Customer Reviews

The Sure Thing (Special Edition)

5 star:		(82)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm looking for my own copy of this movie because it is one of my all-time favorites...comfort food for my soul. I can be totally down in the dumps and all I need is to see this movie. It never fails to lift my spirits and make me laugh, no matter how many times I've seen it. I can recite every word of the script by now. I'm tired of renting it, though--now I want to own it! Cusack is brilliant. It was the first time I ever saw him, and I've been a devoted fan ever since. Rob Reiner and everyone in the cast did such a great job--I love all the scenes with Tim Robbins. I was in college when this came out and just to demonstrate its timeless appeal--I can show it to current college-aged people and they love it too! About the only thing that dates the movie besides a few 80s expressions like "excellent" is Anthony Edwards' exhilaration about using a cordless phone by the pool! The humor, heart and romance of this movie continue to be au courant, due to great writing, acting and direction.

My favorite (and oft-quoted line): "Spontaneity has its time and its place!"

This movie is a cult-classic in my (wife's) family, so we've all seen it a dozen times or more. Sure, people will dismiss this movie as a teen, lightweight, romantic comedy. Maybe it is, but it's also hillarious and well acted and packed with lines that you'll find yourself quoting throughout life ("we speak each others unspoken language, - fluently"). Personally, I think this is John Cusak's best acting role ever. Even the smaller parts (such as Tim Robbins' are hillarious).

Additionally, this DVD has great features. For example you can watch in either widescreen or normal mode. You also have the option of turning on the director's (Rob Reiner) commentary so you can listen to him speak over the movie giving his comments on the actors, scenes, etc. There's also a trivia feature that will play the movie while popping up little triva-blurbs on each screen. There are also "featurettes" that discuss the casting, wardrobe, etc.

Some DVD's are simply the VHS movie put on a different media, but this one is packed with great features - plus it's a great movie!

but the real thing lasts forever."

Rob Reiner's classic 1985 teen comedy, "The Sure Thing", features one of John Cusack's first starring roles as Gib Gibson, an early performance by the very young and beautiful Daphne Zuniga as Alison Bradbury, and a bizarre appearance by Tim Robbins in one of his first films as well. Though this is a movie of firsts for its soon-to-be-famous cast, the story is not particulary original nor inventive. In fact, it is downright predictable. Within the first five minutes, you will know exactly how things are going to end up. Yet the beauty of this film is the sweet, funny, romantic, and old-fashioned ride that it takes in order to bring you to that oh-so-predictable ending.

This is a film that has exquisitely stood the test of time. As a matter of fact, if you hold it up to the majority of romantic comedies churned out by Hollywood during the 90's and onwards, one will find that this is a truly charming film. Modern romantic comedy hits such as "She's All That", "Down to You", "10 Things I Hate About You", "Head Over Heels", and "Never Been Kissed" provide excellent juxtaposition to the near genre-perfection of this film.

Alison: What are you doing?
Gib: I'm going to bed.
Alison: Not with me you're not.
Gib: I'm not going to bed with you, I'm going to bed in a bed you happen to be in also.

THE SURE THING was a great film when it came out, and unlike many romantic comedies of the eighties, this one has held up marvelously. The story is incredibly simple and one of the oldest in Hollywood: a road picture. Traditionally, road pictures use traveling as a metaphor for growth and development, whether growth for good or for ill. Luckily in this picture, it is for good. Both John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga's characters grow and develop during the course of the film, breaking through their own superficial beliefs about what they want in love and their perceptions about the other. It is important to realize that this really isn't a teenage sex comedy. A lot of teen films slap on some stuff about true love, but in fact attempt to titillate through the heart of the film. There are titillation scenes in THE SURE THING featuring Nicolette Sheridan, but these are almost parodies of themselves. In fact, the fantasies are more projections of Cusack's illusions about love.

This was the movie that introduced both John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga as leading performers. John has gone on to bigger and better things, while Daphne's career has been a bit of a disappointment to me. I adored her in this movie, and would have liked to see her in more comedies. But the two of them made a magnificent couple in this film, and they did a perfect job of embodying their characters. She is perfect as the overorganized, completely A.R. stuffed skirt, while he is the epitome of the mildly nerdy guy who isn't exactly a ladykiller. In fact, part of the key to Cusack's success is that he is sort of an Everyman: he isn't at all unattractive, but he isn't Tom Cruise. He doesn't make women swoon. But he possesses vulnerability, some charm, and intelligence.

This movie still charms and delights pretty much as it did when it first came out. The music has dated a bit, and some of the hairstyles of the women are a bit painful to behold (though not Daphne's), but in most ways it continues to feel refreshingly current. Look for Tim Robbins and Anthony Edwards in small but key roles.

First, to who said it wasn't as good as Say Anything - the two movies are too different to even be compared. The characters and basis of both movies are too different to be compared. If you want to compare The Sure Thing with any other movie, compare it to Hot Pursuit, as they have more in common than Say Anything and The Sure Thing. (And it's my ultimate belief that, while Hot Pursuit is a good movie, it's just not as good as The Sure Thing.)

Now, to the important matters at hand...

This is my numero uno favorite movie of all time on my top 5 list. This is a movie that you can watch over and over again and it never gets old. The whole movie is hilarious, and it makes me want to go on a cross country road trip.

Tim Robbins' cameo as a goody-goody is hilarious and Anthony Edwards as Cusack's high school friend going to college on the west coast (the guy who sets Cusack up with a "Sure Thing", the entire reason for the road trip) is also a definate plus.

