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Grosse Pointe Blank
Grosse Pointe Blank is a 1997 American black comedy film directed by George Armitage from a screenplay by Tom Jankiewicz, D. V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink and John Cusack. It stars Cusack, Minnie Driver, Alan Arkin and Dan Aykroyd and follows the story of assassin Martin Q. Blank (Cusack), who returns to his hometown of Grosse Pointe, Michigan to attend a high school reunion. The film's score was composed by Joe Strummer, former member of the punk rock band the Clash; the film's soundtrack contains a number of popular and alternative punk rock, ska and new wave songs. Grosse Pointe Blank was released by Buena Vista Pictures, receiving generally positive reviews from critics and grossing $31 million. PlotAs Los Angeles-based professional assassin Martin Blank prepares for a job, his assistant, Marcella, informs him that he has received an invitation to his ten-year high school reunion. A rival assassin, Grocer, approaches him about joining his fledgling union, which Martin refuses, preferring to work alone. On a job in Miami, Martin's attempt to make the target appear to have died of natural causes goes awry, and he is forced to shoot the target. His client firm demands that he make amends by killing a Federal witness in Detroit, Michigan, close to his hometown of Grosse Pointe, where the reunion is taking place. In Grosse Pointe, Martin discovers his childhood home has been replaced by an Ultimart convenience store, while his widowed estranged mother, to whom he had been sending money, is living in a nursing home, suffering from dementia. Martin reconnects with his childhood friend Paul and high school sweetheart Debi Newberry, now a radio DJ, whom Martin had abandoned on prom night to enlist in the Army. Martin is stalked by Felix LaPoubelle, another hitman, who attempts to kill Martin, including by blowing up the Ultimart. He is also followed by two National Security Agency agents who were tipped off to Martin's contract by Grocer. Martin remains distracted by his desire to reconcile with Debi and procrastinates in opening the dossier on his target. At a restaurant, Grocer tells Martin that LaPoubelle was hired by a wealthy dog owner whose prize retriever was killed on one of Martin's previous assignments. Martin replies that he knows Grocer put the agents on his trail and again refuses to join the union. Debi is conflicted about her feelings for Martin, but he persuades her to attend the reunion with him. At the reunion, Martin and Debi rekindle their relationship as they dance together intimately, and sneak off to have sex. Martin runs into LaPoubelle, whom he kills in self-defense. Debi stumbles upon the scene and flees the reunion in shock. Debi confronts Martin in his hotel room. He explains that, when he joined the Army, his psychological profile indicated a "moral flexibility" that prompted the Central Intelligence Agency to recruit him as an assassin, after which he decided to freelance. Martin assures Debi that he accepts only contracts on corrupt individuals. His efforts to rationalize his work anger Debi, who rejects his attempts at reconciliation. Martin decides to retire from contract killing. He fires his psychiatrist, Oatman, over the phone, provides Marcella with a generous severance, and finally opens the dossier detailing the contract that brought him to Grosse Pointe. He discovers the target is Debi's father, Bart, who is scheduled to testify against Martin's client. Grocer decides to kill Bart himself to impress Martin's client and eliminate Martin as a competitor. Martin abandons the contract and saves Bart, taking him home. Grocer, his cohorts, and the NSA agents descend upon the house. During the siege, Martin tells Debi that he left her on prom night to protect her from his homicidal urges; however, having fallen in love with her again, he has developed a newfound respect for life. Martin kills Grocer's henchmen, and they both shoot the NSA agents when they burst onto the scene. Out of ammunition, Martin takes out Grocer with a TV set. Martin proposes marriage to Debi, who is too stunned by the killing spree to respond, though Debi's father, shaken by the day's events, gives him his blessing. Debi and Martin leave Grosse Pointe together. Martin is visibly cheerful, and Debi confesses on her prerecorded radio show that she's decided to give love another chance. Cast
ProductionScreenwriter Tom Jankiewicz wrote the initial script for Grosse Pointe Blank in 1991 after receiving an invitation to his 10th high school reunion.[2] He picked the title while substitute teaching for an English class at Upland High School, writing the title on the classroom's whiteboard to see how it would look on a movie-theater marquee.[2] Jankiewicz decided to use Grosse Pointe, an upscale suburb of Detroit, Michigan, rather than his working-class hometown of Sterling Heights, Michigan, due to the contrast between the two towns. There is also the wordplay ("point blank"), which is a ballistics term of reference to the distance a bullet travels before dropping from the firearm's bore axis.[2] Jankiewicz simultaneously worked as a substitute teacher and a cashier at a Big Lots in Upland, California, to make ends meet before his script was picked up for production.[2] Jankiewicz, who was raised in Sterling Heights, based several of the film's characters on his real-life friends from Bishop Foley Catholic High School in Madison Heights, Michigan.[3] For example, Jeremy Piven's character, Paul Spericki, was originally named after Jankiewicz's best friend during high school, although the name was changed during filming.[3] The film's script was based on an urban legend about a student who became a professional hitman.[3] Joan Cusack's character, Marcella, was named for Jankiewicz's manager at Big Lots.[2] George Armitage later said, "I did as much as anyone did in terms of writing", but did not seek credit.
