Podcast 51: Say Anything (1989)

The 3 Guys Podcast

Recorded on 2/26/2022

I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen.  In this episode we review the Cameron Crowe directed movie, Say Anything (released 1989) starring John Cusack, Ione Skye and John Mahoney.  WARNING: There will be SPOILERS!

The 3 Guys Rating

2.2/5

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Notes From The Show

  • Quick Synopsis

  • Released:  April 14, 1989

    Directed By:   Cameron Crowe

    Screenplay By:   Cameron Crowe

    Stars:     John Cusack, Ione Skye and John Mahoney

    Plot:   A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.

    How did this movie do
    Budget: $16 Million
    Box office: $22 Million

  • Casting

    • Jennifer Connelly and Ione Skye vied for the role of Diane Court, but Connelly lost out to Skye.

    • Robert Downey Jr. was offered the role of Lloyd Dobler, but turned it down. Christian Slater and Kirk Cameron were also considered for the role.

    • According to his sister, the late Brandon Lee auditioned for the role of Lloyd.

    • Dick Van Dyke and Richard Dreyfuss were considered for the role of Jim Court.
  • Trivia

    • Movie Message: Honesty is at the core of “Say Anything,” but dishonesty is there, too, and the movie is the story of how the young woman is able to weather a terrible storm and be stronger and better afterward.– Roger & Ebert

    • Producer James L. Brooks said the movie was inspired when Brooks saw a man walking with his daughter, and wondered what would happen if the father committed a crime.

    • John Cusack’s kick boxing scenes in the ring, including the one where his nose is broken, are done with Don Wilson who is a real-life kick boxing champion.

    • During the iconic scene of Lloyd holding the boombox over his head, the actual song being played during the filming was reportedly “Turn the Other Way” by Fishbone. “In Your Eyes” was added in post-production.

    • “I gave her my heart, and she gave me a pen.” was voted #73 of “The 100 Greatest Movie Lines” by Premiere in 2007.

    • Directorial debut of Cameron Crowe.

    • The dojo featured in this movie was also used in The Karate Kid (1984).

    • Cameron Crowe credits the enthusiastic review by Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel as at least partially saving the movie at the box office. Ebert later put the movie in his Great Movies book.

    • When Lloyd (John Cusack) drives along 45th street in Seattle, he passes the Guild 45th Theatre, which is showing Tapeheads (1988), in which Cusack also appeared.

    • Both actors in the famous boom box scene were filmed separately. Cusack held the boom box in the middle of a park in North Hollywood across from a 7-Eleven.

    • Cameron Crowe said in an interview, “Few people know this, but Stone Gossard is actually in Say Anything (1989) He plays a cab driver, and Ione Skye looks at him and kind of flirts with him a little bit as they’re stuck in traffic on her way to graduation.”

    • Cameron Crowe commissioned The Smithereens to write the movie’s theme song. They came up with “A Girl Like You.” Crowe thought the lyrics were too leading (they outline the entire plot), so he rejected it in favor of Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes”. “A Girl Like You” was included in their next album, “11”, and in the movie Backdraft (1991).

    • Ione Skye once dated Anthony Kiedis, lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose song “Taste the Pain” opens the movie.

    • An unusual number of the actors in this movie are themselves the children of well-known entertainment industry professionals. Ione Skye (Diane Court) is the daughter of the Scottish pop singer Donovan; Pamela Adlon (Rebecca) is the daughter of TV writer Don Segall; Jason Gould (Mike Cameron) is the son of singer Barbra Streisand and actor Elliott Gould; Chynna Phillips (Mimi) is the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of the 1960s group The Mamas and the Papas; Amy Brooks (D.C. ) is a daughter of director, writer, and Say Anything producer James L. Brooks.

    • On the way to her high school graduation, Diane Court and her father drive past the “Waiting For the Interurban” sculpture, which stands on North 34th Street in Seattle’s Fremont district. Created in 1979 by artist Richard Beyer, the “Interurban” sculpture features six cast-aluminum people waiting at a transit stop for the Interurban railway, a Seattle streetcar service that ceased operations in 1940. As Diane and her father drive past, the statues are all wearing graduation caps, in honor of Graduation Day. On special days, the residents of Fremont dress up the “Interurban” statues in appropriate costumes, i.e. at Christmas, the aluminum people are dressed in Santa Claus hats, white beards, and red coats.

    • The model of boombox Lloyd Dobler holds over his head is the Toshiba RT-SX1.

