Film

Say Anything...

Name: Say Anything...
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Released: 1989
Cast: John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, Lili Taylor, Amy Brooks

Cameron Crowe's directorial debut is the platonic ideal of the earnest teen romance: an underachiever (Cusack) falls for the school's golden girl, and somehow means every word he says. It's funny, generous to its characters, and completely unembarrassed about sincerity. The boombox scene alone has outlived several generations of irony. For anyone who wants to believe good, plain decency can win.

TMDb rating

7.0

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John Hughes's class-divide romance, with the same tender belief that decency matters more than money or popularity, and a soundtrack every bit as period-perfect.

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Cameron Crowe's next film, and grown-up cousin to this one: same idealism, same belief that sincerity can cut through cynicism, now with a mortgage and a career on the line.

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The Sure Thing1985no page yet

Cusack four years earlier, road-tripping cross-country with a girl he can't stand until he can't imagine life without her. Rougher, looser, and a clear dry run for Lloyd Dobler's charm.

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Indie-era descendant of Say Anything's tone: a directionless young man finds something real in a woman who refuses to let him stay numb.

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A summer job romance with the same low-key, unglamorous sincerity — two overqualified kids falling for each other while going nowhere fast.

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Blue Valentine2010

It's the unromanticized sequel to every Say Anything-style courtship: the same sincere devotion, followed years later to its unglamorous conclusion.

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