{"id":35517,"date":"2016-02-06T21:38:08","date_gmt":"2016-02-07T05:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/?p=35517"},"modified":"2016-02-06T21:38:08","modified_gmt":"2016-02-07T05:38:08","slug":"challenge-week-5-grosse-pointe-blank-1997","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/02\/challenge-week-5-grosse-pointe-blank-1997\/","title":{"rendered":"Challenge Week 5: Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve been meaning to see Grosse Pointe Blanke<\/em> for like fifteen years, and never gotten around to it, so I’m very glad Ben suggested it for this challenge. I knew there was a crime-type element to it and that it was a black comedy, but that was about it – that’s enough to catch my interest, frankly.<\/p>\n

John Cusack is Martin Blank, a hitman who goes back to his 10-year high school reunion – he wants to catch up with an old girlfriend plus there happens to be a job there. Meanwhile, he’s being hounded by his competitor Grocer (Dan Ackroyd), who wants him to join the new hitman union, and another hired assassin seeking retribution for a job Martin recently botched.<\/p>\n

The dialogue here is really the winning element, as you can see by the sheer number of “favorite lines” I chose below. It’s very clever and delivered with a deadpan earnestness that’s right up my alley. Martin forthrightly tells everyone who asks what he’s doing these days that he kills people for money, and they all take it as a joke – but they WAY they respond is also very even-keeled, so at first I thought they just didn’t care! That kind of quick wit is something I love in movies and in real life.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"tf-convenience-store\"<\/p>\n

There are action moments that have a similar quick pacing, like when he’s in a convenience store and the other assassin just pops in guns blazing, and they have a major shootout – all the while the store clerk is playing Doom with his headphones on blast and doesn’t even notice. Those moments were a lot of fun, and the movie totally had me for those.<\/p>\n

I did feel like the movie lost a little steam towards the end. Really it slows down when they get to the actual reunion and Martin starts thinking seriously about quitting the killing business and settling down with Debi. There are action scenes after (including a memorable usage of a pen) that are solid, but by the final shootout in Debi’s house I had wearied of them a bit. I also appreciated Debi’s independence throughout the movie – until the last ten minutes or so, when her quick-changing decisions left me behind a little. Jumping to the ending the way they did is probably the best thing they could’ve done script-wise at that point, but it also felt like a bit of a cop-out in terms of Debi’s characterization.<\/p>\n

\"tf-driving-off\"<\/p>\n

It’s really difficult not to compare this to My Cousin Vinny<\/em>, which was a challenge movie a few weeks ago<\/a> that I absolutely loved, and I have to say for some reason Vinny<\/em> worked better for me. A lot of it is probably down to Marisa Tomei, but I also just felt like it stayed clever and fun throughout, where Grosse Pointe Blank<\/em> got a little bogged down in Martin’s little redemption arc. I still enjoyed it quite a bit, especially for having so much on-point dialogue and clever ideas like a hitman union, but I don’t think it’ll stick with as long.<\/p>\n

Stats and stuff…<\/h3>\n

1997, USA<\/em>
\ndirected by George Armitage; written by Tom Jankiewicz, D.V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, and John Cusack<\/em>
\nstarring John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Dan Ackroyd, Alan Arkin, Joan Cusack, Jeremy Piven<\/em><\/p>\n

I’m ranking all my Challenge films on Flickchart (as I do all the films I see), a movie-ranking website that asks you to choose your favorite between two movies until it builds a ranked list of your favorites. Just for fun, I will average out the rankings and keep a running tally of whose recommendations rank the highest. When you add a film to Flickchart, it pits it against films already on your chart to see where it should fall. Here’s how Grosse Pointe Blank<\/em> entered my chart:<\/p>\n

Grosse Pointe Blank<\/b> beats The Glass Key
\nGrosse Pointe Blank<\/b> beats Duck, Rabbit Duck!
\nGrosse Pointe Blank loses to Never Let Me Go<\/b>
\nGrosse Pointe Blank loses to The Artist<\/b>
\nGrosse Pointe Blank loses to Wonder Boys<\/b>
\nGrosse Pointe Blank loses to Alphaville<\/b>
\nGrosse Pointe Blank loses to The French Connection<\/b>
\nGrosse Pointe Blank<\/b> beats 28 Weeks Later
\nGrosse Pointe Blank<\/b> beats The Great Gatsby
\nGrosse Pointe Blank loses to Rango<\/b>
\nGrosse Pointe Blank loses to Now, Voyager<\/b>
\nGrosse Pointe Blank<\/b> beats The Big Clock<\/p>\n

Final ranking #874 out of 3588 films on my chart (76th percentile)<\/p>\n

It is now my #4 John Cusack film, my #2 Minnie Driver film, my #25 Black Comedy, my #8 Comedy Thriller, my #17 Hitman\/Assassin Film, and my #6 film of 1997.<\/p>\n

Grosse Pointe Blank<\/em> was recommended by Ben Shoemaker, a friend from the Flickcharters Group on Facebook. Averaging together this #874 ranking with my #517 ranking of his other film, Lone Star<\/em>, gives Ben an average ranking of 695.<\/p>\n

A few quotes…<\/h3>\n

Martin:<\/b> [re: going to reunion] Would you view your position on this issue as inflexible?
\nMarcella:<\/b> Intractable, sir.<\/p>\n