    • Cameron Crowe originally scripted the iconic boom box song to as “To Be A Lover” by Billy Idol.

    • Lloyd and Diane’s school appears to be based on The Lakeside School, a very prestigious private school in Seattle. In the movie, the school is called Lakewood, and its mascot is a rooster, not a lion. In Lloyd’s first phone conversation with Diane, John Cusack mentions that at his annual party, Lloyd “dresses up as the Lakeside rooster.”

    • Lloyd makes several references in the movie to “Bell Square” mall, short for Bellevue Square (located in Bellevue, Washington). When Lloyd is driving in the rain and sees the mall, he is actually driving by Westlake Center (located in downtown Seattle).

    • Producer James L. Brooks also produced The Simpsons. A Simpsons cartoon preceded the feature in theaters and on early VHS releases. Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson, had an uncredited cameo during the party sequence that ended up being cut out.

    • American rock band Say Anything is named in reference to this film, with frontman Max Bemis stating it was a favorite of his growing up.

    • Stone Gossard, the cabby at the beginning of the film that Dianne flirts with, appeared in another Cameron Crowe movie, Singles, as a member of a band called Citizen Dick.

    • The character of Lloyd Dobler was based on a neighbor director Cameron Crowe knew named Lowell, who was into kickboxing (and even called it the sport of the future, which is what Lloyd tells Diane’s dad before their first date).

    • Professional martial artist Don the Dragon Wilson, whom Lloyd had mentioned earlier, makes a brief appearance in the film. Seven years later professional martial artist Benny Urquidez would appear in Gross Pointe Blank which also starred John Cusack.

    • This was sort of the beginning of a trend where Seattle was used as the backdrop for many films made in the late 80’s and early 90’s, which of course coincided with the burgeoning Seattle Rock Music scene during that time period. Singles, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, Sleepless In Seattle were all popular movies filmed in and around the Seattle area.

    • The second year in a row that Ione Skye appeared in a teen high school movie. In 1988 she appeared in “A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon” starring River Phoenix.

    • John Cusack has appeared in a few other movies with his sister Joan. Notably Sixteen Candles and Gross Pointe Blank. Though in Sixteen Candles they didn’t appear in any scenes together.

    • There are many Chicago actors in this movie. John Mahoney is a veteran of Chicago’s famous Steppenwolf Theater company, having appeared in many shows there since it’s founding in 79, and Lili Taylor, Jeremy Piven, John and Joan Cusack are all Chicago natives. (Piven and the Cusacks having all attended the famous Piven workshop together; run by Jeremy’s parents). That means almost all the stars of this movie are from Chicago! (Even though it was filmed in LA and takes place in Seattle).

    • The second year in a row that John Cusack and John Mahoney appeared in a film together. In 1988 they were both in the movie Eight Men Out.

    • Director Cameo: Cameron Crowe: and wife Nancy Wilson as pedestrians in front of the mall as Lloyd passes by while recalling the site of their first “date”.

    • Ione Skye has admitted on the film’s audio commentary that there was definitely off-screen chemistry between her and John Cusack during filming, and that had they not been involved with other people at that time, they probably would have gone home together the day they shot the scene where Lloyd teaches Diane to drive a stick shift.

    • Director Cameron Crowe couldn’t find the love song he wanted until he heard Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes”. Gabriel asked to see part of the movie, and Crowe had the production company send him an unfinished cut. Gabriel gave permission to use the song, saying he liked the film, but not the lead character overdosing at the end. Crowe realized that Gabriel had actually been sent a copy of Wired (1989).

    • Cameron Crowe Movies: Elizabethtown (2005), Vanilla Sky (2001), Singles (1992), Say Anything (1989), Jerry Maguire (1996), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Almost Famous (2000)

Released:  April 14, 1989

Directed By:   Cameron Crowe

Screenplay By:   Cameron Crowe

Stars:     John Cusack, Ione Skye and John Mahoney

Plot:   A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.

How did this movie do
Budget: $16 Million
Box office: $22 Million

  • Jennifer Connelly and Ione Skye vied for the role of Diane Court, but Connelly lost out to Skye.

  • Robert Downey Jr. was offered the role of Lloyd Dobler, but turned it down. Christian Slater and Kirk Cameron were also considered for the role.

  • According to his sister, the late Brandon Lee auditioned for the role of Lloyd.

