April 17, 2003

Welcome to another installment of the A-List that was inspired by discussion with my fellow site mates. We were throwing around lists on all types of different topics when the following comment was made: "This place has become Championship Vinyl so gradually, I hadn't even noticed". From that comment was the inspiration to do my top five John Cusack movies.

The explanation, for those who need it, is the Top Five list is a recurring theme throughout the film High Fidelity. A fair number of those discussions take place in an indie record store called Championship Vinyl, owned by John Cusack's character in the film. Additionally, John Cusack is nearly a universal favorite among the staff here at Box Office Prophets, so the comment was instantly recognized as well as being perfectly fitting.

In order to pay proper tribute to John Cusack, here is a true top five list of John Cusack movies. Please note that the list and especially the rankings represent my opinions exclusively, as there are several members of the site who I know will take exception to my list.

At number five with an asterisk, we have Say Anything… I contemplated leaving this film off of the list altogether and just making mention of it in the "Also Considered" section. However, after reconsidering on a less spiteful and more subjective basis, it was going to be very difficult for me to justify the other two films I was considering for this spot over Say Anything… While I am of the generation that took this movie to heart and cannot deny the excellent performances from the leads to the supporting actors along with the excellence of the script and direction, the movie just doesn't inspire the type of reverence that the other movies do on this list. At the same time, I'm fully capable of running off much of the more quotable dialogue from this movie having seen it repeated due to my significant other's fondness for the movie. So perhaps Say Anything… ends up at number five simply "By choice, man! By choice."

The Grifters comes in at number four. A smaller movie that relies almost entirely on the exceptional performances of its three leads with John Cusack's character being trapped between his mother, portrayed by Anjelica Huston, and his partner, played by Annette Bening. All three have chosen to live their lives via the con. Cusack's character comes off as the most human of the three, as we watch this amoral trio and the intertwined conflicts.

Our number three John Cusack film is Being John Malkovich. This entirely unique movie is directed by Spike Jonze from a script by Charlie Kaufman. Cusack's character is a downtrodden puppeteer, of all things, and the movie just gets stranger from there.

High Fidelity is my choice for the number two position. Consistent with the tone of the film, High Fidelity is the inspiration for this list and should perhaps be called number two with a bullet (Is it possible to be number two with a bullet? How fast can one be moving if you're already at number two?). Keeping in mind that I'm just a bit younger than John Cusack and have in a sense grown up with his movies, I can foresee that should I continue to mature (because I'd like to think that I'm never going to grow up), that this movie will end up at number one. Introspective as well as outlandishly funny at times, High Fidelity might be considered to be a guy's chick flick. This term probably requires elaboration. If chick flicks are a bunch of chicks talking things out and "feeling" and a guy flick is typical action film or some base comedy, then High Fidelity has John Cusack saying all the things that guys feel but never say with Jack Black along to provide the outlandish comedy so that guys can say that's why they watch the film. Look, a true guy might deny the realism of Cusack's monologues and guys might never admit to those thoughts, but if we didn't think them then what excuse do we have for doing some of the things we do? I offer up the scene in where Cusack's character stands in the rain so that he can use a public phone and see his former girlfriend as evidence of this type of behavior.

Finally, I have selected Grosse Pointe Blank as my number one John Cusack film. Is it possible to have a sentimental, romantic, action comedy that features rival hit men? Well, actually given the state of movie making, the answer is that any movie concept ever thought up can be made and probably has been made poorly. The better question is whether it is possible to make a good sentimental, romantic, action comedy that features rival hit men. Grosse Pointe Blank proves that the answer is a resounding yes. The hit man with a heart going back to his ten year High School reunion despite being pursued both by the government and a newly forming assassin union provides the basis for an extremely funny and entertaining movie. Believe it or not, the plot is actually relatively straightforward in direct contrast to that summary sentence. Minnie Driver does an excellent job as the girl for whom Cusack's Martin Blank comes home, as does Jeremy Piven as the best friend who was also abandoned ten years ago. Alan Arkin also pitches in with a memorable turn as Martin's shrink.

Also considered were Better off Dead and Eight Men Out.

I really, really wanted to put Better off Dead at number five in place of Say Anything… as I don't consider Say Anything to be necessarily my favorite on several niche lists. With John Cusack and high school movies, I favored Better off Dead over Say Anything. For Cameron Crowe scripts, my initial preference was Singles over Say Anything. Now I'd place Almost Famous over both of them. Even going more obscure, I'd place River's Edge as an example of a good Ione Skye movie over Say Anything but that's arguably cheating due to the size of the roles. However, much as I love the misfortunes of Lane Myer, I do have to admit that Say Anything… has aged better. At the same time, memories of the Howard Cosell imitating, Asian drag racers, the incredibly inedible food served by the mother, the unbelievably charismatic math teacher asking Lane's permission to date his former girl friend bring to mind good times, good times.

Also strongly considered for the fifth spot was Eight Men Out, which is a truly excellent film and one that I could more reasonably explain placing over Say Anything... However, as much as it pains me, Say Anything… does resonate with me more strongly than Eight Men Out.