• Because You Love Me…
  • Follow
  • About
  • Friends

Useless Things Need Love Too

Useless Things Need Love Too

Tag Archives: Joan Cusack

Say Anything… or: The Less Desirables Movie of the Week

10 Saturday Jun 2017

Posted by TGBII in Movie Review

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

a/perture Cinema, Amazon Prime, Bebe Neuwirth, Cameron Crowe, Cheap Trick, Chynna Phillips, Depeche Mode, Eric Stoltz, Frasier, Heart, IMDb, Ione Skye, Jeremy Piven, Joan Cusack, Joe Satriani, John Cusack, John Mahoney, Lili Taylor, Living Colour, Movies, Nancy Wilson, Peter Gabriel, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rotten Tomatoes, Say Anything..., The BCPF, The Less Desirables, The Replacements

Salutations™!!

a/perture cinema, the Official Movie Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents The Less Desirables Movie of the Week, Say Anything… (1989), starring John Cusack, Ione Skye and John Mahoney.

Say_Anything

©20th Century Fox

 

Per IMDb: “A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.”

Lloyd Dobler (Cusack) starts obsessing over Diane Court (Skye) at their high school graduation. She’s the valedictorian, and most assume she’s “out of his league.” She has won a fellowship to attend school in England and her father, Jim (Mahoney), couldn’t be happier. Jim is the owner of a retirement home and is his daughter’s best friend, after the divorce from her mother. They have a good bit of money and that adds to the ways that Diane and Lloyd are different, although neither of them cares.

Jim is worried that Lloyd may be a detriment to Diane’s upcoming matriculation in England; afraid that she’ll want to stay home instead of going. The more the two teens get involved, the more Jim becomes less tolerant of Diane’s “freedoms.” It doesn’t help that the IRS is investigating Jim on fraud charges through the retirement home.  Do the crazy kids stay together? Do they break up? What happens with the IRS? You’ll have to watch to find out.

As usual, Joan Cusack plays in the film with her brother, John. She doesn’t give any Oscar-winning performances but that wasn’t what she set out to do, in this film. It was so strange seeing John Mahoney with dark hair and playing a role outside of Martin Crane, Frasier’s father in the television series. There are times when you don’t like him and I’m not used to that with him, either. There are times when you certainly do like him, though.

The BCPF thinks Ione Skye got the part because she’s pretty while I think she is an awful actress and looks like a horse. As the film went on it was like she learned to act. The acting was less atrocious from her the deeper the film went. Beyond that, I think that she and Cusack (who can act) actually had good screen chemistry.

Another Frasier cast member, Bebe Neuwirth (she played Frasier’s ex-wife, Lillith), made an appearance here, as well. Other cameos include Jeremy Piven, Chynna Phillips, Eric Stoltz and Lili Taylor.

Probably the most notable thing about this film is its soundtrack. One of the most famous scenes of teen-driven dramedies happens in this film: the iconic holding of the boombox playing “In Your Eyes” from Peter Gabriel (off my favorite album of all-time). Cusack reenacted that onstage at a Peter Gabriel show a few years ago. In addition to PG, the soundtrack included Nancy Wilson of Heart (her husband, Cameron Crowe wrote the film), Depeche Mode, The Replacements, Cheap Trick, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Living Colour and Joe Satriani. It’s a great soundtrack and the songs fit well in the film.

Overall, I think it was a decent film. Not my favorite of teen films but it was pretty good. Rotten Tomatoes has it at 98% Fresh with an Audience Score of 85%. IMDb has it at 7.4 stars out of 10. We rented it from Amazon Prime and I will rate it 4 stars out of 5. Have you seen it? What would you like to hear/read me review?

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“One question: are you here ’cause you need someone, or ’cause you need me?… Forget it, I don’t care.” – Lloyd Dobler

Toys or: The Less Desirables Movie of the Week

15 Saturday Apr 2017

Posted by TGBII in Movie Review

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

a/perture Cinema, IMDb, Joan Cusack, LL Cool J, Michael Gambon, Netflix, Robin Williams, Rotten Tomatoes, The Less Desirables, Toys

Salutations™!!

a/perture cinema, the Official Movie Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents The Less Desirables Movie of the Week, Toys (1992), starring Robin Williams, Michael Gambon, LL Cool J and Joan Cusack.Toys_poster

Per IMDb: “When a military general inherits a toy making company and begins making war toys, his employees band together to stop him before he ruins the name of Zevo Toys forever.”

Kenneth Zevo is dying. He has two children Alsatia (Cusack) and Leslie (Williams) who have basically “grown up” in the toy factory that Kenneth has spent his life making. The workers are happy, the facility is a happy place, all is well. As Kenneth is about to leave the Earth, he asks his 3-star general brother, General Leland Zevo (Gambon) to take over the company. Leland is apprehensive. He’s serious and “Kenny” is a fun-loving free spirit who made a fortune making toys. Why not give the company to his children? Kenneth thinks they’re too childish to run a business.

