Say Anything

• Running time 100 minutes
• rated PG-13
• includes Binus Features
• Special Edition DVD Movie

Frankie (Ione Skye) is looking for a man "with the soul of a poet and eyes like Frank Sinatra." Her world is black and white--literally in this film--until the blue eyes of David (Mackenzie Astin) enter the café where she works with her uncle and cousin. But Frankie's about to leave San Francisco for L.A. with her best friend, Allison (Jennifer Aniston), where they'll both become actresses. Time is running out for Frankie to convince David that she's the love of his life.

Unfortunately for Frankie, and this film, the lackluster plot and trite characters don't give her much to work with. The dialogue is atrocious (Frankie says, with complete sincerity, "I'm going to circumnavigate his soul until he's anchored on all sides by my love"), and her character is so utterly spoiled and! obnoxious you can't understand what David--or her friends--see in her. What makes the film all the more disappointing is the promising cast. Jennifer Aniston is underused, and Michael Landes does the best he can with his clichéd role as a gay man who desperately wants to come out to his father but can't work up the courage. Dream for an Insomniac tries too hard to be the kind of hip '90s love story that films such as Walking and Talking and Naked in New York succeed in being. --Jenny Brown In this charming critically-acclaimed tale of first love, Lloyd (John Cusack), an eternal optimist, seeks to capture the heart of Diane, an unattainable high school beauty and straight-A student (Ione Skye). He surprises just about everyone-including himself-when she returns the sentiment. But Diane's over-possessive, divorced Dad (John Mahoney) doesn't approve and it's going to take more than just the power of love to conquer all.Seven years after he earned ! his first screen credit as the writer of Fast Times at Ridg! emont Hi gh, former Rolling Stone writer Cameron Crowe made his directorial debut with this acclaimed romantic comedy starring John Cusack and Ione Skye as unlikely lovers on the cusp of adulthood. The casting is perfect, and Crowe's rookie direction is appropriately unobtrusive, no doubt influenced by his actor-loving, Oscar®-winning mentor, James L. Brooks. But the real strength of Crowe's work is his exceptional writing, his timely grasp of contemporary rhythms and language (he's frequently called "the voice of a generation"), and the rich humor and depth of his fully developed characters. In Say Anything... Cusack and Skye play recent high school graduates enjoying one final summer before leaping into a lifetime of adult responsibilities. Lloyd (Cusack) is an aspiring kickboxer with no definite plans; Diane (Skye) is a valedictorian with intentions to further her education in Europe. Together they find unlikely bliss, but there's also turbulence when Diane's fa! ther (John Mahoney)--who only wants what's best for his daughter--is charged with fraud and tax evasion. Favoring strong performances over obtrusive visual style, Crowe focuses on his unique characters and the ambitions and fears that define them; the movie's a treasure trove of quiet, often humorous revelations of personality. Lili Taylor and Eric Stoltz score high marks for memorable supporting roles, and Cusack's own sister Joan is perfect in scenes with her onscreen and offscreen brother. A rare romantic comedy that's as funny as it is dramatically honest, Say Anything... marked the arrival of a gifted writer-director who followed up with the underrated Singles before scoring his first box-office smash with Jerry Maguire. --Jeff Shannon