Midweek Mention.... Grosse Pointe Blank

Grosse Pointe Blank

Reegs:     Midweek movie mentioned Sidey. You've decided to treat us to a classic.

Sidey: it started ancient classic it's it's from 1997 and it's gross. Point blank. If I'm talking about my favorite films, this is in the conversation. Let's

Reegs: Okay. Okay.

Sidey: rather the sound the soundtrack was done by Joe Strummer. Howie for your information,

Reegs: From the police,

Sidey: the fuck off

Reegs: the clash

Sidey: Yeah.

Yes, the clash.

Reegs: sorry. Sorry.

Sidey: you will notice several clash references throughout the film. The end. this is the story of a slightly jaded Hitman who receives an invitation to his ten-year high school reunion.

Howie: Being his high school prom and running for the

Sidey: he, he did the runner on on

Howie: driver.

Sidey: Debbie, Debbie Newberry, and He's basically about to execute someone which goes awry. At which point he is then  encouraged to take this job at gross point. But by being forced to, to make amends and take this job, that job is then taken away from Dan Ackroyd's a Hitman who doesn't take this news very well.

Is he alerts the feds  and so for the base of the duration of his film, John Cusak is tailed by these two. Sort of, I wouldn't say they're bumbling, but they're just sort of there in the background. They never really do anything until the very end of the film or which goes,

Howie: Is one of them is one

Sidey: Hank Azaria.

Howie: Yes. I've always thought for the Simpsons. Yeah. Thought so. Yeah.

Sidey: So you have this. So of juxtaposition of a a hired killer with this romance story of him trying to rekindle his his lost love with many driver who still lives in this small town where they grew up and she's the local sort of radio DJ.

Reegs: I remember her being a really good character. I don't know. It's been a long time since I saw this movie. So perhaps not so much, maybe she's more annoying than

Sidey: No, no, she's brilliant. She's brilliant. And she, she sort of, you know, stands up to him, but she doesn't obviously know. He does say that he's a killer. He does. He announced it to a couple of people and they just sort of accept it as like, Oh yeah. He's obviously joking about that. But she's, she's very sort of she holds the road with them, you know, she she's a strong character.

She's got quite a funny, sort of says a hero as well. And she's super high in this as well.

Howie: She controls the conversation she has with him at the, in the, in her radio station. That's broadcast to the whole fucking town over loud halos.

Sidey: Yeah. And you got, you got

Dan: She was a great actress or a great actor. I mean, she is, but she seemed to kind of leave Hollywood. It seemed to be one of those people that did it on her own terms. Like she just, I'm not going to do this anymore. I know I could go and try and go for the big movies and everything. You seem to choose her roles a little more, select them a little more carefully than most.

Sidey: cause she had this and she had a

Dan: don't know if she went for a family, that kind of thing,

Sidey: That's possible.

Dan: I, I really enjoy seeing her when I see it. Cause she's normally really thought about the voles that. She's taking it on and she's not just doing it for the money. It seems, you know,

Reegs: She's believable in this as somebody who a jaded Hitman, John Kasak could find her energy, you know, reinvigorating.

Sidey: he's just reached a point because he has all these. Really funny scenes with his psychiatrist, like by Alan Arkin, who he's obviously disclosed the fact that he is a Hitman. And that's

Reegs: Well, he me, so everybody that he meets, he's a Hitman. He doesn't hide it from anyone. It's hilarious. Everyone thinks he's joking.

Sidey: he says to him it says, I can't be your psychiatrist. Yeah. You've told me that you're a killer.

I'm supposed to turn you in. And he says, well, I know where you live and it's all joke. You know, I'm just joking. I'm joking. He says, but you're not checking in it. It's always on edge, obviously you would be where you're around a Hitman. And he's, he's, he's obviously had

Dan: Sub jokes hit men just can't tell

Sidey: is that 10 years of killing people.

He's obviously  system, you know, it's the act of killing all these people was probably caught up with you. And so he does, it wants to, it doesn't, it doesn't want to go to the, in at first, but his his PA played by his sister convinces him that

Reegs: Hey, John Key sister. Right.

Sidey: CUSA. Yes. And you won't hold onto your hats cause you weren't believers.

But a lot of is there's two other que sacks in this film.

Reegs: Well, there's multiple key sacks in

Sidey: four Q sacks, John Cusack junkie and Q stack. And bill Cusak are in this movie.

Dan: Are they related to sex?

Sidey: No, it's incredible. But it's just like, just share a

Dan: Just random.

Sidey: it's only his sister, his sister, Susie, and his dad, Dick. Who aren't in this film, the rest of the family are all in it.

Dan: Why is

Sidey: And also do they hate them? Jeremy pivot also is his, is his high school best friend.

Reegs: 15 K for a 10 minute zoom.

Dan: Really? He had his mate in there as well.

