Plot
A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.

Release Year: 1989

Rating: 7.5/10 (32,480 voted)

Critic's Score: 86/100

Director: Cameron Crowe

Stars: John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney

Storyline
High school senior Lloyd Dobler wants nothing more than to go out with beautiful and intelligent Diane Court. Lloyd attempts to win her heart over the objections of her over-protective father before Diane leaves for a scholarship in England.

Cast:
John Cusack - Lloyd Dobler
Ione Skye - Diane Court
John Mahoney - James Court
Lili Taylor - Corey Flood
Amy Brooks - D.C.
Pamela Adlon - Rebecca (as Pamela Segall)
Jason Gould - Mike Cameron
Loren Dean - Joe
Glenn Walker Harris Jr. - Jason Dobler
Charles Walker - Principal
Russel Lunday - Parent
Polly Platt - Mrs. Flood
Gloria Cromwell - Ruth
Jeremy Piven - Mark
Patrick O'Neill - Denny

Taglines: To know Lloyd Dobler is to love him. Diane Court is about to know Lloyd Dobler.

Release Date: 14 April 1989

Filming Locations: Seattle, Washington, USA

Gross: $20,781,385 (USA)

Runtime: 100 min

Trivia:
The dojo featured in this movie is the same one that was used in The Karate Kid as the Cobra Kai dojo.

Goofs:
Continuity: In the break-up scene in the car the background changes completely. Before the line "You told your dad?" you can see an intersection and a hillside behind them, then after there is a yellow house and two parked cars.

Quotes:
Joe: Dude, where'd she dump you, man?
Lloyd Dobler: In the car.
Denny: Oh man, your car? Man, Dissed in the Malibu. Thats your castle, man.

Romantic Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10

I rented this movie solely based on the excellent reviews that it has gotten everywhere. I missed it during its theatrical release (as so many others did) and had the hardest time finding a copy of it at our local video rental stores. Not because it wasn't popular but b/c, according to the clerks, people kept stealing or "losing" their copies...especially around Valentines Day. When I finally got my hands on a copy I was blown away. I had thought this was going to be just another in a long link of Pretty in Pinkish movies with predictable characters and a bad case of puppy love, but what I got was a surprisingly refreshing, unconventional story with a complicated and well-developed emotional depth flawlessly captured by the actors and Cameron Crowe.

And talk about role reversals! I'm so used to seeing the man take the assertive and mature role while courting a woman of limited financial or intellectual means...but in this film it's the girl that's got her future together and the guy who's more than willing to concentrate his attention on making her happy. And Lloyd Dobler isn't just a shiftless man with no future. He's an eternal optimist who lives in the present and recognizes, admires, and compliments the qualities in Diane that go beyond her amazing intellect. She becomes his dare-to-be-great situation and his absolute love and devotion to her is anything but unmanly. The force of it is palatable and immensely erotic without being reduced to cheap teenage lust. The sight of Lloyd in the shadows defiantly blasting out the truth of their love through the boombox is a scene which would have seemed awkward and goofy in any other movie but this one. It's easy to understand why even the critics of the time gave Say Anything two enthusiastic thumbs up. This is one of the few films that really captures the feeling of love.

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