutouts of the pretty girl and the plaid boyfriend at the end, lies the other interesting thing, that at least the two main characters have a good bit more depth to them, and if one wants to argue that, at least an earnestness to them that is lacking in a lot of romcoms. Take the ending, say - there's no deus ex machina nor is there a spectacular save-the-day, but rather, the boy in question didn't do something, and then exerts his creativity in an understated manner to simply give the girl an opening. Nice, and in relative terms, subtle. And furthermore! The two characters meet halfway by the end of the movie, neither really sacrificing, and both gaining. Well played, movie. Well played.
2 comments:
See, my interpretation of the change in Gib from being a kind of dick to a "Cusack character" is based on proximity to his friend, who actually is a dick. He propositions girls in high school but I get the feeling that might have been out of competition with his friend. He counts the number of times he's had sex instead of the number of women he's had sex with. He seems to throw in "and not all with the same girl" as a qualifier to his friend whom he might feel judged by. Remember in college he says the reason for his dry spell is because he doesn't like the New England girls. His buddy then asks "Why do you have to like them?"
Yes, he does try and make a move on Zuniga's character but only after being goaded by his dick roommate and using the admittedly horseshit line verbatim. I get the feeling that he was testing her, maybe not entirely consciously, to see if she was the type to fool around or if she was a "good girl". He could afford the rejection because was secure in the knowledge of his own charisma that he could get a second chance with her.
When he's not around his jerk friends he's not a womanizer but still loves to party. Thus the film captures the high school/college transition of liking who you are by yourself and liking who you are with your friends and finding a happy compromise between the two.
Ahh...interesting, I agree fully with you, though I think the movie was more apparently directed towards outwardly showing my initial reading in some ways, that's definitely the deeper reading of it.
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