Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

Director:

George Armitage

Writers (WGA):

Tom Jankiewicz (story)
Tom Jankiewicz (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 April 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Even A Hit Man Deserves A Second Shot!

Plot:

Martin Blank is a professional assassin. He is sent on a mission to a small Detroit suburb, Grosse Pointe, and, by coincidence, his ten-year high school reunion party is taking place there at the same time.

Plot Keywords:

Assassin | Reunion | High School Reunion | High School | Hitman

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

John Cusack	...	Martin Q. Blank
Minnie Driver	...	Debi Newberry
Alan Arkin	...	Dr. Oatman
Dan Aykroyd	...	Grocer
Joan Cusack	...	Marcella
Hank Azaria	...	Steven Lardner
K. Todd Freeman	...	Kenneth McCullers
Jeremy Piven	...	Paul Spericki
Mitch Ryan	...	Mr. Bart Newberry (as Mitchell Ryan)
Michael Cudlitz	...	Bob Destepello
Benny Urquidez	...	Felix La PuBelle
Duffy Taylor	...	Ultimart Carl
Audrey Kissel	...	Arlene
Carlos Jacott	...	Ken
Brian Powell	...	Husky Man

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language and some drug content.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R (certificate #34841) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Ontario) (video rating: 2004) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) (original rating) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 (TV version) | Spain:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Hollywood Pictures

Trivia:

The only shot of Grosse Pointe is the aerial shot of the road next to the lake (Lakeshore Drive) with Grosse Pointe South High School's bell tower visible in the background, the only actual shot of the school.

Goofs:

Continuity: Martin is shown entering the Ultimart convenience store twice.

Quotes:

Paul: I've got to get something off my chest. Have you been home to see the old house?
Martin Q. Blank: Yeah. Torn down in the name of convenience.
Paul: Yeah, I brokered the deal
Martin Q. Blank: Oh, wow. Wow.
Paul: I tried to get a family there, but Ultimart made the best offer.
Martin Q. Blank: Well, thank you for profiting on my childhood.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Runaway Jury (2003)

Soundtrack:

Live and Let Die

I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork. How've you been?

John Cusack plays Martin Blank, a neurotic hit-man who spends all his time brooding about death, the meaning of life and the pointlessness of existence. Killing means nothing to Blank, because life itself is meaningless. What a great premise.

In true Woody Allen fashion, Blank discusses all these issues with his psychiatrist(played brilliantly by Allan Arkin), as he searches for some meaning. Anything to fill the emptiness in his life.

Pros:

1. An endless stream of witty dialogue.

2. John Cusack in an energetic performance, filled with quirks, ticks and entertaining mannerisms.

3. Dan Aykroyd as an overweight hit-man.

4. Over the top, tongue-in-cheek, John Woo styled violence.

5. Genre bending narrative (highschool reunion movie, hit-man movie, small town movie).

6. Great music.

7. John Cusack's continuous stream of existential brooding. It's Woody Allen with guns.

8. Dan Aykroyd's souped up style of dialogue delivery.

9. The priceless scene in the café where Aykroyd and Cusack face off, each with their weapons hidden in a paper bag.

10. Breezy, pacey storytelling.

11. Dan Aykroyd's attempts to set up a hit-man trade union.

Cons:

1. Minnie Driver has the facial bone structure of a caveman.

2. The 2 CIA agents are introduced, developed, and then pointlessly thrown away at the end.

3. Virtually everything with the 2 aforementioned CIG agents kills the pace of the film.

Final Verdict:

8/10- Cusack's lovable, intelligent, and effortlessly playful delivery, elevates the bland, hack direction. The script is witty and the film is well cast. A great companion piece to "High Fidelity".

The film also continues the logical evolution of the hit-man genre. From Yojimbo to Le Samourai to The Professional (1980) to Nikita to Leon to Ghost Dog to Grosse Pointe Blank. This film acts as a sort of deconstruction of the Hit-man. No longer is the hit-man an angel of death (Melville's film), or a mentally damaged human. He's a totally self aware, neurotic man. The film completely deconstructs the genre, which will probably lead to a lot of noble, somber, revisionist hit-man movies in the future.