Martin Blank is a professional assassin. He is sent on a mission to a small Detroit suburb, Grosse Pointe, and, by coincidence, his ten-year high school reunion party is taking place there a... Read allMartin Blank is a professional assassin. He is sent on a mission to a small Detroit suburb, Grosse Pointe, and, by coincidence, his ten-year high school reunion party is taking place there at the same time.Martin Blank is a professional assassin. He is sent on a mission to a small Detroit suburb, Grosse Pointe, and, by coincidence, his ten-year high school reunion party is taking place there at the same time.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 8 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn one version of the scene where Martin walks into Debi's radio booth for the first time, Minnie Driver decided to let her character put all the cards on the table and just kiss John Cusack. George Armitage said, "It was just wonderful, completely out of the blue. You should have seen the smile on Johnny's face afterwards."
- GoofsWhen Martin is in the car with Mr. Newberry, palm trees are clearly visible in the background. There are no palm trees in Detroit.
- Quotes
Dr. Oatman: Don't kill anybody for a few days. See what it feels like.
Martin Q. Blank: All right, I'll give it a shot.
Dr. Oatman: No, don't give it a shot! Don't shoot anything!
- SoundtracksI Can See Clearly Now
Written and Performed by Johnny Nash
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
School reunions are one of those social events that you either love, or loathe. If you're a somebody back then, and are sort of somebody right now, it presents to you an opportunity to brag about it. If you're cruising along fine, then you're probably curious about how others are doing, and want to take stock. If you're a nobody then, or now, then you'll probably not want to attend at all.
John Cusack plays Martin Blank, a professional hit-man whose at the crossroads of that decision. 10 years ago, he abandoned his date for the prom, and never made contact ever since. Also, he's wondering how he could possibly tell anyone about his current profession. He's also finding that life is becoming meaningless, and is seeking for something to lift him up from the doldrums.
His secretary (played by real life sister Joan Cusack - there are a total of 4 Cusack siblings in this movie) arranges a perfect opportunity for him to mesh work and play, and packs him off back to Grosse Pointe. Naturally he seeks out his old flame Debi Newberry (Minnie Driver), and tries his best to make amends by offering to go to the reunion with her.
However, his nemesis and hit-man rival Grocer, played to hilarity by Dan Ackroyd, is mad at Blank for not wanting to join up in his union, and he wants to bump Blank off. He's provided with some of the best dialog, and banters with Cusack so well, you just beg for more of their scenes together.
It's a quirky movie (aren't most of Cusack's movies) which is thoroughly enjoyable with its excellent selection of songs, wonderful dialog, and delightful action toward the end. Watch out too for a short appearance by Jenna Elfman! The Code 1 DVD is nothing to shout about - the bare bones version.
- DICK STEEL
- Jan 8, 2006
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $28,084,357
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,870,397
- Apr 13, 1997
- Gross worldwide
- $28,084,357
- Runtime1 hour 47 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1