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GROSSE POINTE BLANK

The Blank of the title is Martin Blank (John Cusack), a professional contract killer who, at the urging of his Girl Friday (Joan Cusack) and his reluctant shrink (Alan Arkin), decides to attend his high school reunion in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Although Martin tells himself that he's only going because his destination is also the site of his next assignment, he's actually looking to get back together with his teen sweetheart Debi (Minnie Driver), and perhaps regain his soul in the process.

From Le Samourai to Assassins, the "Last Hit" movie has become somewhat of a cliché these days, and even as a black comedy this sounds like a likely failure on paper. Yet Cusack (who exec. produced) and director George Armitage (who made his directorial debut with the low budget '70s action picture Hit Man) manage to keep things moving from one pleasant surprise to another, whether through the use of smart, crackling dialogue or the occasional roaring action piece. Cusack manages to expertly convey his character's struggle with newfound morality while being consistently funny throughout. I was so amused and engaged by this film that I'll have to forgive the fact that it's plot hangs upon a rather obvious plot hole: killer elite Blank puts off his assassination homework until the last minute (wouldn't he at least check into his mark's identity, just in case he ran into him at the toll plaza on the way into town?).

From Cusack's fast-paced banter with old pal Jeremy Piven to the sizzling continuing confrontation with Driver (he skipped town ten years ago, standing her up for the prom), this is one of those films where everyone is just plain fun to visit with (if only my own upcoming reunion is as enjoyable). Even the villains are presented in an airy, personable manner, particularly Blank's rival hit man Grocer (Dan Akroyd, in a rare and welcome return to comic form), who wants Blank to join his assassins' guild. Only a chilling nemesis sent to eliminate Blank is played as truly evil - action fans will be delighted by an appearance by the diminutive martial arts champion Benny "the Jet" Urquidez, who sparred with Jackie Chan in the Hong Kong kung fu classics Wheels on Meals and Dragons Forever.

In all, Grosse Pointe Blank is a very welcome surprise, solid entertainment from start to finish and one of the few black comedies of the post-Q.T. era to make a mark for itself. ½

THE SAINT

It's the near future. The Russian Federation, spurred on by a power-mad Mafia leader, is on the verge of another revolution. Val Kilmer is an elusive hi-tech master cat burglar without a name trying to reach his 'retirement fund' figure of 50 million dollars by profiting from the turmoil. And Elisabeth Shue is a brilliant physicist who has succeeded in developing the formula for cold fusion. Welcome to the wacky world of The Saint.

No use crying "sacrilege" at this literary adaptation. Leslie Charteris' famous pulp fiction character Simon Templar, who first appeared in the 1928 story Meet the Tiger, has always proved one of the most malleable heroes in fiction. While sticking close to a portrayal of The Saint as "the Robin Hood of Modern Crime" who solved crimes and rescued damsels while trotting on both sides of the law, his stories varied widely in tone and setting over the course of dozens of novels. The Saint has also appeared in a series of films going back to 1938's The Saint in New York starring Louis Hayward, but the series is mostly associated with the sly portrayal turned in by George Sanders. The Saint also had several series on both radio (most memorably played by Vincent Price) and television (Roger Moore), and with each incarnation the character gained a slightly different interpretation.

Kilmer's version is an all-out hoot, both to be hooted with for his deft one-liners and undeniable charm, and to be hooted at for his goofy collection of accents and disguises. There's a fine tradition in film and theater for characters who are obviously disguised to the audience yet completely fools his co-stars, but The Saint takes this presumption to new limits. While Philip Noyce does a decent job of presenting this world of sophisticated daring-do, he's let down by a script (credited to Jonathan Hensleigh and Wesley Strick, although I'd wager on the presence of diverse hands) that tries to alternately convince us that it's either all a frothy farce or a serious thriller. While about as convincing as a scientist as Keanu Reeves was in Chain Reaction, it's Shue who provides some kind of center to the film. While highly unlikely, her romance with Templar is nonetheless sweet and gives one something to hang on to through the rest of this silly adventure.

And silly it is, what with Kilmer constantly pulling Russian military uniforms, amazing gadgets, and sports cars that play his theme song out of his bag of tricks. One wonders why Kilmer ever left Batman behind.

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