Howie: what's that rigs? 15 K for

Reegs: Oh, Jeremy Piven during the lockdown, you could pay 15 K to have 10 minutes with him. Seems like he might be a real thick.

Howie: yeah, my be 15 K I w will not.

Reegs: I do remember killing in the high school during the reunion. Is that

Sidey: Yeah, so they, they go to the actual reunion and it's. This sort of predictably lame kind of playing all the music back from when they were school was actually brilliant, but you know, these sort of older facet people now dancing around to it and being kind of lame. So they, they have a wander off, but the whole throughout this film, not only has it been tracked by the federal rallies is also being tracked by another Hitman.

Who's been hired to take him out because he mistakenly killed. Some guy's dog

Howie: Yeah, real

Sidey: another assignment. So he's been chatting this guy's called Felix Lapu bell, Felix, the bin. And he was playing bye

Who?

Dan: Randy from the

Sidey: Yeah, he is a weird looking dude. I always thought that when I seen it, but he was actually John Q sax, kickboxing instructor.

And do you remember the film say anything? It's the one where he stands in the, outside the girls with her with a gang of last year and that film, he plays a guy taking up kickboxing and he had been training him since then. He, this is a long term kickboxing thing. So you've got him in this film and the

Reegs: key sec is basically a killing machine.

Howie: he's got a bit mental as Nico's at recently.

Sidey: no was just very politically active. Puts it all out there, but in the film and the corridor, the, the high school that he had, they had this fight that won loads of like accolades for being a really, really realistic and brilliantly done fight scene.

Reegs: I'm going to revisit it because I do remember it. You know, it's clearly stands out this scene, but I don't remember the sort of specifics of it. I'm going to go and watch it after

Sidey: It basically has to pin him down cause the is good, you know, and he stops him with a pen that some guy's given him at the

Reegs: That's right.

Sidey: pen. And it's at that point, that many driver walks around the corner and sees them. And he says, it's not me. It was just his catchphrase about the film. It's not me.

And then Jamie Pippin or Paul Sprecher, he comes up and they have to wrap him in this banner

Howie: carry him.

Sidey: like all these sort of stupid. You know, quite American slogans if like your futures, but that the one that they wrap him in is actually off the front of a clash. Single

Reegs: ah, are you sure it's not the police?

Howie: But yeah, the th

Sidey: they have to bundle them into the furnace to get rid of the body.

Howie: th the just before that, there is a lovely little scene that I really do really do, like, is the bit where he has to hold his friend's baby. And he just stares at the baby. And they've got, I think it's Queens. It might be under pressure. That's playing in the background.

He has a sort of a life affirming moment of. Well, he wants to do, and that's quite a nice it's really well done.

Sidey: it gets this cold war spy camera it's takes a little photos

Howie: Yeah. I remember that.

Sidey: the film culminates then where Debbie now is, it knows that he is a killer. And so he realizes, Oh, that's fucked now I've fucked. Another relationship up. So he goes back to look at the dossier on the person who's actually been sent to the time to kill, which turns out to be Debbie's father.

Howie: Who we don't, as he'd done something pretty bad to

Sidey: No, he's no, he's just going to give evidence trial,

Reegs: Yeah, it's witness protection. Isn't it.

Sidey: So instead of actually going to kill him, he now goes to the house. To save him because Dan Akroyd actually at the gaff with his crew and he's going to do the killing.

Howie: Hell of a way to die.

Reegs: Mm.

Sidey: as he's driving up, he says, he's got a new found respect for life, or he's in love with that guy's daughter and them and he and John keys that says the same line to someone on the telephone. It's really funny, but they had this great shoe out there in the house. And that the feds that have been tracking him the whole time, smashed the door, come in and they just get shot to shit within about two seconds Ackroyd.

And junkiest, I just take them out straight away. It's it's

Dan: they've been in it, the whole film, the big

Sidey: That you just they've had constant, like Malbec people. They've been tracking them. And as soon as they appear for real, they just get taken out in five seconds. It's really good. shortly after that, you've got, it's almost naked gun light.

You've got. In the kitchen Island sort of thing. They've got Dan Akroyd on one side, John Cusack on the other, and they're both out of ammunition. Just think one of them actually throws his

Reegs: Throws a gun. Yeah.

Sidey: Dan awkward has actually got some more mean. I shouldn't say he loads up and says, do you want me to jut one tear?

And as he stands up junkies, I just slammed the, the TV sound has hadn't killed electrocutes them kills him. And then he goes upstairs and gets the father's blessing to

Reegs: That's right to marry. Yeah.

Sidey: they just drive off into the distance. There was talk for a long while about them trying to do a sequel of some

Reegs: What would be the

Sidey: yeah, they never have, and I've got to have them cause this is it's just, it's perfect.