  • Dick Van Dyke and Richard Dreyfuss were considered for the role of Jim Court.
  • Movie Message: Honesty is at the core of “Say Anything,” but dishonesty is there, too, and the movie is the story of how the young woman is able to weather a terrible storm and be stronger and better afterward.– Roger & Ebert

  • Producer James L. Brooks said the movie was inspired when Brooks saw a man walking with his daughter, and wondered what would happen if the father committed a crime.

  • John Cusack’s kick boxing scenes in the ring, including the one where his nose is broken, are done with Don Wilson who is a real-life kick boxing champion.

  • During the iconic scene of Lloyd holding the boombox over his head, the actual song being played during the filming was reportedly “Turn the Other Way” by Fishbone. “In Your Eyes” was added in post-production.

  • “I gave her my heart, and she gave me a pen.” was voted #73 of “The 100 Greatest Movie Lines” by Premiere in 2007.

  • Directorial debut of Cameron Crowe.

  • The dojo featured in this movie was also used in The Karate Kid (1984).

  • Cameron Crowe credits the enthusiastic review by Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel as at least partially saving the movie at the box office. Ebert later put the movie in his Great Movies book.

  • When Lloyd (John Cusack) drives along 45th street in Seattle, he passes the Guild 45th Theatre, which is showing Tapeheads (1988), in which Cusack also appeared.

  • Both actors in the famous boom box scene were filmed separately. Cusack held the boom box in the middle of a park in North Hollywood across from a 7-Eleven.

  • Cameron Crowe said in an interview, “Few people know this, but Stone Gossard is actually in Say Anything (1989) He plays a cab driver, and Ione Skye looks at him and kind of flirts with him a little bit as they’re stuck in traffic on her way to graduation.”

  • Cameron Crowe commissioned The Smithereens to write the movie’s theme song. They came up with “A Girl Like You.” Crowe thought the lyrics were too leading (they outline the entire plot), so he rejected it in favor of Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes”. “A Girl Like You” was included in their next album, “11”, and in the movie Backdraft (1991).

  • Ione Skye once dated Anthony Kiedis, lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose song “Taste the Pain” opens the movie.

  • An unusual number of the actors in this movie are themselves the children of well-known entertainment industry professionals. Ione Skye (Diane Court) is the daughter of the Scottish pop singer Donovan; Pamela Adlon (Rebecca) is the daughter of TV writer Don Segall; Jason Gould (Mike Cameron) is the son of singer Barbra Streisand and actor Elliott Gould; Chynna Phillips (Mimi) is the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of the 1960s group The Mamas and the Papas; Amy Brooks (D.C. ) is a daughter of director, writer, and Say Anything producer James L. Brooks.

  • On the way to her high school graduation, Diane Court and her father drive past the “Waiting For the Interurban” sculpture, which stands on North 34th Street in Seattle’s Fremont district. Created in 1979 by artist Richard Beyer, the “Interurban” sculpture features six cast-aluminum people waiting at a transit stop for the Interurban railway, a Seattle streetcar service that ceased operations in 1940. As Diane and her father drive past, the statues are all wearing graduation caps, in honor of Graduation Day. On special days, the residents of Fremont dress up the “Interurban” statues in appropriate costumes, i.e. at Christmas, the aluminum people are dressed in Santa Claus hats, white beards, and red coats.

  • The model of boombox Lloyd Dobler holds over his head is the Toshiba RT-SX1.

  • Cameron Crowe originally scripted the iconic boom box song to as “To Be A Lover” by Billy Idol.

  • Lloyd and Diane’s school appears to be based on The Lakeside School, a very prestigious private school in Seattle. In the movie, the school is called Lakewood, and its mascot is a rooster, not a lion. In Lloyd’s first phone conversation with Diane, John Cusack mentions that at his annual party, Lloyd “dresses up as the Lakeside rooster.”

  • Lloyd makes several references in the movie to “Bell Square” mall, short for Bellevue Square (located in Bellevue, Washington). When Lloyd is driving in the rain and sees the mall, he is actually driving by Westlake Center (located in downtown Seattle).

  • Producer James L. Brooks also produced The Simpsons. A Simpsons cartoon preceded the feature in theaters and on early VHS releases. Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson, had an uncredited cameo during the party sequence that ended up being cut out.

  • American rock band Say Anything is named in reference to this film, with frontman Max Bemis stating it was a favorite of his growing up.

  • Stone Gossard, the cabby at the beginning of the film that Dianne flirts with, appeared in another Cameron Crowe movie, Singles, as a member of a band called Citizen Dick.

