The Sure Thing (dir. Rob Reiner, 1985)
Walter Gibson (John Cusack) is what we would politely call a fucking dweeb. He hopelessly, lucklessly hits on every woman he meets, and it’s understandable why he keeps failing. It’s because he looks like a sixteen year boy who had to be legally emancipated in order to work on a major motion picture while avoiding some child labor laws. Also, there’s the general aura of desperation which is anathema to anyone with a speck of self-esteem. He tries his routine on fellow university student Alison Bradbury (Daphne Zuniga), but only manages to make himself look like a jackass when he learns she has a boyfriend back home in California. Through correspondence with Lance (Anthony Edwards, but with hair!), a high school classmate of his own back in Los Angeles, Gib learns about ‘The Sure Thing’ (Nicolette Sheridan). She doesn’t warrant a name or personality, but she will apparently have sex with anyone, even a dorkass like Walter Gibson. When Christmas break arrives, Gib decides to go back to California in order to meet ‘The Sure Thing’, but, having no money, decides to do a ride share, one that happens to be with Alison.
Thus begins a cross country trip that features a young Tim Robbins, hitchhiking, attempted sexual assault that is really jarring to see in a teen comedy, and a plot that is similar to, but legally distinct from It Happened One Night.
It’s fun. Cusack and Zuniga are good in the lead roles and manage to imbue their stock characters with a little more depth than is strictly necessary. I also had no idea until watching it this time just how young Cusack was while making this film. It is always dizzying to learn that a teenager in an America movie is actually played by a teenager, and when it’s someone who is actually famous, it’s all the odder.
oliveresque 