Grosse Pointe Blank (1997): ***

Martin Blank (John Cusack) is having a mid-career crisis. Killing shady men isn’t as satisfying as it used to be and his rival Mr Grocer (Dan Aykroyd) is hassling him to join his newly formed assassins’ guild. After Martin botches a client’s contracted job he heads back to his old home town Grosse Pointe, to make amends for his client by assassinating another target. At the recommendation of his assistant Marcella (Joan Cusack) and his therapist/hostage Dr Oatman (Alan Arkin), Martin decides to attend his high school’s ten year reunion and give the ‘don’t kill anyone’ thing a try. When Martin arrives at Grosse Pointe, he makes contact with local radio host Debi (Minnie Driver), who’s still mad about being stood up at the prom by Martin ten years after the fact. Can Martin rekindle the old flames between them, whilst also dodging several assassination attempts on his life? 

Grosse Pointe Blank has an intriguing premise but it fails to explore it fully. There are some humorous moments scattered throughout the film, the family home demolished and turned into a generic convenience store, surly teenager store attendant included. The assassination industry is remarked to be a good business with good economic prospects. The high school reunion is one of the film’s highlights, as the old class-mates network, snog and brag to each other, desperately trying to reaffirm that everything is going great for them. However, the humour lacks any real power in its bites; there are more playful nips at American suburbia. 

The few action scenes in Grosse Pointe Blank are boring to sit through and unfunny to watch. To compensate the film cuts away to gag shots, such as the aforementioned store attendant playing Doom II, oblivious to the gun-fight behind him. The plot also suffers slightly from contrivances – villains who announce their presence to Martin, an old friend who hasn’t seen Martin in years helps with some disposal work, and a certain file remains unopened so Martin can have a heroic climax. Grosse Pointe Blank does offer a good soundtrack to listen to, containing plenty of eighties rock and ska music to get nostalgic over. Grosse Pointe Blank is, at heart, a film about a former couple who are nostalgic over their fleeting high-school romance and what might have been, consequently unable to move forward in their lives.  

John Cusack plays the charming Martin Blank with ease, shooting out one-liners cleanly and relentlessly. However Cusack struggles slightly to portray the tormented side to his character, we only start to believe Martin is troubled when he tries to rationalise his career choice to Debi. Minnie Driver is laboured with the task of portraying Debi Newberry, who is still bitter over being jilted on prom night yet is also expected to quickly reconcile with Martin. Driver manages to make Debi likeable and somewhat believable with what she has got to work with. Dan Aykroyd tears up the set as the rival hitman Grocer, first to draw his gun and singing maniacally as he pumps bullets into a house. 

Grosse Pointe Blank is a middle-of-the-road kind of comedy. It has some fun moments – but not as many as you might have liked - an enjoyable soundtrack and some good performances.