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Grosse Pointe Blank | 
| Director: George Armitage
Actors: John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Dan Aykroyd, Joan Cusack, Alan Arkin
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.99
Buy Used: $2.99
You Save: $12.00 (80%)
New (49) Used (65) from $2.99
Rating:  169 reviews
Sales Rank: 2827
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd, Letterboxed, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: DISD14259D
ISBN: 1558908382
UPC: 717951000408
EAN: 9781558908383
ASIN: 1558908382
Theatrical Release Date: April 11, 1997
Release Date: May 19, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A hit man attends his 10-year high school reunion with hopes of rekindling a romance, but things heat up when his arch rival appears.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: R
Release Date: 8-APR-2003
Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com
Hit man Martin Q. Blank (John Cusack) is in an awkward situation. Several of them, actually. He's attending his high school reunion on an assignment; he's got a rival hit man (Dan Aykroyd) on his tail; and he's going to have to explain to his old girlfriend (Minnie Driver) why he stood her up on prom night. This amiable black comedy, cowritten by Cusack and directed by Jonathan Demme protege George Armitage (Miami Blues), has the feel of Demme's Something Wild and Married to the Mob--which is to say its humor is dark and brightly colored at the same time. Cusack and Driver are utterly charming--as is the leading man's sister, Joan, who plays his secretary. (Ms. Cusack received an Oscar nomination for her next role, in In & Out.) Alan Arkin is also very funny as Martin's psychiatrist. --Jim Emerson
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| Customer Reviews: Read 164 more reviews...
 Excllent Dark Comedy ( and Minnie Driver!) May 14, 2009
G. E. Williams (California)
Recently I bought the (sort of) sequel to this great movie, War, Inc.which was not excellent. But it did remind me of how much I loved this movie and hadn't seen it in years so I ordered a copy which arrived this week, and today I sat down and watched it again, and it is still a Dark Comic gem.
Full of manic ramblings, fun action and redemptive romance, this remains a favorite of mine, 12 years later.
4 *
 One of the 90's best! February 23, 2009
Ronald Belton
One of my favorite movies of the 90's! John Cusack plays a hitman who returns to his hometown to attend his high school reunion. A great fight takes place between Cusack and former kickboxing champion Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, who is sent to kill him. Also includes Minnie Driver and Dan Aykroyd in great supporting roles.
Grosse Pointe Blank February 1, 2009
John Woodard (Redmond, WA United States)
One of my all time favorite movies. A dark comedy with a love story. Yes and thank you! Everything about this movie is spot on: cast, acting, story, writing, execution....
Unusual but entertaining February 1, 2009
Col McFetridge (Houston, Texas, USA)
This is an unusual romantic comedy about a relationship between a professional hit man and his high school sweetheart. The plot is a little contrived and there is a lot of gunfire and dead bodies. But, the cast is stellar. I began watching it on vacation but the copy was defective and we couldn't see the last 10 minutes. It was sufficiently enjoyable that we bought the movie to see the ending.
 I'm drawing a complete...Blank November 29, 2008
C. CRADDOCK (Bakersfield)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Plot-wise, 'Grosse Pointe Blank' is about professional hit man Martin Q. Blank (John Cusack) going back to Grosse Pointe for his 10-year High School Reunion. His psychiatrist Dr. Oatman (Alan Arkin) refuses to treat him because he is afraid of him, but he persists in calling him, and uses him for a reluctant sounding board for his own ideas about his therapy:
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[Talking to his psychiatrist about going to his high school reunion]
Marty: They all have husbands and wives and children and houses and dogs, and, you know, they've all made themselves a part of something and they can talk about what they do. What am I gonna say? "I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork. How've you been?"
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The real reason he is going to the reunion is actually so he can reconnect with his High School sweetheart, Debi (Minnie Driver):
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Debi: Okay. So. You're back... a decade late, and... you're on some sort of therapeutic assignment, and you want to sort things out with me. So the question now becomes, do I allow you access to me or... do I call security?
Marty: I don't think that'd be a good idea.
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Miss Driver is cute and appealing, and she is especially good with quips. Not only do they meet cute, the cuteness continues non-stop, a veritable cavalcade of cuteness:
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Debi: So, is there a Mrs. Mysterio?
Martin Q. Blank: No, but I do have a very nice cat?