  • The character of Lloyd Dobler was based on a neighbor director Cameron Crowe knew named Lowell, who was into kickboxing (and even called it the sport of the future, which is what Lloyd tells Diane’s dad before their first date).

  • Professional martial artist Don the Dragon Wilson, whom Lloyd had mentioned earlier, makes a brief appearance in the film. Seven years later professional martial artist Benny Urquidez would appear in Gross Pointe Blank which also starred John Cusack.

  • This was sort of the beginning of a trend where Seattle was used as the backdrop for many films made in the late 80’s and early 90’s, which of course coincided with the burgeoning Seattle Rock Music scene during that time period. Singles, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, Sleepless In Seattle were all popular movies filmed in and around the Seattle area.

  • The second year in a row that Ione Skye appeared in a teen high school movie. In 1988 she appeared in “A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon” starring River Phoenix.

  • John Cusack has appeared in a few other movies with his sister Joan. Notably Sixteen Candles and Gross Pointe Blank. Though in Sixteen Candles they didn’t appear in any scenes together.

  • There are many Chicago actors in this movie. John Mahoney is a veteran of Chicago’s famous Steppenwolf Theater company, having appeared in many shows there since it’s founding in 79, and Lili Taylor, Jeremy Piven, John and Joan Cusack are all Chicago natives. (Piven and the Cusacks having all attended the famous Piven workshop together; run by Jeremy’s parents). That means almost all the stars of this movie are from Chicago! (Even though it was filmed in LA and takes place in Seattle).

  • The second year in a row that John Cusack and John Mahoney appeared in a film together. In 1988 they were both in the movie Eight Men Out.

  • Director Cameo: Cameron Crowe: and wife Nancy Wilson as pedestrians in front of the mall as Lloyd passes by while recalling the site of their first “date”.

  • Ione Skye has admitted on the film’s audio commentary that there was definitely off-screen chemistry between her and John Cusack during filming, and that had they not been involved with other people at that time, they probably would have gone home together the day they shot the scene where Lloyd teaches Diane to drive a stick shift.

  • Director Cameron Crowe couldn’t find the love song he wanted until he heard Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes”. Gabriel asked to see part of the movie, and Crowe had the production company send him an unfinished cut. Gabriel gave permission to use the song, saying he liked the film, but not the lead character overdosing at the end. Crowe realized that Gabriel had actually been sent a copy of Wired (1989).

  • Cameron Crowe Movies: Elizabethtown (2005), Vanilla Sky (2001), Singles (1992), Say Anything (1989), Jerry Maguire (1996), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Almost Famous (2000)

About The Movie From IMDB

Say Anything Comedy, Drama, Romance | April 14, 1989 (United States) 7.3
Director: Cameron CroweWriter: Cameron CroweStars: John Cusack, Ione Skye, John MahoneySummary: High school senior Lloyd Dobler wants nothing more than to go out with beautiful and intelligent Diane Court. Lloyd attempts to win her heart over the objections of her over-protective father before Diane leaves for a scholarship in England. —Scott Renshaw <as.idc@forsythe.stanford.edu>

Photos


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Videos


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Cast

...
Lloyd Dobler
...
Diane Court
...
James Court
...
Corey Flood
...
D.C.
...
Rebecca
...
Mike Cameron
...
Joe
...
Jason Dobler
...
Principal
...
Parent
...
Mrs. Flood
...
Ruth
...
Mark
...
Denny
...
Howard
...
Luke
...
Mrs. Evans

See full cast >>

Countries: United StatesLanguages: English
Say Anything Comedy, Drama, Romance | April 14, 1989 (United States) Summary: A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.
Countries: United StatesLanguages: English

Quotes

Lloyd Dobler: I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that.


Diane Court: Nobody thinks it will work, do they?

Lloyd Dobler: No. You just described every great success story.


Lloyd Dobler: She broke up with me. What do I do? Can she come back? How can I get her back? I can't - I can't get her to talk to me. It's all so fucked up. I feel like crying. She gave me a pen. I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen.


D.C.: Lloyd, why do you have to be like this?

Lloyd Dobler: 'Cause I'm a guy. I have pride.

Corey Flood: You're not a guy.

Lloyd Dobler: I am.

Corey Flood: No. The world is full of guys. Be a man. Don't be a guy.


Lloyd Dobler: I got a question. If you guys know so much about women, how come you're here at like the Gas 'n' Sip on a Saturday night completely alone drinking beers with no women anywhere?

