We take a look back at Grosse Pointe Blank, the cult classic that should be the blueprint for genre-blending films…
Studios seem to like a good genre blend these days. It’s not a new concept, and the action/comedy fusion has been a staple for many years. However, flipping it on its head somewhat and infusing action into a predominant comedy has always been a little more difficult. Bigger studios kept on pumping them out. The thing with comedy is, it’s difficult. Even those films which successfully nailed the comedy couldn’t do the same with the action, which, in a film like 2002’s Showtime for example, felt like an afterthought.
Nowadays, if you chuck some money into a comedy-action movie (usually with a Ryan, or Glenn Powell), the results often tend to be okay at best and usually forgettable. I love Richard Linklater as much as the next person, but Hit Man, whilst entertaining, also drifted from memory pretty soon after the credits rolled. The same could be said of The Hitman’s Bodyguard (and its sequel with Ryan Reynolds) or even The Fall Guy (with Ryan Gosling).
The Fall Guy at least comfortably delivered both the comedy and the action, and on the carnage front, you’d expect nothing less from David Leitch. Again, though, a slightly aimless and forgettable script is the main reason the film, whilst enjoyable, didn’t necessarily ‘stick to the ribs.’ Leitch had solid comedy, willing and able performers, action that paid suitable ode to the stunt profession and some romance, but ultimately still teetered on feeling like content.
You could argue that the need for a cult audience or continued reverence through the years is a trifling matter for studios. They want the film to do well enough on its initial runs, and then they move on to churning out the next thing. In terms of The Fall Guy and Hit Man, we’re talking two of the better examples, too. For the most part, films that cross genres with comedy as the ‘major’ subject tend to be mediocre. Still, getting that fusion right and crafting something that will remain fresh in years to come and accrue a cult audience isn’t impossible. Maybe we’ve just forgotten how to do it. Shane Black certainly knows how to blend action and comedy, whether he leans first on the former or the latter. He’s got no shortage of cult films, but as we saw with Play Dirty, he can’t nail the formula every time.
There is a film from 1997 which did solid, if unspectacular, box office, got decent reviews, but has also magnetised a cult following over the years. Grosse Pointe Blank takes an interesting blend of elements. There’s black comedy, romantic comedy and action all rolled into a perfectly blended recipe. George Armitage was something of a seasoned director by the time he made this subversive hitman film. His most high-profile film aside was Miami Blues, starring Alec Baldwin, another fusion of crime and comedy, but less successful. What really gave this film its legacy was the killer script conjured by Tom Jankiewicz, D.V. DeVicentis, Steve Pink and the leading man, John Cusack.
It’s the tale of Martin Blank, who, as fate aligns, must return to his old town just in time for his high school reunion, having disappeared off the grid a decade earlier (standing up his childhood sweetheart, Debi). Blank is neurotic, philosophical and in a moral and career quandary, much to the chagrin of his reluctant therapist (a brilliant Alan Arkin). He’s suddenly faced with the life choices he made and lingering regret over that lost love. So, as Blank re-enters Grosse Pointe, he meets old friends, his dementia suffering mother and his old home, which has become a mini-mart (that has a Doom 2 arcade cabinet, no less). He’s tracked by rogue Feds, a rival hitman (Dan Aykroyd), and another mysterious hitman (Benny ‘The Jet’ Urquidez). A cluster fuck is inevitable, but the journey into and out of that is a riot.
Stuffed with memorable lines and anchored by Cusack’s idiosyncratically charming performance, it’s also a perfect example of casting someone interesting and suited to the part, rather than just the ‘star du jour.’ Occasionally, it works, but for the likes of Glen Powell, he’s often found himself hamstrung with a bland film that is left to try a rest on his charisma. They’re also aiming to try and make him a ‘movie-star’ in the vein of Tom Cruise or Harrison Ford, and that kind of star power just isn’t there.
What Grosse Pointe Blank does well is that it’s a project that’s perfectly tailored to Cusack. He’d proven himself as a compelling and charming lead by then, as well as someone quite capable of character work, too. He’d done the rounds in plenty of cult cinema without ever being a tentpole star. As Blank, he’s never pushed to try to be that. He serves the character and vice versa. Nothing feels forced, and Cusack isn’t made to seem like an executive moulded poster boy entity.
Cusack et al hit their marks perfectly with the comedy. Then, to really drive it home, the film nails the action side of it. Again, Cusack is perfect for what the role requires (and no doubt his involvement in development was key), having studied Kickboxing for years under the tutelage of one of the greatest fighters in history, Benny ‘The Jet’ Urquidez. Cusack’s training goes right back to his iconic 80s comedy, Say Anything, where he starred as an aspiring kickboxer.
Cusack, a now 6-degree black belt, was given the rare opportunity to show his action chops and surprised many with his skills, particularly in the film’s stellar one-on-one brawl against Urquidez (as the ghoulish hitman after him). That aside, the film has a couple of standout shootouts which are brilliantly chaotic (and crammed with plenty of practical effects and squibs). When it comes to action films absolutely littered with practical squibs and in-camera destruction, boy, they REALLY don’t make ’em like that any more.
The supporting cast is packed with excellent character actors. Aside from the aforementioned Jet, Arkin and Aykroyd, there’s also Joan Cusack, Mitchell Ryan, Jeremy Piven and Hank Azaria. It’s stacked, and everyone gets their dues here, too. Then there’s Minnie Driver, who, rather than being a star of the moment tossed into a hollow romantic interest role, is given plenty to sink her teeth into. She’s the right amount of quirky and strong willed and effervescent.
To top everything off, Grosse Pointe Blank has an insanely good soundtrack filled with plenty of classics and a lot of underrated gems, from an array of genres. Much like Cusack’s 2000 starrer, High Fidelity, it’s a soundtrack which just seems to be wall-to-wall bangers. As a whole entity, all these pieces come together beautifully. It’s why Grosse Pointe Blank remains an easy rewatch, with lines that linger and a soundtrack that gets your toes tapping. It’s a perfect example of doing everything well, from direction, script, casting, music supervision (and score), cinematography and action direction. It sounds simple, but when it comes to genre-blended escapism, it feels as if we rarely get anything great these days. Films that will live long in the memory and inspire quotathons. Most importantly, it wasn’t just made to be another streaming thumbnail. It was built to last.
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Tom Jolliffe