Leland, desperate to win the approval of his elderly father, who was a 4-star general and played by Jack Warden, and seeks said approval in taking over Kenneth’s company. The old man tells him to make up his own mind. He takes over the company and is bored out of his mind until he hears that there’s a leak in toy designs. That sends him back into full military mode. He decides he wants to find the leak and enlists the help of his military son, Patrick (LL Cool J). In that Leland decides to start making miniature war toys to be sold to the government. Leslie is dead set against the idea because he knows his father would have also been against it. Leland says he won’t make any but can he have a tiny bit of space to make is own toys? Does he get it? Does he make war toys? You’ll have to watch to find out.

I saw this film when I was about 21 in the theater. I liked the fantasy and whimsy of it. I have to say that watching it now some 25 years later, it has lost a good bit of that luster. There’s good and bad here. The good: the cast, the scenery (mostly sound stages but great nonetheless), the ambition. The bad: the story line is dated and weak for even 1992, no direction, lack of actual comedy. With this cast, Williams is kind of sedate and even when he’s breaking loose he’s almost forcing the character to come out. Michael Gambon is a long way from his role in The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover previously and as the second Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series. He was unrecognizable but he was good. LL Cool J was pretty good. I think the real star here is Joan Cusack; she played the best part. But, while the film was funny in parts, it was, like Williams’ portrayal, forced and a bit weak.

I was disappointed in the overall film as it wasn’t what I remembered it to be, but there was still a nostalgia that was keeping me watching. I just wanted to see it, I guess. Rotten Tomatoes has it at a lowly 26% Rotten, with an audience score of a slightly better 39%. IMDb has it at 5 stars out of 10; exactly 50%. I saw this on Netflix and, sadly, I have to rate it only a straight up 3.0 out of 5 which on a scale from 0-5 would also be right down the middle. Have you seen it? What did you think? What would you like to read/hear me review? Let me know.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“We’re going to fight fire with marshmallows.” – Leslie Zevo

High Fidelity or: The Less Desirables Movie of the Week Review

17 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by TGBII in Movie Review

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bruce Springsteen, Catherine Zeta-Jones, High Fidelity, Iben Hjejle, Joan Cusack, Joelle Carter, John Cusack, Lily Taylor, Stephen Frears, The Less Desirables

Salutations™!!

Okay, so I moved the movie review from Thursday to Saturday because if I give it away too soon, why would you listen?  The point isn’t the review; the point is I want you (THE LESS DESIRABLES WANT YOU) to listen to our little show every week, ya know!?

Anywhat! This week’s movie is High Fidelity starring John Cusack as Rob Gordon, a record store owner that has questionable taste in music and definitely bad luck with women.  The plot revolves around his Top 5 breakups of all time while trying to keep his current break up out of that list.  Will it work?  Who knows at this point.

The Less Desirables’ guest this week was (apart from the awesome Liz May talking about The Triad Music Festival) Jonathan from Underdog Records in Winston-Salem.  We thought it would be cool to do this film since he was coming in.

highfidelity

High Fidelity (2000)

So Rob’s current ex-girlfriend, Laura (played by the very attractive Danish actress, Iben Hjejle) left him and says that he never changed and she, basically, has.  Rob’s mother freaks out because she wants him to settle down and this is just another in a long line of breakups for “Mama’s Special Boy.”  Trying not to get in the middle of it, Rob’s sister (Joan Cusack, funny how she plays the sister of John’s characters a lot) calls and unwittingly slips, telling Rob that Laura is seeing some guy named Ian.

Rob recalls a neighbor that they had living above them and how they’d lie in bed listening to him having sex through the ceiling/floor and guess what his name was?  Boom! Yes, Ian… you’re so smart. Am I the only one that sees the irony in Laura reading the book called Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War by Peter Maass, while listening to “Ian” having sex and if the potential for that being who she’s now with…? Hmmm?  I don’t know, but I find it funny, at least.

What’s this a cameo by Bruce Springsteen?  Oh! And I’m a huge fan of Justified on FX, Ava Crowder herself, Joelle Carter, stars as Penny Hardwick, one of the Top 5.  Lily Taylor is Sarah, another in the Top 5 and round it out with Catherine Zeta-Jones as Charlie, the numero uno on the list. So Rob spends his time trying to either get Laura back or make closure with the exes.

The truer plot is about “every man’s” plight when it comes to love and loss of said love.  Guy or girl, I think we all go through the same things when going through breakups: what is the situation of the other person sleeping with whomever they’re with now? Where did I go wrong? Was it me? How could I have been so dumb? Blah blah blah.  It’s life, it’s love.  Basic human being stuff.  And why is it always raining in this film?  I get the dreary love-lost metaphor, but like Eric Draven said, “it can’t rain all the time.”

