Delayed Reaction: Grosse Pointe Blank

The Pitch: Even hitmen go to their High School reunions.

This is a delightfully quirky little movie. John Cusack is the right person to lead it. He can be both charming and world-weary, which is what this calls for. The chemistry between him and Minnie Driver carries the movie when other parts sag. I like how he traps his psychiatrist (Alan Arkin) into treating him (a couple years before Analyze This, mind you). I like whenever John and Joan Cusack work together. It's not that they are an exceptional comedy team or anything. It's just nice to be like "they're siblings", similar to how I feel about seeing Ben and Casey Affleck together. It's a silly movie, so it feels right that the ending is pretty anti-climactic.

This fits in that category of movies that are almost one-offs. By that, I mean movies like Boondock Saints or Galaxy Quest. The writers and directors aren't known for much if anything else at all. Troy Duffy only has Boondock credits on him IMDB. The writers of Galaxy Quest have a couple credits combined. Grosse Pointe Blank's director Geroge Armitage only has a handful of credits over a 30+ year career with The Big Bounce as the only other film I even recognize. The main credited writer, Tom Jankiewicz, is only known for Grosse Pointe Blank. I like movies like this because they are like unicorns. The people get only one shot and this is what they make.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend