Well, while I'm waiting for the review copy of The Guide to Getting It On to grace our desk (Kat ordered it three weeks ago), I will have to content myself with going to a bunch of free movie screenings (this is my second in two weeks). And since I forgot to mention the eunuch joke in last week's article about Inventing the Abbotts, I'll serve my penance with Grosse Pointe Blank. But it wasn't much of a penance. I enjoyed the film, even though I had to watch it with several hundred annoying Duke students. (C'mon guys, if there's a technical difficulty, give the projectionist a second to fix it. They're not trying to make your lives miserable.) Okay, I'm done griping.
I'd heard from a friend before the screening that Grosse Pointe Blank had good dialogue. Good enough dialogue, in fact, to be compared to "Pulp Fiction." So I had some pretty high expectations when I walked into Page Auditorium last Wednesday night. And for the most part, I didn't leave disappointed.
Most people know that the film stars John Cusack (Martin Q. Blank) and Minnie Driver (Debi Newberry) as estranged lovers. Estranged because Blank stood up Newberry on prom night and was never seen again (well, at least for ten years). Now a professional killer, Blank has returned to Grosse Pointe, Michigan to do "one last hit," and while there, decides to go to his tenyear high school reunion. The story goes on to chronicle the rekindling of Blank and Newberry's relationship.
Martin is a twentysomething guy with a firm grasp on the ambitions of the middle class. He sports a black Lincoln Towncar (as do his professional colleagues) which goes with his all-black, all the time wardrobe. The fact that his profession is that of a professional hit man seems almost incidental to his life. And Martin even maintains some sort of ethical boundaries as to hit marks. He only rubs out people deserving a quick, anonymous death-but always for money. Martin is a rather successful man.
But despite his success, Martin is an unhappy man. He is under therapy, though his therapist is deathly afraid of him (well, who wouldn't be afraid of a hit man?). Dr. Oatman (a hilarious cameo by Alan Arkin) liked Martin until he revealed his profession. You can never get close to a hit man, and the therapist wants Martin out of his life.
When an invitation to Martin's ten-year high school reunion comes in the mail, Martin agonizes over whether to return home to the quasi-happy days of his youth. He decides to go, at the urging of Dr. Oatman ("Go ahead and go. But don't shoot anybody.") and his loyal secreatary, Marcella (played extrodinarily well by Cusack's sister, Joan).
Home is Grosse Pointe, Michigan, home of the automobile company executives and the American Dream. There are cookie cutter houses, tree-lined streets and kids playing in the yard. But like most long-removed visitors, going home is hard on Mrtin. His childhood home has been razed in favor of a convenience store (which is later blown up in a mob hit-type scene). His mother-who he hasn't seen in ten years, but who Marcella is able to find in ten minutes-is in a home, drugged out on who-knows what.
On top of all that trauma, Martin has to face Debi, the high school sweetheart he left sitting at home in her $700 prom dress never to see again. It seems Martin balked at the social pressure and fled Grosse Pointe to join the army ("I knew I wanted to kill somene. And since I was dating you, I thought it best that I never see you again.") for some ballistics training.
Debi is a DJ for the local community radio station and uses that platform to broadcast her convoluted feelings for Martin upon his return. Having envisioned the scene for ten years, Debi knows exactly what she wants to say. But after the emotional beating, the star-srtuck Martin returns to court Debi. The movie follows their personal reunion within the context of all the other alumni who have returned to Grosse Pointe to strut their stuff.
The highlight of the movie is about Blank and his reception in Grosse Pointe after an unexplained ten year absence. Everyone recognizes Martin right off the bat, needing nary a moment to refresh their memories. And after ten years, the Grosse Pointers are able to pick up all their conversations right where they left off.
The movie is more than a story about the life of a hit man. It mocks Martin's skewed perception of the American Dream and the farce of high school reunions. It talks about people, how they interact, and how true friendships endure, despite ten-year gaps (check out what old time friend-turned real estate broker Paul Spericki does for Martin when he really needs a hand). In that, the film is a funny tale about the life of a hit man and his pursuit and realization of his ambitions and dreams.
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