Dr. Oatman:<\/b> You told me what you did for a living after four sessions and I said I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to work with you anymore, but you came back every week. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a difficulty for me.<\/p>\n

Dr. Oatman:<\/b> Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t kill anybody for a few days. See what it feels like.
\nMartin:<\/b> I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll give it a shot.
\nDr. Oatman:<\/b> No, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t give it a shot, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t shoot anything.<\/p>\n

Martin:<\/b> You can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go home again\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6but apparently you can shop there.<\/p>\n

Debi:<\/b> So what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s your business?
\nMartin:<\/b> Professional killing.
\nDebi:<\/b> You get dental with that?<\/p>\n

Debi:<\/b> If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, well\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s broken.<\/p>\n

Martin<\/b>: When are you authorized to use deadly force?
\nTerry Rostand<\/b>: Oh well, you know, taxes provide your basic services, you know, police and whatnot, but our customers, they need a little bit more than that, so we catch you on the property, we do what we have to do.
\nMartin<\/b>: So, if I just look suspicious on your customers’ property – under those, you know, “heightened circumstances” – you have the authority to shoot me?
\nTerry Rostand:<\/b> Correct.
\nMartin<\/b>: Wow, all right. How’d you get the gig?
\nTerry Rostand:<\/b> Oh, well, they were hiring. And it was only a two-week course.<\/p>\n

Paul:<\/b> TEN YEARS, MAN! TEN YEARS. TEN. YEARS. TEN YEARS.<\/p>\n

Martin:<\/b> Now I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a professional killer.
\nPaul:<\/b> Do you have to do post-graduate work for that, or can you jump right in?<\/p>\n

Debi:<\/b> I was wrong. I don’t think you’re broken. I<\/p>\n

Debi:<\/b> You’re a psychopath.
\nMartin:<\/b> No, no. Psychopaths kill for no reason. I kill for *money*. It’s a *job*. That didn’t come out right.<\/p>\n

A few more screenshots…<\/h3>\n

\"tf-reading-gun\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-doctor\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-diner\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-penkill\"<\/p>\n

\"tf-grossepointe-guns\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve been meaning to see Grosse Pointe Blanke for like fifteen years, and never gotten around to it, so I’m very glad Ben suggested it for this challenge. I knew there was a crime-type element to it and that it was a black comedy, but that was about it – that’s enough to catch my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3027],"tags":[3058,3055,3056,3057],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/tf-feat-kitchenshootout.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35771,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/challenge-week-15-why-dont-you-play-in-hell\/","url_meta":{"origin":35517,"position":0},"title":"Challenge Week 15: Why Don’t You Play in Hell?","author":"Jandy","date":"April 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I'd heard of Sion Sono before seeing this, but mostly got the sense that his stuff would be too weird\/extreme for me. This one, however, is like an actual Japanese version of Kill Bill, except even more extreme, plus a filmmaking angle, which you know always attracts me. A set\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/tf-feat-directing-fight.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":35387,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/01\/the-2016-movie-challenge-a-preview\/","url_meta":{"origin":35517,"position":1},"title":"The 2016 Movie Challenge: A Preview","author":"Jandy","date":"January 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Because I can't leave well enough alone, here's a brief rundown of (some of) what I'll be watching in 2016 for this crazy challenge. I currently have 50 people signed up to recommend me movies, and all but a handful have already chosen their picks, so this thing is scheduled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/fc-keaton.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":30,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2006\/05\/an-ode-to-the-hi-pointe\/","url_meta":{"origin":35517,"position":2},"title":"An Ode to the Hi-Pointe","author":"Jandy","date":"May 19, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Only not really, because I don't do poetry. When I went to see Brick last week, I was impressed by the film, but I was equally impressed by the theatre-going experience, a topic that increasingly interests me. I don't go to the Hi-Pointe Theatre very often, but I must make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35505,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/2016-challenge-debrief\/","url_meta":{"origin":35517,"position":3},"title":"2016 Challenge Debrief","author":"Jandy","date":"March 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, it's been almost three months since my year-long movie challenge officially completed, and it's taken me that long to decompress, rerank everything, and generally get ready to post a recap of the year. The short version: it was awesome! I watched a ton of movies I really liked, very\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/crop-400-Blows-watching.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":35331,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2015\/09\/letterboxd-challenge-pale-flower-1964\/","url_meta":{"origin":35517,"position":4},"title":"Letterboxd Challenge: Pale Flower (1964)","author":"Jandy","date":"September 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"As I get back into the groove of moviewatching, I decided I was ready to take on this challenge a Facebook friend pointed me to on Letterboxd. Basically each week has a pre-selected theme with a list or a genre or a set of filmmakers from which each person doing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/tf-shinoda-pale-flower.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36096,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/07\/challenge-week-27-birdemic-shock-and-terror\/","url_meta":{"origin":35517,"position":5},"title":"Challenge Week 27: Birdemic: Shock and Terror","author":"Jandy","date":"July 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When I did the little preview post for this challenge with how much I was looking forward to various films, I listed this under \"I'm Terrified\" - not really so much because I knew it was supposed to be one of the worst movies ever made (I have a soft\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/tf-feat1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35517"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}