Recently, in the United States a teen romantic adventure film called “I Love You, Beth Cooper” was released, starring classic all-american beauty Hayden Panettiere, and many actors I am not that familiar with. The film appears to take Coen Bros.-style wacky scenarios and pair them with “clash of the high school social classes”, a love theme that’s a little Austen-Wharton in its origins. First, boy learns his crush isn’t a goddess, she’s human, then they both learn they aren’t that different, though they mingle in different circles. Could this happen at a real high school among graduating seniors? Possibly, once you’re graduated, you don’t necessarily have to try to make it work among the old crowds. But eventually, I think the two would find it hard not to go back to their old lives because it was comfortable and predictable, or because after graduation a person has a whole new life to try to figure out.
But I digress. My point in blogging is, I couldn’t help but recall “Say Anything” from 1989 when I saw the trailer for this new film. “Say Anything” involves a girl valedictorian from an upper middle class home, Diane Court (played by Ione Skye), and a boy from the fringes of her class, Lloyd Dobler (played by John Cusack). Diane appears to have it all, and an even more promising future ahead of her. Lloyd, who meets her after graduation at a class party, seems like just the sort of guy to get in the way of that promising future, especially in the eyes of Diane’s dad, James Court (played by John Mahoney). But not everything is as it seems, whether you’re talking about Diane’s image, or Lloyd’s for that matter.
The story has a happy ending, but it does involve Diane having a rude awakening and having to grow up from the idyllic, almost “modern princess” life she’d known up until her graduation.
I highly recommend this movie, and I’d like to think it wasn’t a story that you’d have to be a 80s kid to understand; and it’s not exactly like John Hughes Brat Pack work from earlier in the decade, though the characters are forced to confront reality, and learn to love it or just accept it.
For more information on both these pictures, see the websites that follow, and be all means, check out the films themselves.
“Say Anything” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098258/
“I Love You, Beth Cooper” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1032815/
TRIVIA: “In Your Eyes” was the love song Lloyd plays on his boombox for Diane, standing outside her window, wearing his trademark raincoat. This image has been imitated in all sorts of movies, tv shows, etc. The song itself is the work of Peter Gabriel, and was allegedly written about Rosanna Arquette.
Ione Skye is the daughter of 1960s Scottish musician Donovan Leitch. His greatest hits include “Sunshine Superman”, “Mellow Yellow”, and “Hurdy Gurdy Man”. One of his songs used in a couple US commercials lately is the love song “Catch the Wind”. Wind energy, catch the wind, wow–clever, marketing guys! It is actually a lovely song, though.
