I guess I should put a disclaimer right at the beginning of this blog post – I was really tired when watching this movie, which means that I probably didn’t enjoy as much as I would have done had I been more awake. The film is about Martin Blank (John Cusack) who is a professional hitman, but he has become disillusioned with his way of life. He goes back to the town where he grew up for his High School reunion, with the hope that he will be able to rekindle his relationship with his former girlfriend Debi (Minnie Driver). Meanwhile, there are other people on his tail, including Dan Akroyd, who plays a rival hitman, trying to get Martin to join a ‘union’.
The film does have some very humorous moments, mainly due to John Cusack who is brilliant in his role. Minnie Driver is also great, and Dan Ackroyd is reliably solid in his role.
The school reunion itself is completely (and obviously intentionally on the behalf of the film-makers) cringeworthy, and served to remind me exactly why I would never want to go to any school reunion myself!
The humour in this movie is not in-your-face; it’s more subtle than that, which I think is a good thing.
Good supporting cast (including two of John Cusack’s sisters), and a great finale.
Year of release: 1997
Director: George Armitage
Writer: Tom Jankiewicz, D.V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, John Cusack
Main cast: John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Jeremy Piven, Dan Aykroyd
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