Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

Martin Blank is a professional assassin. He is sent on a mission to a small Detroit suburb, Grosse Pointe, and, by coincidence, his ten-year high school reunion party is taking place there at the same time.

Director:

George Armitage

Writers:

Tom Jankiewicz (story), Tom Jankiewicz (screenplay)

Stars:

John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Dan Aykroyd

2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Cusack	...	Martin Q. Blank
Minnie Driver	...	Debi Newberry
Alan Arkin	...	Dr. Oatman
Dan Aykroyd	...	Grocer
Joan Cusack	...	Marcella
Hank Azaria	...	Steven Lardner
K. Todd Freeman	...	Kenneth McCullers
Jeremy Piven	...	Paul Spericki
Mitchell Ryan	...	Mr. Bart Newberry
Michael Cudlitz	...	Bob Destepello
Benny Urquidez	...	Felix La PuBelle
Duffy Taylor	...	Ultimart Carl
Audrey Kissel	...	Arlene
Carlos Jacott	...	Ken
Brian Powell	...	Husky Man

Storyline

Martin Blank is a freelance hitman who starts to develop a conscience, which causes him to muff a couple of routine assignments. On the advice of his secretary and his psychiatrist, he attends his 10th year High School reunion in Grosse Pointe, Michigan (a Detroit suburb where he's also contracted to kill someone). Hot on his tail are a couple of over-enthusiastic federal agents, another assassin who wants to kill him, and Grocer, an assassin who wants him to join an "Assassin's Union."

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Plot Keywords:

long range rifle | range | time bomb | assassin | reunion | 

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Taglines:

Even A Hit Man Deserves A Second Shot!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, language and some drug content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 April 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Plaćenik

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,870,397, 13 April 1997, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$28,014,536, 10 August 1997

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures, Caravan Pictures, New Crime Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Debi tells Martin in her bedroom that he's a "...psycho," she can be seen moving her hand as though talking. In an interview, John Cusack said that this was an ad-lib, as Minnie Driver had seen John and Joan Cusack doing something similar with each other on the set, off-camera.

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Goofs

When Martin is in the car with Mr. Newberry, palm trees are clearly visible in the background. There are no palm trees in Detroit.

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Quotes

Kevin McCullers: Man, why don't we just do his job, so we can do our job and get the fuck out of here?
Steve: What do you mean, "do his job?" What am I, a cold-blooded killer? I'm not a cold-blooded killer.
Kevin McCullers: Now, wait a minute...
Steve: No, you wait a minute. You want to kill the good guy but not be the bad guy. Doesn't work like that. You have to wait until the bad guy kills the good guy, then when you kill the bad guy, you're the good guy.
Kevin McCullers: So - just to clarify - if we do his job we're the bad guys, and if we do our job ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Jersey Girl (2004)

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Soundtracks

We Care a Lot
Written by Chuck Mosley, Roddy Bottum, Billy Gould (as William Gould),
Mike Bordin and Jim Martin
Performed by Faith No More
Courtesy of Slash/London Records, Ltd.
By Arrangement with PolyGram Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

Consistently surprising and entertaining

One of the complaints about movies these days, and justifiably so, is that they're predictable. This movie is not predictable, and I never thought I'd be able to say that about a movie with four credited writers. Every time you think you can guess where it's going, it throws a curve. It was also very funny, which is nice because good comedies are becoming a rare species. John Cusack continues to show what a great actor he is as hitman Martin Blank. He doesn't wink at the audience, saying, Oh look, I'm a hitman, but plays him as normal, with the right amount of misgivings and tenacity. Minnie Driver is quite good as the woman he's still obsessed with (although she was good in GOOD WILL HUNTING, she should have been nominated for this performance), and Alan Arkin and Jeremy Piven were good, as ever, in support. The surprise, however, is Dan Aykroyd. Just when I was prepared to write him off forever, he comes through with a great performance here. The soundtrack is terrific too, avoiding the cliched 80's songs to provide a fresh, and compatible, score.