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Year:    1997
Studio:  Hollywood Pictures/Caravan Pictures
Feature: 3/5
DVD:     0/5

Martin Blank (John Cusack) is a professional hit man with a problem. Deep down he has a conscience and after a few years of being a very good assassin he is slowly heading towards a breakdown. Marcella (Joan Cusack), his secretary, urges him to go to his 10th anniversary high school reunion at Grosse Point High.

That and he has an assignment in Detroit. While he's there he can go the reunion and wind down and look up his old high school sweetheart Debi (Minnie Driver), who he abandoned before the big prom to join the Army which led to covert ops work which led to his current freelance lifestyle.

But the hit job he's taking comes at the expense of his rival and old mentor Grocer (Dan Aykroyd). Grocer is trying to set up an assassins' association and wanted Martin there but was spurned. And now Martin is taking one of his jobs. So it's war.

Grocer sets sells out Martin to two government hit men. And Grocer is also going to Detroit to make sure Martin dies. To top it off a basque separatist hit man is after Martin for an unrelated assignment.

Martin goes to Detroit, he sees how things have changed, he hooks back up with Debi, and he tries to decide if he's going to retire while people are trying to kill him.
The movie has a wry sense of comedy. Lots of 80's songs, especially during the high school reunion. The last big gunfight is pretty cool as Martin explains his job and philosophy and his decision to quit to Debi and her father while a group of hit men try to kill Martin and Debi's father.

I'm not of the opinion that Grosse Point Blank is a brilliant film. But it is an entertaining film that is a combination of action, comedy, and romance. Both John Cusack and Minnie Driver are good in their roles. Dan Ackroyd is brilliantly psychopathic with a veneer of civility. There are no extras on the DVD.

Copyright (c) 2004 Kevin C. Wong
Page Created: October 9, 2004 Page Last Updated: October 9, 2004