comment #1

jjgittes says ...

There's a great movie somewhere in "City Hall" but it doesn't even quite get to the good movie category for me. A real missed opportunity on that one.

"Identity" is not "not half bad", it's quite bad.

comment #2

renorambler says ...

Cusack is an intensly likable actor but he is in that phase of his career that he needs to shift into more diverse roles in front of and behind the camera. He's well aware of this as you can see from some of his later work. Since he's not a typical leading man type of guy I'm glad he is exploring projects like Max (which I found to be quite good).

comment #3

Rob says ...

Replace Con Air with Better Off Dead and you're onto something.

comment #4

NDH says ...

I always thought "The Journey of Natty Gann" was a terrific and grossly underrated picture, and Cusack does a great job in one of his very early roles. And of course there's "Stand By Me," but I guess that doesn't count as the man is only in it for a few seconds. Either way, this guy has had a solid career.

comment #5

PerfectTommy says ...

I've always loved Douglas' "The War Wagon"; probably because it is the first film I remember seeing in a theater. But I've gone back to it many times and still enjoy it. "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" is a clasic of its time and "The Strange Loves of Martha Ivers" and "In Harms Way" are also films of distinction.
And yet, I think in Cusacks short career he has made almost as many great films as Douglas. I'd put "Being John" and "Anything" at the top of the list, though "Gross Point" is really a kick.

comment #6

MDOC says ...

I'm a huge fan Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer.

comment #7

alynch says ...

I'd include "There Was A Crooked Man..." among Douglas's good films, but other than that, I agree with you.

comment #8

erniesouchak says ...

Come one, you can't put "Broadcast News" on the list -- he has a split-second walk-on and his back is to the camera! Geez.

I also think that more than a few of those movies have been good in spite of Cusack's presence, not because of it. "The Grifters" is certainly a case in point.

comment #9

vanhammersly says ...

Con Air? Really? Love Cusack, but "Con Air" is a huge, ridiculous, steaming pile of dog turd. Cusack's best films (in order) are: Say Anything, High Fidelity, The Sure Thing, Grosse Pointe Blank, The Grifters, Eight Men Out, Being John Malkovich, Bullets Over Broadway, The Thin Red Line.

comment #10

alynch says ...

Con Air is one of the best examples of goofy fun in recent years.

comment #11

Mark B says ...

I know he only had a small role in this one but I would add SIXTEEN CANDLES to the "good" (but not great) list as well. Any "great" list has to be limited to films of the caliber of SAY ANYTHING. He should've been Oscar nominated for that one.

comment #12

siamesecat says ...

No list of Douglas greats would be complete without HOLOCAUST 2000. Well, *I* liked it anyway.

comment #13

Filipe says ...

So Wells, went to IMDb, saw the number 89 and forget to cut the TV shows episodes Douglas did. Actually if one cuts all the TV work Douglas did, one would be down to 74 films, which would made pretty close to the Wells Cusack count.

comment #14

The Movie Man says ...

I thought The Ice Harvest was underrated and contained Cusack's best work in some time, for what that's worth. Interesting post.

comment #15

J. Huff says ...

Sadly, Cusack doesn't appreciate his ability to make a joy some lighter-than-air romances (like Serendipity) and some amazingly funny comedies (his work with Savage Steve Holland). I've always loved his work and give him more credit than he gives himself. This article is fascinating, especially considering that Cusack radiates a bit of that Edward Norton "I really am smarter than you" vibe. (Love Norton's work too, but that's another story.) Cusack's intellect may make it impossible to admit that some of his work that paid the bills really is better because of him...but then again, perhaps it would be best not to stroke the potential for a raging ego.

comment #16

Balthazar says ...

I'm a big John Cusack fan. Say Anything will always be his signature film for me.

That said, I agree with most of the thoughts above.

I would never call Con-Air a great film, but it's probably in my Top 3 list of guilty pleasures. Just a fun film and that's OK sometimes, right?

Speaking of fun, I don't think my wife and I had a better experience in the theatre this summer than 1408, although I left with a severely bruised forearm. We were quite pleased with how totally off-guard the thrills and chills caught us.

comment #17

George Prager says ...

Strike HIGH FIDELITY. Add BETTER OFF DEAD.

Especially the horror movie version:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eipq4zAVRGI

comment #18

Larry says ...

Forget batting average. Slugging percentage is what counts, and Kirk Douglas hit home runs, while most of Cusack's good films are singles or doubles.

And Eight Men Out, Say Anything, The Grifters, Grosse Pointe Blank, Con Air, The Thin Red Line and 1408 range from passable to bad. They're all overrated except Con Air--I wasn't aware anyone thought much of it.

comment #19

The Movie Man says ...

Let's go ahead and just say it: Cameron Crowe ages poorly. Say Anything, something I used to love, IS overrated. I'm not sure if Singles was liked to begin with, but if it was, it would also qualify as overrated, ditto Jerry Maguire. Vanilla Sky and Elizabthetown don't qualify because no one liked them to begin with.

I give the man Almost Famous, and he's talented, but he needs to drop the pie in the sky, awe of your true love connection crap and acknowledge just a hint of the real world if he wishes to get relevant again.

comment #20

Balthazar says ...

Oh, I have to respectfully disagree on Crowe. His best films do NOT age poorly. ... Say Anything remains a terrific film. Great script and terrific acting (I also find myself wishing Mahoney could get a retroactive Supporting Actor nomination for his great work in that film). Jerry Maguire suffered a bit from pieces of the film being sucked into the pop culture and therefore being overexposed. But it's a great film, too, as is Almost Famous. ... Singles was never a great film, IMO, so I can't say it ages poorly. It is what it is.

comment #21

The Winchester says ...

After reading these posts, I truly feel Cusack should reteam with both Savage Steve Holland and Cameron Crowe.

Not on the same movie, obviously.

(Although that would be a very interesting movie).

I also have to second the opinion of The Ice Harvest as being underrated. But Platt steals that movie from everybody.

And Identity felt like "The 3" script from Adaptation come to life.

comment #22

MiraJeffAICN says ...

Ice Harvest was tedious and 14-8 was half of a good movie.

comment #23

Lee says ...

No one else thinks RUNAWAY JURY ranks with Cusack's good-not-great entertainments? Film's a bit mechanical, but has his likable, intelligent, earnest qualities displayed well.

comment #24

The Movie Man says ...

Balthazar: I may disagree about the movie, but I'm definitely with you on Mahoney in Say Anything, wonderful performance.

comment #25

jeffmcm says ...

Runaway Jury has a good cast, but it's completely disposable, like all of Gary Fleder's hacktastic films.

comment #26

lipranzer says ...

Sad to say, but EIGHT MEN OUT doesn't hold up for me either, and I say that as a die-hard John Sayles fan. Although Cusack was pretty good in it.

Of course, I have to disagree with Larry and The Movie Man over Say Anything; I think it's one of his best.

Also, Ernie, do you mean to say he's bad in THE GRIFTERS, or that he's overshadowed by the other two leads? Cause if it's the latter, you may have a point (certainly, it's one of Bening's best performances), but if it's the former, I disagree. As Peter Rainer pointed out, Cusack's is the only performance in the movie that isn't a take-off on a classic noir character, and it's his first "adult" leading role, which he handled quite nicely, I thought.

As for underrated movies, he doesn't have a big part in MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART, but that's an interesting (albeit not entirely successful). As for guilty pleasure movies, for me, you can forget CON AIR (junk, and I HATED his rationale for doing it), cause it's TAPEHEADS all the way. It's a silly movie, but it's fun silly, and he and Tim Robbins are clearly having a blast.