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A Reel Life film section

Issue: Autumn 2001


Say Anything (1989) movie review



Lloyd Dobler is a really nice man. His best friends are interesting young women. He lives with his sister and her son, and he's just graduating from high school. So what comes next?

Diane Court is a brain, trapped in the body of a game show hostess

Diane Court is just what Lloyd wants. He fakes a moment to get his picture taken with her, he counts sharing a table in a food court as a date, and he knows if he takes a chance he can get her to go out with him.

Movie poster, Say Anything; Festivale film reivew

Movie poster, Say Anything; Festivale film review

The story of the teenage love between Lloyd and Diane includes an iconic moment where Lloyd stands in the rain with a boom box held above his head as it plays their song. Lloyd is an ordinary man with no particular ambitions except to be with Diane. It's something he believes he can be good at.

And this story, with it's interweaving plots that make it a strong coming-of-age story, is one with a strong example of men and women writing their own rules in relationships. It's the fantasy of every smart girl to find a great guy who will appreciate her, and the fantasy of every great man to find the woman who will truly appreciate the person he is.

A 1980s movie with a timeless tale. Recommended.

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by Ali Kayn
Australian release 21 June 1990
For credits and official site details, see below
Search Festivale for more work by the film-makers below.

See also: Serendipity, Must Love Dogs, America's Sweethearts, Grosse Point Blank, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Being John Malkovich, Pushing Tin
For more, search Festivale.

Just the facts:

Title: Say Anything (1989) (1989)
Written by: Cameron Crowe
Directed by: Cameron Crowe
running time: 100 mins
rating: M


The Players: John Cusack, Ione Skye, Joan Cusack, Lili Taylor


Official website:
IMDb entry


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