Joe: By choice, man.


Lloyd Dobler: What I really want to do with my life - what I want to do for a living - is I want to be with your daughter. I'm good at it.


Lloyd Dobler: [leaving the last of a series of messages on Diane's answering machine] "Maybe I didn't really know you. Maybe you were just a mirage. Maybe the world is full of food and sex and spectacle and we're all just hurling towards an apocalypse, in which case it's not your fault. I'm been thinking about all these things and... you're probably standing there monitoring. And one more thing - about the letter. Nuke it. Flame it. Destroy it. - It hurts me to know it's out there. Later."


Diane Court: Are you shaking?

Lloyd Dobler: No.

Diane Court: You're shaking.

Lloyd Dobler: I don't think so.

Diane Court: You're cold.

Lloyd Dobler: I don't think I am.

Diane Court: Then why are you shaking?

Lloyd Dobler: I don't know. I think I'm happy.


Jim Court: You're not a permanent part of her life. You're a distraction.

Lloyd Dobler: I'm the distraction that's going with her to England, sir.


Diane Court: I love you.

Lloyd Dobler: What?

Diane Court: I love you. How many more times do I have to say it?

Lloyd Dobler: One more would be nice.

Diane Court: I love you... please. I love you.


Diane Court: I just can't have any social life right now.

Lloyd Dobler: Don't worry about it. We're just having coffee. We'll be anti-social.

Diane Court: Be friends?

Lloyd Dobler: Yeah. With potential.


D.C.: Why don't you just call her again?

Lloyd Dobler: I draw the line at 7 unreturned phone calls.


Lloyd Dobler: Just knowing that a version like that exists, knowing that just for a minute she felt that and wrote "I can't help loving you". That has be a good thing.


Diane Court: Nobody knew me before tonight.

Lloyd Dobler: They knew of you. Now they know you.


Lloyd Dobler: Oh, I feel like a dick. You must think I'm a dick.

Diane Court: No, I don't.

Lloyd Dobler: You do.

Diane Court: I don't. Lloyd, we shared the most intimate thing two people can share.

Diane Court: You shared it with a dick.


[on choosing a career]

Lloyd Dobler: How many of them really know what they want, though? I mean, a lot of them think they have to know, right? But inside they don't really know, so... I don't know ,but I know that I don't know.


Corey Flood: I'm sorry, it's just that you're a really nice guy and we don't want to see you get hurt.

Lloyd Dobler: I want to get hurt!


Lloyd Dobler: You probably got it all figured out, Corey. If you start out depressed everything's kind of a pleasant surprise.


Mike Cameron: I don't know you very well, you know, but I wanted to ask you - how'd you get Diane Court to go out with you?

Lloyd Dobler: I called her up.

Mike Cameron: But how come it worked? I mean, like, what are you?

Lloyd Dobler: I'm Lloyd Dobler.

Mike Cameron: This is great. This gives me hope. Thanks.


Lloyd Dobler: One question: are you here 'cause you need someone, or 'cause you need me?... Forget it, I don't care.


Lloyd Dobler: Kickboxing. Sport of the future.


Joe: Dude, where'd she dump you, man?

Lloyd Dobler: In the car.

Denny: Oh man, your car? Man, Dissed in the Malibu. Thats your castle, man.


Lloyd Dobler: What? I'm sorry I said that. Forget I said it, it's what I thought I meant, but...

Diane Court: Lloyd...

Lloyd Dobler: ...forget it.

Diane Court: [making air quotes] "I love you," okay?

Lloyd Dobler: What is that? What are you doing with your hands?

Diane Court: Don't! Don't be - !

Lloyd Dobler: Talk to me, you're talking like that girl, Sheila!

Diane Court: Don't be mean, this is hard for me too.

Lloyd Dobler: [pauses] Then don't do it.

Diane Court: Shit.

[She turns away from him and takes the pen from her coat pocket]

Diane Court: Just take this pen, please, and write me?

[She puts the pen on the car dashboard, and turns away again]

Lloyd Dobler: I can't believe this. You just broke up with me.

[They both sit in silence]


Lloyd Dobler: Hey, my brotha, can I borrow a copy of your "Hey Soul Classics"?

Jason Dobler: No, my brotha, you have to go buy your own.

Lloyd Dobler: Hook it off the jab. Hook off!

Constance: Why can't you be his uncle and not his playmate?


