Barnes & Noble

During the 1980s, John Hughes gave the teen-movie genre new relevance; and in 1989 first-time filmmaker Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous) gave it depth and resonance with Say Anything, one of the decade’s most charming films. John Cusack -- the most cerebral, iconoclastic, and overtly ironic of the Reagan-era Brat Packers -- was tailor-made for the role of Lloyd Dobler, a quirky, intelligent underachiever with designs on the smartest girl in class. Diane (Ione Skye) is bright, ambitious, and more than a trifle reserved; she also plans to attend college in England, which could put a damper on Lloyd’s long-range plans. Character actor John Mahoney (Frasier) registers solidly as Diane’s dad, a loving parent whose business irregularities could land him in jail. Writer-director Crowe, even at this early stage, demonstrates a real knack for character development. The banter he writes for Lloyd and Diane is playful and witty, and he burrows beneath the skin to find and expose their secret insecurities. The result is characters that seem more human and endearing than most teen-movie protagonists. Although rooted very much in the late '80s, Say Anything has a timeless quality. More than a decade later, it’s still fresh and appealing. The DVD offers plenty of complementary bonus footage: 10 deleted scenes, 13 extended scenes, and 5 alternate scenes, all of them introduced by Crowe, who is joined by Cusack and Skye in a feature-length commentary. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Ione Skye plays Diane Court, high-school valedictorian on the verge of heading to England on a prestigious scholarship. This is especially thrilling to Diane's divorced father, James (John Mahoney), who has always shared a special relationship with the girl, less father/daughter than friend/friend. When Diane begins dating irresponsible army brat Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack), her father despairs at her choice of an "underachiever." Pressured by her dad to break off the relationship, Diane spends the rest of the summer being pursued by the lovestruck Lloyd, who does everything he can to win her back. Diane finally realizes there's more to life than perfection when her sainted father comes under the scrutiny of the IRS. Hal Erickson

Chicago Sun-Times

...a film that is really about something, that cares deeply about the issues it contains - and yet it also works wonderfully as a funny, warmhearted romantic comedy. Roger Ebert

Product Details

• UPC: 024543024538
• Source: 20TH CENTURY FOX
• Region Code: 1
• Time: 1:40:00
• Sales Rank: 5,049

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Never Been Kissed / Say Anything
• Perfect Date Movies Volume 5: Love & Devotion

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