Debi: Not the same.
Martin Q. Blank: Well, you don't know my cat, it's very demanding.
Debi: It? You don't know if it's a boy or girl?
Martin Q. Blank: I respect its privacy.
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Enough already, with the cutie cute cuteness. How about some substance, some epiphany, some revelation:
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Debi: You know what you need?
Marty: What?
Debi: Shakabuku.
Marty: You wanna tell me what that means?
Debi: It's a swift, spiritual kick to the head that alters your reality forever.
Marty: Oh, that'd be good. I think.
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It is kind of a dark comedy, with the juxtaposition of killing for a living with a High School reunion scenario. It is kind of a romantic comedy, with the screw ball reason that the two crazy kids can't be together the fact that he is a professional hitman. Neither of these two kinds of comedies really work for me here. I think that the people who want to see John Cusack are not the same demographic who want to see lots of shooting and things blowing up. The people who want to see that aren't the ones who want to see romantic comedies, not even dark comedies. And they certainly aren't interested in a lot of clever dialogue. And the people who do want to hear clever dialogue don't want to watch a lot of people being shot and see things blowing up.
Maybe John Cusack wanted to make a film like this to see how it feels to be an action hero. Maybe he thought it would pull in fans of different genres. 'Grosse Pointe Blank' isn't a bad movie, and it is quite entertaining, but it just doesn't quite cut it for me. As Bob said at the High School reunion, "I'm drawing a complete....Blank."
Anyway, Debi is a DJ, which gives the filmmakers an opportunity to shower us with soundtrack cuts galore. It is like they just wanted to pay homage to the 80's, and how much better the music was than during the 90's. This is actually the best part of the movie. Joe Strummer wrote some music for the soundtrack, and there is also a lot of The Clash and other great music from the 80's:
Violent Femmes
"Blister in the Sun"
Written by Gordon Gano
Performed by Violent Femmes
Courtesy of Slash/London Records, Ltd.
By Arrangement with PolyGram Film & TV Licensing
Super Black Market Clash
"Armagideon Time"
Written by Clement Dodd and Willie Williams
Performed by The Clash
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
Live & Let Die
"Live and Let Die"
Written by Paul McCartney & Linda McCartney
Performed by Guns N' Roses
Courtesy of Geffen Records
By Arrangement with MCA Special Markets & Products
("Live and Let Die" segues into a 'muzak' version performed by Adam Fields)
The Jam - The Complete Jam
"Absolute Beginners"
Written by Paul Weller
Performed by The Jam
Courtesy of Polydor Limited
By Arrangement with PolyGram Film & TV Licensing
Today's Specials
"Pressure Drop"
Written by Toots Hibbert (as Frederick Hibbert)
Performed by The Specials
Courtesy of Kuff Records Ltd./Virgin Records America, Inc.
Ace of Spades
"Ace of Spades"
Written by Lemmy (as Ian Kilmister), Fast Eddie Clarke (as Edward Clarke) and Phil 'Philthy Animal' Taylor (as Philip Taylor)
Performed by Motoerhead
Courtesy of Castle Copyrights, Ltd.
The Head on the Door
"In Between Days"
Written by Robert Smith
Performed by The Cure
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products; and Courtesy of Fiction Records/Polydor Ltd./Elektra Entertainment Ltd.
By Arrangement with PolyGram Film & TV Licensing
Introduce Yourself
"We Care a Lot"
Written by Chuck Mosely, Roddy Bottum, Billy Gould (as William Gould),
Mike Bordin and Jim Martin
Performed by Faith No More
Courtesy of Slash/London Records, Ltd.
By Arrangement with PolyGram Film & TV Licensing
Message From Beat Street: Best Of
"White Lines"
Written by Sylvia Robinson and Melle Mel (as Melvin Glover)
Performed by Melle Mel (as Grandmaster Melle Mel)
Courtesy of Rhino Records/Castle Copyrights Ltd.
Hot Space
"Under Pressure"
Written by David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor, John Deacon and Brian May
Performed by David Bowie (with Queen)
Courtesy of Raincloud Productions Ltd./David R. Jones/MainMan S.A. and Hollywood Records and EMI Records UK
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[repeated line]
Marty: If I show up at your door, chances are you did something to bring me there.
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