I like the “4th Wall” aspect where Cusack’s character talks to the camera/audience. The soundtrack is pretty great as is the acting.  Did he get the girl in the end? I’ll not tell, but I’ll say that this film is righteous and recommend it to anyone that loves music, records and a good hipster love film before it became ironic.  I’m also giving it 4 Stars.

It was directed by Stephen Frears and is 1h 54m long.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…

Scorp out!

—

“What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?” – Rob Gordon (John Cusack), High Fidelity (2000)

Follow Useless Things Need Love Too on WordPress.com

Social

  • View tgbii’s profile on Facebook
  • View bassmantnc’s profile on Twitter
  • View timbeemanii’s profile on Instagram
  • View timothy-beeman-ii-9ab93827’s profile on LinkedIn
  • View +TimothyBeemanII1970’s profile on Google+

Recent Posts

  • Spinning Sunday or: The Haul 1/23/21
  • Sounds Like Saturday or: Golden
  • Charting or: Not What You Think It Is
  • Now Normal Chronicles or: She Don’t Know Me
  • A New Day or: The First of Firsts

Recent Comments

Damien on Silent Sunday or: Two of My Ne…
Damien on Brought to You by the Number 5…
TGBII on Spinning Sunday or: The Haul…
Damien on Spinning Sunday or: The Haul…
Damien on My Holiday or: A Happy Po…

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • July 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • January 2014

Categories

  • Beer
  • Blogging
  • Food
  • Friend Friday
  • Honeymoon
  • KISS
  • Life as We Know It
  • Movie Review
  • Music Review
  • Podcasting
  • Product Review
  • Rant
  • Records
  • Silent Sunday
  • Sounds Like Saturday
  • Spinning Sunday
  • Spirits
  • Talking Tuesday
  • The Less Desirables Network
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
  • Wine

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Dealspotr

@themanwhoatethetown - influencer profile on Dealspotr
dealspotr.com
Follow Useless Things Need Love Too on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to receive notifications when the idiot who runs this blog updates by email.

Join 1,904 other followers

Recent Posts

  • Spinning Sunday or: The Haul 1/23/21
  • Sounds Like Saturday or: Golden
  • Charting or: Not What You Think It Is
  • Now Normal Chronicles or: She Don’t Know Me
  • A New Day or: The First of Firsts

Recent Comments

Damien on Silent Sunday or: Two of My Ne…
Damien on Brought to You by the Number 5…
TGBII on Spinning Sunday or: The Haul…
Damien on Spinning Sunday or: The Haul…
Damien on My Holiday or: A Happy Po…

People Who Say Things That Rock!

Categories

  • Beer
  • Blogging
  • Food
  • Friend Friday
  • Honeymoon
  • KISS
  • Life as We Know It
  • Movie Review
  • Music Review
  • Podcasting
  • Product Review
  • Rant
  • Records
  • Silent Sunday
  • Sounds Like Saturday
  • Spinning Sunday
  • Spirits
  • Talking Tuesday
  • The Less Desirables Network
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
  • Wine

People who love to read my spoutings.

  • 46,083 hits

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • July 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • January 2014

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Copyright For All Ramblings:

©Timothy G Beeman II

Blog at WordPress.com.

Fan Interference Podcast

The Fan Interference Podcast, part of The Less Desirables Podcast Network

Asylum: Tales from the Devereaux Diaries

Asylum: Tales from the Devereaux Diaries

Eat Drink Triad Podcast

The Podcast of Triad Food and Beverage Coalition

Beeman-Metz Media

Coming Soon

myfox8.com

News, Weather, Sports and more from WGHP FOX8

As Ardmore Turns

An almost true-to-life soap opera that practically writes itself.

Beeswax Vinyl and More

A NC-based Podcast About Music and Vinyl

Defining Yellow

Eddie Huffman

SippingNC: The Art of Drinking

A Blog and Podcast all about North Carolina libations.

Dr. Rock's Blog & Roll

Your dose of the BEST music ever made! (www.DrRock.com)

Sipping NC: The Art of the Drink

North Carolina Libations from Beer to Wine to Spirits

benedictbeerblog

Funny Redhead Loves Beer. Funny Readhead Writes About Beer.

The Beer Dads Podcast

Three guys having a beer and talking about being dads.

The Man Who Walked the Town

Exploring WSNC One Step at a Time

Somewhere Over the Olive Tree

Way up high in the Valencian mountains

Daily Inspiration Blog

The NC Triad's altweekly

Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem's alternative newspaper and media source

Wrestling-Online.com

Covering pro wrestling news since 1998!

I've got a Roman Candle Now!

Cancel