Cameron Crowe is one of those directors that is incredibly gifted at writing great characters that feel like they are having real relationships. Whether it be parents to children, unlikely friendships, or just great romance, Crowe always finds a way to get the best out of actors and that always starts with his scripts. Say Anything tells the story of Lloyd, a well mannered 19 year old who lives in the now, and Diane, a valedictorian with everything good coming her way, and how a relationship like that may blossom over the course of the summer before college.
Some may shrug at the fact that Lloyd may have no business in being with a girl of her stature, but the film does a nice job of making the romance believable. Having not known each other in high school, Lloyd decides to take his chances and just call and ask her on a date. Of course, she's very hesitant at first but by simply saying "he made me laugh" was enough for me. It's true, a laugh can go a long way in getting to know something in whatever aspect possible. Now 26 years later you can definitely feel the influence that this film had on coming of age films even to this day. The Spectacular Now takes a similar premise and also was very successful. It's hard to nail a high school film, but Say Anything did a pretty good job. I also appreciated the way they portrayed Diane's relationship with her father. It was clearly a close bond they had, and for 3/4 of the movie I felt like it wasn't clichéd at all. There wasn't the typical Disney moments of "it's my dream dad, not yours". Now, towards the end of the film I think that same relationship was sacrificed for certain plot points. Knowing that the film isn't all that unpredictable, I should have guessed certain things would happen, but I felt like the last third of the movie felt too much like all the other Hollywood films.
There are a lot of classic Crowe moments like when Lloyd is constantly getting advice from his close girlfriends or even his guy friends, so there's no shortage of laughs or fun moments. The film also contains a fantastic score and soundtrack, which are also Crowe trademarks. The famous boombox scene is shorter than I thought and doesn't hold as much of a bearing on the film's outcome as I had heard. But Say Anything is still a well done coming of age film with real characters with real moments.
+Soundtrack/score
+Real romance
+Everyone is well written
+Felt like I was living it with them
-3rd acts left turn
7.7/10
Some may shrug at the fact that Lloyd may have no business in being with a girl of her stature, but the film does a nice job of making the romance believable. Having not known each other in high school, Lloyd decides to take his chances and just call and ask her on a date. Of course, she's very hesitant at first but by simply saying "he made me laugh" was enough for me. It's true, a laugh can go a long way in getting to know something in whatever aspect possible. Now 26 years later you can definitely feel the influence that this film had on coming of age films even to this day. The Spectacular Now takes a similar premise and also was very successful. It's hard to nail a high school film, but Say Anything did a pretty good job. I also appreciated the way they portrayed Diane's relationship with her father. It was clearly a close bond they had, and for 3/4 of the movie I felt like it wasn't clichéd at all. There wasn't the typical Disney moments of "it's my dream dad, not yours". Now, towards the end of the film I think that same relationship was sacrificed for certain plot points. Knowing that the film isn't all that unpredictable, I should have guessed certain things would happen, but I felt like the last third of the movie felt too much like all the other Hollywood films.
There are a lot of classic Crowe moments like when Lloyd is constantly getting advice from his close girlfriends or even his guy friends, so there's no shortage of laughs or fun moments. The film also contains a fantastic score and soundtrack, which are also Crowe trademarks. The famous boombox scene is shorter than I thought and doesn't hold as much of a bearing on the film's outcome as I had heard. But Say Anything is still a well done coming of age film with real characters with real moments.
+Soundtrack/score
+Real romance
+Everyone is well written
+Felt like I was living it with them
-3rd acts left turn
7.7/10