Flipping through channels last night, I ended up on Grosse Pointe Blank.  We own both of the soundtracks and the DVD for this flick, but I hadn’t seen it in awhile.  So, having no reason not to, my wife and I watched it again.  If you haven’t seen it, kick it to the top of the queue because it is still one of the most enjoyable movies out there.  We had forgotten what a who’s who the cast was — Minnie Driver, Jeremy Piven, Hank Azaria, Dan Ackroyd, Joan Cusack and even a bit role for Jenna Elfman.  But it is John Cusack’s movie.

That got me thinking about just how damn long I’ve been watching John Cusack vehicles.  I was entering my formative moviegoing years when he first came on the scene.  And he’s one of those actors who just never left.  According to IMDB, he’s been in 50 movies.  By my count, I’ve seen 34 of them.  OK, like any actor with a long career, there’s a lot of crap sprinkled in there among the gems.  But regardless of what I think of the movie, I pretty much always enjoy watching Cusack.

So, in my completely self-centered way, here is my retrospective of John Cusack’s most appealing career and what I thought of it every step of the way, including the 10 flicks that deserve to have must-see status.

Class - this was John Cusack’s first movie.  I’m pretty sure I saw it at a friend’s house on a videotape because it was the early eighties and we thought it might a teenage sex comedy with some nudity (which was a lot harder for thirteen year olds to come by back then in the pre-internet age).  I think we were disappointed.  No memory of Cusack in it (or actually of the movie itself).

Sixteen Candles - OK, it’s kind of silly to call this a John Cusack movie, but he was in it as one of Anthony Michael Hall’s geeky friends.  Still a movie I will watch anytime it is on TV.  So we’ll call this a MUST SEE Cusack movie with an asterisk.

Grandview USA — pretty sure I missed this one.

The Sure Thing — the year was 1985 and I actually had a date.  I took her to see this romantic comedy.  Cusack was so inspiring as a romantic lead that I made my admittedly clumsy move on the girl.  I was rebuffed.  Thanks a lot, John.

Better Off Dead — a wonderfully odd and surreal movie.  And really funny.  I suspect that this pretty much cemented Cusack’s rep as the quirky leading man that he still can’t quite shake.  I still smile at the thought of the paperboy pursuing him relentlessly for two overdue dollars.  Just writing this is making me want to see it again.  So it gets our first genuine Cusack lead MUST SEE rating.

One Crazy Summer — the team that made Better Off Dead tried to make lightning strike twice … and failed.

Stand By Me — Good flick.  Don’t remember John Cusack in it.  Oh well.

Hot Pursuit — Definitely saw it.  Definitely don’t remember it.

Broadcast News — See Stand By Me.  Same comment.

Eight Men Out — Holy crap.  John Cusack can really act.  The year is 1988 and I’m graduating from high school and Cusack is graduating to leading roles in movies for grownups.  Who knew?  For that alone, add this one to the MUST SEE list.

Say Anything — OK, so he didn’t completely graduate.  Cusack had one more classic angsty funny teenage romantic comedy left in him.   Only Cameron Crowe could have pulled off the cheesiness of Cusack holding a boom box over his head to win back the girl of his dreams.  If it had been any song other than Peter Gabriel’s In Your Eyes, that would have sucked.  But it didn’t.  MUST SEE.

Thus follows a five-year period where Cusack appeared in 11 movies.  The dude was a hot property in Hollywood.  The Grifters was lauded but I didn’t like it.  He had bit parts in Tim Robbins’ Bob Roberts and Woody Allen’s Shadows and Fog, but again I don’t remember him in those.  Seven other movies during that period don’t really merit a mention; some I saw, some I didn’t, all were forgotten.  Then, there was ….

Bullets Over Broadway — I believe this may have been the first time where another actor played the “Woody Allen” character in an Woody Allen movie.  And Cusack was wonderful doing it.  This is one of the last Allen movies that I actually enjoyed.  Scenes are stolen left and right by the likes of Chazz Palminteri, Jennifer Tilly, Diane Wiest and others, but Cusack rules the roost.  MUST SEE.

City Hall — this movie reeked of Oscar bait.  Um, didn’t quite work out that way.

Grosse Pointe Blank — Pure awesomeness.  John Cusack is back triumphantly.  MUST SEE.

Con Air — What the heck is John Cusack doing in this movie?  Nicolas Cage is suddenly an action star?  Huh?  Then, I realize that I’m really enjoying it.  Fun ride.  MUST SEE (though more for standout scenery chewing by John Malkovich and Steve Buscemi).

This is the point in the blog post where I realize just how long a 50-movie career is and start to regret my decision to review the whole thing.  But there is still good stuff to come, so I’ll persevere.  And skip some details.

Blah, blah, cartoon voice (Anastasia).  Blah, blah, best-selling book adaptation (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil).  Blah, blah, indies (Chicago Cab, This is My Father).  Blah, blah, prestige pics (The Thin Red Line, Cradle That Rocks).  Blah, blah, crap (Pushing Tin).  Blah, blah … hold the phone.

Being John Malkovich — there just aren’t that many movies that are so original in concept and method that you just stop and admire.  This is one of them.  Wow.  MUST SEE.

High Fidelity — following on the heels of blowing our minds, Cusack turns out one of his most enjoyable flicks as he riffs on music and love.  MUST SEE.

By now Cusack is an institution.  An icon.  And his choices for material start to betray, well, sorry to say this John, but a bit of laziness.  America’s Sweethearts, Must Love Dogs and Serendipity were all blandly harmless.  1408 and Runaway Jury were both relatively cookie-cutter and predictable for their genres.  Or maybe it is just that his smaller films that push boundaries a bit during this period, like Max and Martian Child, just didn’t quite work.

Still, I promised you ten must-see Cusack movies, so here’s number 10.

Identity — this movie is flawed.  No doubt about it.  The premise can easily be poked full of holes.  But it is still a doozy of an original premise and a tense contained thriller.  Cusack is the glue that holds it together, but Pruitt Taylor Vince should have gotten an Oscar nomination in the supporting category.  MUST SEE.

So that’ s the end of our John Cusack tour.  Ended with more of a whimper than I expected.  Come on, John, time for another winner please.  Wait, what’s that.  Looking ahead on his production slate.  Hot Tub Time Machine?  Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner.  See you in 2010.