Dan: Just works well

Reegs: wrong about the soundtrack here. I've just brought it up in front of me. He got blister in the sun, violent femmes. You've got mirror in the bathroom, English be under pressure. I can see clearly now you've got live and let die. We care a lot. Faith, no more. Killing moon, echo and pony men.

I mean, it just goes on and on and on in between days the cure your lucky day in hell ills. Fantastic. Fantastic soundtrack.

Dan: What use the film?

Sidey: 97.

Dan: Okay.

Howie: the way that yeah. Donna court's character is quality. sort of a supporting actor coaster with his wanting to form a union that always makes me laugh as well. Union of

Reegs: sure I went to the cinema at Cetus.

Sidey: I missed it in cinema, but I caught it. Straight after I've seen it so many times, Quentin Tarantino nearly had a cameo in this.

Reegs: Really?

Sidey: Yeah. He's a

Howie: well, as a weirdo.

Sidey: is a big fan of the director and they had led to conversations and they were going to try and work him into some habit. It never quite came about, which is unfortunate because that

Dan: And who is then the director. What else has he done?

Sidey: George Armitage.

Reegs: Oh, he makes toilets.

Dan: Oh,

Howie: with his brother

Sidey: might shanks.

Reegs: What else did George Armitage do? I didn't know anything about

Sidey: I don't know, but I've got,

Dan: would mean Tarantino is a fan. That's what intrigued me.

Sidey: yeah, I've got an inanimate object fact for you. I love this, the ultimate where they have the big shootout and it gets destroyed. And they're the guys playing doom too. That has also featured in another film. It was in lethal weapon, three.

Reegs: Is that the one with Jack Lee? No

four. Is it?

Sidey: so that then puts it alongside the cave from suicide army man. That was also in Batman and the road from Lala land. That was also in speed. So we're

Reegs: As well.

Sidey: things that the fish and nano things that appeared in multiple films.

Reegs: Wow. Wow. I sense a

Dan: could be a whole new theme. Yeah. Excitement to come.

Reegs: Good choice out at whoever you are. So I D I,

Dan: you've

Reegs: enjoyed thinking about this

Dan: known him 20 years or so

Sidey: the other, the other thing is that this movie, when they go to the reunion, that's from the class of 86 and in hot tub time machine. Also accused that joint, they go back to 86 in that. So he obviously has some real deep affection for 1986.

Dan: 86.

Sidey: Yeah. I'm a big Linacre fan.

Dan: big fan big Mary Donna fan wants to stop that last go. Yeah, decent LIS liked it. When I did see it, I've been a long time since I've seen it though. Probably 2000 or around there, and I would have seen it soon after it's come out. So it's probably worth a revisit.

Sidey: I want to revisit it

Dan: sparked the memory a little bit.

Howie: got it. I think I'm sure it's on prime.

Sidey: Is

Howie: it's on

Reegs: Probably.

Sidey: I stick going tonight? What

Howie: it's on sky or prime. Cause I've definitely seen it recently and I have got it on VHS

Dan: You think John sack and many driver, two stars really that could have gone on to achieve more than maybe they have done if they'd want it to. I don't know. I never really got the impression either of them

Sidey: to do,

Dan: pushed it that

Sidey: do, I don't know, he did

Dan: curious, like a little bit more.

Sidey: It didn't

Dan: It did do 2012, which I thought was okay, I'll enjoy 2012.

Is it as a disaster movie? Yeah, I enjoy that as a,

Sidey: of leading man sort of frame though, is he's more slight. He's more of a thinking man kind of role. But I really like, I've always been a fan of him after this.

I thought this was great.

Howie: fidelity, all those sorts of things that you go up. So awesome.

Dan: every man isn't he. Even in this, I guess there's a, is a killer. You would have one of those, you know,

Sidey: The likable

Dan: expect him to, which is perfect for a Hitman.

 Sidey: I've seen him too much recently though. I have to say. But I've just, it's all passed me by, or if he's just hasn't been making any movies, I don't know.

 Dan: I mean, he's never done any of the kind of Marvel films or.

Sidey: Now I don't know who he would play in that.

Dan: got a character.

Reegs: I saw him do sell, which was a really bad Stephen King adaptation. With a ridiculous ending. The David did identity, which has probably one of the most ludicrous twists of all time.

Dan: You have to have a look into certain actors. Sure more graphy one time, maybe just just to go into it a little bit more and find out what they actually did. Cause I'm, I'm sure there's a story to be told between gross point blank and today, and what has gone on, which is John Kusha. I can add many driver.

Sidey: yeah. Anyway, this one for me, it's a 10. I absolutely love it. It said always in a conversation that I have about my favorite movies. Absolutely love it. I've got to rewatch it again soon.

Dan: We don't bandy tens around easily. So that's a that's a sure fire tip and I will I will certainly revisit it again.