Only the aerial footage of Lakeshore Road was actually shot in Grosse Pointe.[3] The city of Grosse Pointe Farms did not allow the filmmakers to use any shots of Grosse Pointe South High School for the movie due to the presence of alcohol in the reunion scenes. The majority of the film was shot in Monrovia, California.[3] In a 1997 interview, actor John Cusack, who shares the film's screenwriting credit along with Jankiewicz, Steve Pink, and D. V. DeVincentis, said he would have liked to film on location in Grosse Pointe, but they were unable to move production to Michigan due to budget constraints.[3] The scene where Martin is attacked by LaPoubelle while exploring the halls of his old high school was filmed at Reseda High School in the San Fernando Valley. Armitage later recalled:
Armitage says he shot several endings:
ReceptionBox officeThe film earned an estimated $6,870,397 in its opening weekend, ranking number four at the box office. It went on to earn $28,084,357 in the United States, and a total of $31,070,412 worldwide.[1][5] In the United States, it was released the same month as Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, another 1980s-themed high school reunion film that Disney was involved with.[6] Critical responseGrosse Pointe Blank received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 81%, based on 72 reviews, with an average rating of 7.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "A high-concept high school reunion movie with an adroitly cast John Cusack and armed with a script of incisive wit."[7] Metacritic gave the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[9] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone magazine wrote a positive review. Travers praised the writing as "smart, not smartass", praised director George Armitage for smashing action scenes that reveal character, praised Aykroyd and the talented cast in smaller supporting roles, and ultimately said the film "flies on Cusack’s seductive malevolence," and called him a marvel.[10] Roger Ebert gave the film 2.5 stars out of 4. He praised the chemistry between the lead actors and enjoyed the dialogue, but considered it a "near-miss", wishing for a wittier, more articulate ending rather than an action sequence.[11] Soundtrack
The score for Grosse Pointe Blank was composed by Joe Strummer, formerly of the Clash, and the soundtrack includes two songs by the Clash: "Rudie Can't Fail" and their cover version of Willi Williams' "Armagideon Time". In addition to the Clash, the tracks featured in the film are largely a mix of popular and alternative 1980s punk rock, ska, and new wave from such bands as Violent Femmes, Echo & the Bunnymen, the Specials, the Jam, Siouxsie and the Banshees and A-ha. While most songs played throughout the film (especially at the reunion) had been recorded by the time of the students' graduation in 1986, several songs were recorded later. Joe Strummer's scoring captured music that aired before their graduation in 1986 as well as newer songs that were thematically in line with the '80s music, but which were released in time for the 10-year reunion in 1996. The post-graduation/pre-reunion songs include:
The soundtrack album reached number 31 on the Billboard 200 chart,[12] prompting the release of a second volume of songs from the film.[13] Grosse Pointe Blank – Music From the Film
Grosse Pointe Blank – More Music From the Film
Soundtrack omissionsMany songs from the film do not appear on the soundtracks. Songs that appear in the film (in order of film appearance):
Songs in the trailer but not in the film:
Home mediaThe film was released on VHS and DVD in 1998 in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Australia and New Zealand.[1] Unofficial sequelAccording to Joan Cusack, the 2008 film War, Inc. is an informal sequel. Both films are similar in style and theme, and both star John as an assassin and his sister Joan as his assistant, with Dan Aykroyd in a supporting role.[14] References
External links Wikiquote has quotations related to Grosse Pointe Blank. |
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