The Sure Thing (1985)

The Sure Thing is one of the early works of both director Rob Reiner and young teen star John Cusack and it proved to be a success for both parties. In the film Walter Gibson and his friend Lance are heading off to college. Gib is heading to a stuffy school on the East Coast while Lance is heading off to the sun-soaked southern California shores with the female prospects at an all time high. It doesn't help Gib who has recently been striking out with the opposite sex, because to put it bluntly they don't buy his astronomy inspired pick-up lines. He's just too much of a jerk.

And so the two friends go off to their separate spheres and for Gib things do not end up too bad. His school's not a bore, but he's not getting the kind of action Lance has, not yet. That is until his friend tells him about a "sure thing." The girl who is one out of a million and who is available just waiting for Gib in California. So as any red-blooded American college student would do, Gib begins the cross country trek over his Christmas Break.

The catch is this. He's forced to travel with an overly enthusiastic couple obsessed with singing show tunes and that's not the worst of it. His backseat companion is fellow classmate Alison Bradbury (Daphne Zuniga)who happens to be very attractive, but she also hates his guts.

She and Gib happen to be polar opposites and they did not get off to a good start at school. She already has a boyfriend. She is always on top of her academics and she never does anything outrageous. Gub is a showboat, prone to wildness that includes shotgunning beers and trying to pick up girls.

Their constant bickering and nagging finds them sitting on the roadside in the middle of nowhere trying to thumb their way to California. And so it looks like they will go their separate ways, but they end up traveling together, broke, wet, and starving. Somehow they get there and along the way they begin to genuinely appreciate each other. There does not have to be anything between them. Of course right before they get to their final destination a disagreement leaves them at odds. However, after spending so much time with someone like Alison, a sure thing just does not have the appeal it once did to Gib. He proves to himself that's he's not quite as shallow as he thought he was. If only Alison could know that.

The enjoyment of this film is not so much in discovering the result, because any Joe-Smo who has seen at least a handful of romantic comedies knows how the story is supposed to end. The true joy in the experience is how we arrive there with these two characters. In the back of our minds there is a kind of peace of mind because although they seem so far apart and at odds we know where they will end up. We can take a little bit of enjoyment out of every single moment they spend together mundane or not. In many ways the road movie feel of The Sure Thing brought to mind other similar story lines like Train, Plains, and Automobiles as well as It Happened One Night. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this Cusack vehicle an Daphne Zuniga was fun as well.

4/5 Stars

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

A romantic comedy directed by Rob Reiner, and starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, the film opens in 1977 when Harry and Sally first meet and then share a long car ride to New York. They part ways not expecting to see one another again. Sure enough they meet again and they both are in serious relationships with others. But a few more years down the line they cross paths and they both are having trouble getting over their failed love lives. With the situation the way it is, Harry and Sally decide to become friends and they begin to confide in each other while also spending more time together. However, they want to remain just friends and they set each other up with their best friend respectively. This ends in their best friends becoming romantically involved and it leaves Harry and Sally where they were before. When Sally is going through a tough time Harry comforts her and in the moment they make love. In the aftermath their relationship becomes tense and it ends in a fight. All alone on New Year's Eve they finally make up and share a kiss. They are finally a couple. This film has adult themes but Reiner makes this film a nostalgic feel in a way by using a flashback, voice-over, split screen, and conversations from married couples. Furthermore, the soundtrack by Harry Connick Jr. is reminiscent of crooners from a bygone era. In my mind, this film seemed very similar to some of the old romantic comedies including The Awful Truth (1937).

4/5 Stars

The Princess Bride (1987)

Directed by Bob Reiner and starring an esemble cast this has to be the best action-comedy-romance-fantasy ever. It starts with a grandpa (Peter Falk), reading his grandson a fairy tale. In the story there was a peasant boy (Cary Elwes) devoted to a beautiful girl (Robin Wright). However, she treated him poorly and is eventually married off to the Prince Humperdink against her will. She is then kidnapped by a group consisting of a giant, a swordsman, and a self-proclaimed genius. Her devoted love comes to the rescue but Humperdink takes her back and has her true love tortured. Joining forces with the giant and the swordsman Inigo, along with the help of Miracle Max, Wesley leads a daring rescue. He arrives in the nick of time and his friends show great bravery. He saves his damsel in distress and they live happily ever after. This film is in a category all by itself and it is very quotable if not in fact inconceivable.

4.5/5 Stars

This is Spinal Tap (1984)

I have to say there were parts of this rockumentary that were very enjoyable. For every rock fan it salutes every group from the Beatles, Led Zepplin, and onward. Rob Reiner gives it a seemingly realistic feel, going so far as casting himself as the interviewer Marty DiBergi. As far as the band goes, Spinal Tap probably could be passed off as a real band as well, with real songs, album covers, and instrumentation. I think that makes the film so funny because we are seemingly the only ones who realize how silly they are. In their rock world amps that go up to 11 make sense and their everyday interactions are not even a bit funny. They didn't mean them to be but for the audiences watching this epic failure of a U.S. tour unfold, we cannot help but smile at Spinal Tap. There was quite a lot of strong language but I thought the concept of the film was clever and there were some decently funny moments such as Stonehenge.

4/5 Stars