"Grosse Pointe Blank" 1997

“Grosse Pointe Blank”

It is time for John Cusack.

I love John Cusack.

He is the only man I have permission from my husband to, well, you know. He gets Heather Locklear. (That may have changed, but he hasn’t voiced any updates.)

Martin Blank is having a crisis of conscience. Not good for a professional killer. After a couple of jobs that don’t go well, he takes a job in his hometown. It happens to coincide with his ten year high school reunion.

The big problem is that he took off on prom night leaving a town wondering, his friends perplexed and his girlfriend all dressed up and waiting for him. Now he has people that knew him way back when asking him what he’s been doing for the last ten years.

Martin: They all have husbands and wives and children and houses and dogs, and, you know, they've all made themselves a part of something and they can talk about what they do. What am I gonna say? "I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork. How've you been?"

And that turns out to be the least of his problems. He is being pursued by FBI agents that are just waiting for him to kill someone so they can kill him. He is being pursued by one hitman trying to kill him and another trying to get him to join a union. Soon he discovers that Debi, played by Minnie Driver, is still the girl of his dreams now all grown up. So what is a professional killer to do?

I love the crazy reunion. The classmates that take him back ten years. There’s the consummation of his love for Debi only to have her run screaming when a hitman catches up to him and it’s kill or be killed. This isn’t even the climax of the movie.

To his horror the job he accepted is to kill Debi’s father.

Martin: There's a contract out on your life. Believe me. I was hired to kill you, but I'm not going to do it. It's either because I'm in love with your daughter or because I have a newfound respect for life.

Dan Aykroyd is solid as the hitman with a plan.. Jeremy Piven is a great best friend who even helps dispose of bodies. But the one that sells it is John Cusack. He is charming and self deprecating and incredibly cool. A great and witty comedy with a dash of sweetness and a fun soundtrack.

Not bad for a movie about a hitman.