Movie Review by Bill Rendall

Say Anything

Both of these movies look at the lives of high school kids but in very different ways. Fast Times at Ridgemont High is crass but has at least one memorable character, the stoned surfer Jeff Spicoli. Say Anything is a sensitive and intelligent look at the complex relationship between a boy with limited prospects (John Cusack) and a girl who is top of the class (Ione Skye.)

In Say Anything Crowe also takes the time to explore the relationship between the girl and her father (John Mahoney.) This is not the stereotype father-daughter relationship we usually see in teen movies. The movie's title is a reference to Mahoney's claim that Skye can say anything to him because they are open and honest with each other.

It would be nice to be in a relationship that is so strong you really could say anything without fear of destroying that relationship. However, the movie reveals that Mahoney is keeping a dark secret from Skye. Perhaps a relationship in which you really can say anything is not humanly possible.

Crowe draws out strong performances from the three lead actors. Skye is the daughter of Donovan, the psychedelic hippie folksinger from the sixties. There are also good performances from supporting actors such as Lili Taylor who plays Cusack's best friend. Eric Stoltz makes a brief appearance, as he often does in Crowe's films.

As usual for a teen movie the soundtrack features pre-existing pop songs. In particular the Peter Gabriel song 'In Your Eyes' is used as an internal narrative device. The song is very personal to Gabriel and he took some persuading to release it for the movie.

Crowe's wife, Nancy Wilson of Heart, provides some additional music. It seems that Crowe drew on his own life experience in creating the Cusack character as the underdog winning the heart of the golden girl. At the time that Crowe married Wilson she was better known than he was.

After Say Anything Crowe made the movie Singles about relationships between a group of young adults. The movie soundtrack draws upon the Seattle grunge scene of the early nineties. Crowe copped some flak for cashing in the latest fad. This was unfair criticism as the movie was made before grunge broke big into the mainstream.

Some years later Crowe wrote and directed Almost Famous which is very much an autobiography. It is based on his experience as a young rock journalist and includes his memory of the rock writer Lester Bangs.

I have enjoyed all of Crowe's movies and recommend them all. His movie releases have generally been widely spaced as he spends a lot of time working on his screenplays. His directorial debut Say Anything is a must see.

Director: Cameron Crowe

Screenplay: Cameron Crowe

Music: Anne Dudley, Richard Gibbs

Declaration of possible bias:

The soundtrack greatly influences my enjoyment of a movie. Cameron Crowe is about my age and is a rock music fan like me. His song selection is definitely a plus for his movies.

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