This movie is filled with hilarity, great quotations, and funny one liners. A must see not only for fans of John Cusack, but everyone.

I just put down a few of my thoughts about "Say Anything," another John Cusack classic, and I thought I'd say my piece about this one as well... First of all, as Austin Powers may have said once or twice in his life, my overall reaction to this film could perhaps most concisely be expressed via the simple phrase, "yeah baby." This movie is fun, funny, romantic as all get out, very intelligent, and packed with lines you will never forget. John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga's characters are the ultimate odd couple. I once (seriously) used their two characters in an academic setting, as examples to illustrate the opposing sides of various parts of the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory. He is freewheeling, she is straitlaced. He lives his life by making things up as he goes along, she plans everything out in excruciating detail. It's like watching a photographic negative of "Dharma and Greg." They learn from each other over the course of the movie, and both end up doing some real maturing, as well as reaching more of a happy medium, personality-wise...

For the record, watch for the scene (early in the film) where John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga are up on the roof of a building, looking at the stars. The constellations they are talking about are real -- find a "Peterson's Guide to the Night Sky" and look up Perseus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Draco, and Cepheus. They're really up there, they are very easy to find in the northern hemisphere, and it's one of the coolest group of mythologically interconnected constellations in the heavens.

Anyway, this movie is fantastic. It's so worth it. Please see it, if you want to have fun, and also if anyone has ever, at any point in your life, told you you need to do some growing up. Two thumbs up.

"The Sure Thing" (1985) is perhaps one of the most underrated comedies of an era that was bursting at the seams with romantic comedies.
John Cusack stars as Walter Gibson ("Gib"), a college freshman who is attending school at an unnamed Ivy League college. He is disappointed that his romantic life is somewhat lacking (although, inexplicably, his unattractive, overweight roommate is scoring a lot of action) but sees hope with Alison (Daphne Zuniga), an extremely uptight, prissy girl who adheres to routine like a religion that is in his English class. Gib's high school friend Lance (Anthony Edwards, just before his breakout in "Top Gun") has gone to school out in Southern California and invites Gib to come out over the Christmas break as Lance has a girl that is a "sure thing" and Gib is sure to score. Gib ends up in a cross-country adventure with the prissy Alison, heading out to California to visit her equally uptight and unexciting fiance Jason (Boyd Gaines), and nutty Gary Cooper (Tim Robbins, in an early film role) - - "but not that Gary Cooper that's dead" and Mary Ann (Lisa Ann Persky), two people that are so perky and into showtunes that you wish that Gib would hurl himself out the car window.
As can be expected, Gib and Alison develop feelings for one another during the road trip. What happens when they get to California? Will Gib hook up with The Sure Thing (Nicollette Sheridan)? Will Alison stay engaged to Jason? Will she realize that Gib is perfect for her?
The ending should be absolutely no surprise but the journey is all the fun.
Rob Reiner does a terrific job with this little film, and John Cusack is simply awesome! This role, along with Lloyd Dobler from "Say Anything", really put him on the map. His Gib comes across as a funny, romantic, touching guy - - not a partyer, not a horndog. You can really relate to Gib, and that makes him real. And it makes the movie work. The story is nothing new, but with Cusack at the helm, the movie takes off.
Daphne Zuniga as Alison is perfectly cast. She's a pretty girl, without being standout stunning, and her gradual realization that there is more to Gib than meets the eye doesn't seem forced.
If you're feeling nostalgic for the 80s, or want to watch a great, underrated movie from the 80s, put this one in. You won't be disappointed!

This is one of my favorites of all time. It's got it all: excellent performances by Cusack and Zuniga, brilliant cameos from Anthony Edwards (when he had hair!) and an up-and-coming Tim Robbins, countless memorable scenes and quotable lines... I promise, if you even say "Get out of my LIFE!" people will know exactly what movie you're referring to. And the scene with Alison and her boyfriend playing gin rummy is just classic. This is a crucial film to see if you are even remotely a fan of Cusack or of 80s teen flicks. And it beats every other road trip movie I've seen by a mile (particularly various 90s mistakes like Overnight Delivery and Forces of Nature -boo hiss).
"Hi, I'm Gary Cooper, but not the Gary Cooper that's dead."

It is a great deal of fun to see such a good romantic comedy. I remember the first time I saw this I thought it was the best road movie I had seen. It still is and the only other road movie I enjoy is "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" and it isn't romantic, just funny. Couples especially will like this movie but even singles can't help laughing unless they have never dated. Although the music is from the 80s the songs were hits then and they still sound good. John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga work well together and it shows in their scenes. You will enjoy if you liked romantic comedies like "Say Anything", "Benny and Joon", or "Ever After".

This is one of the best films I've ever seen. No matter how many times I watch it, it ALWAYS makes me laugh.

Once Gib (Cusack) and Alison (Zuniga) hit the road - he for a 'sure thing' and she to visit her boyfriend, Jason - suffering show tunes, losing their money, falling in love, the movie just captivates.

Comedy aside, the film is also warm and often touching as we watch the two leads slowly fall in love and their personalities rub off on each other until in the end - Gib doesn't want to dress up Hawaiian style at the party because it's 'stupid' and Alison shotgunning beer and belching much to the disgust of her uptight boyfriend.

Laughs all round and the story Gib writes and is read out in his English class at the very end is wonderful.

Once it's back on video - buy it! Fast!