Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

George Armitage

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

11 April 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | 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 | High School | High School Reunion | Hitman | Union

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 (British Columbia) | Canada:14A (Ontario) (video rating: 2004) | 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:

When Martin (John Cusack) is trying to protect Debbie's father, Grocer (Dan Aykroyd) can be heard downstairs reciting a passage from the Bible. It is from Revelation 13. "And they gave worship to the dragon, because he gave authority to the beast; and worshiping the beast, they said, Who is like the beast? and who is able to go to make war with him?"

Goofs:

Continuity: When Martin first stops in front of the convenience store the shadow from his car shows it is about noon and it is an asphalt street. In the next shot, the front of the store, the shadows indicate a much later time and the street is full of mud and gravel.

Quotes:

Marty: This your Beemer?
Paul: Yeah.
Marty: In Detroit? That's sacrilege!

Movie Connections:

References "Crossfire" (1982)

Soundtrack:

You're Wondering Now

Consistently surprising and entertaining

One of the complaints about movies these days, and justifiably so, is that they're predictable. This movie is not predictable, and I never thought I'd be able to say that about a movie with four credited writers. Every time you think you can guess where it's going, it throws a curve. It was also very funny, which is nice because good comedies are becoming a rare species. John Cusack continues to show what a great actor he is as hitman Martin Blank. He doesn't wink at the audience, saying, Oh look, I'm a hitman, but plays him as normal, with the right amount of misgivings and tenacity. Minnie Driver is quite good as the woman he's still obsessed with (although she was good in GOOD WILL HUNTING, she should have been nominated for this performance), and Alan Arkin and Jeremy Piven were good, as ever, in support. The surprise, however, is Dan Aykroyd. Just when I was prepared to write him off forever, he comes through with a great performance here. The soundtrack is terrific too, avoiding the cliched 80's songs to provide a fresh, and compatible, score.