Diane Court: I have this theory of convergence, that good things always happen with bad things. I know you have to deal with them at the same time, but I just don't know why they have to happen at the same time. I just wish I could work out some schedule. Am I just babbling? Do you know what I mean?

Lloyd Dobler: No.


Constance: Why do you eat that stuff? There's no food in your food.


Corey Flood: [Lloyd's letter to Diane] Dear Diane, I'll always be there for you. All the love in my heart, Lloyd.


Lloyd Dobler: I'm gonna call her.

Corey Flood: Diane Court doesn't go out with guys like you. She's a brain!

D.C.: Trapped in the body of a game-show hostess.


Lloyd Dobler: Okay, how ya doing? I'm Lloyd, and we're gonna watch the movie "Cocoon." I've never actually seen it, but I heard it's very good, it makes you happy, thats a good thing. It's about a group of older people who go to outer space... hope I didnt give anything away there.


Denny: Man, all you gotta do is find a girl that looks just like her, nail her, and then dump her, man. Get her of your mind.

Mark: Your only mistake is that you didn't dump her first. Diane Court is a show pony. You need a stallion, my friend. Walk with us and you walk tall.

Luke: Bitches, man.


Diane Court: You have to meet Bess. She's amazing. She's 93, she's a writer... and I told her about you.

Lloyd Dobler: [Stops walking, stands in front of Diane] Wait, wait... You told her about me?

Jim Court: [Walks by the adjacent hall, Sees to the two and continues walking]

Diane Court: [Embarrassed, toys with a nearby water fountain.] Yes.

Lloyd Dobler: What'd you say?

Diane Court: [Embarrassed] Umm... Just meet her.


Corey Flood: Did you sleep with her?

Lloyd Dobler: I admit nothing.

D.C.: Lloyd, it's us.

Corey Flood: Look at his face. He did the deed.

D.C.: You're an inspiration, Lloyd. You should go on the 700 Club or something.


Corey Flood: Brains stay with brains! The bomb could go off and their mutant genes would form the same cliques.


Lloyd Dobler: I'm gonna take Diane Court out again.

Corey Flood: Well, that's unlikely.

Lloyd Dobler: Is the movies a good second date? You know, as a date?

Corey Flood: Well, you never had a first date.

Lloyd Dobler: Yes we did. I sat across from her at a mall. We ate together. We ate. That's eating. Sharing an important physical event.

Corey Flood: That's not even a scam.

Lloyd Dobler: What's a scam?

Corey Flood: Going out as friends.

D.C.: No, it's not. Scam is lusting.


Lloyd Dobler: I am looking for a dare to be great situation.


[At a party, a drunken Mark slams into Lloyd, knocking him down]

Mark: Give me my Firebird keys!

Lloyd Dobler: You must chill! You must chill! I have hidden your keys! Chill!


Lloyd Dobler: Why can't you be in a good mood? How hard is it to decide to be in a good mood and be in a good mood once in a while?"

Constance: Gee, it's easy.


Lloyd Dobler: Joe. Joe. She's written 65 songs... 65. They're all about you. They're all about pain.

Joe: So what's up?


Joe: [Lloyd has just explained his feelings for Diane] Dude, I don't even feel that way about my car, man.


[last lines]

Diane Court: Where's the ding?

Lloyd Dobler: It's coming! Any second now. - - - Any second now.


Lloyd Dobler: The rain on my car is a baptism, the new me, Ice Man, Power Lloyd, my assault on the world begins now.


Lloyd Dobler: You used to be fun. You used to be warped and twisted and hilarious... and I mean that in the best way - I mean it as a compliment!

Constance: I was hilarious once, wasn't I?


Corey Flood: That'll never be me, that'll never be me. That'll never be, never be me. NO... NO, NEVER, NEVER, EVER. And don't you EVER THINK IT.


Diane Court: Am I wrecking my car?

Lloyd Dobler: "Yeah... a little."


Lloyd Dobler: [after leaving the Gas & Sip guys] That was a mistake.


Corey Flood: Hi Joe, How are you? I love you.

Joe: I love you too.

Corey Flood: You invade my soul

Joe: I want to get back together, Mimi is gonna go to college and I'm gonna be alone and I'm gonna break up with her before she leaves, have sex with me.


Lloyd Dobler, Corey Flood: What's a date?

D.C.: A date is prearrangement with a possibility for love.

Corey Flood: Then what's love?


Diane Court: Everybody thinks - I'm a priss.

Jim Court: Diane, in a million years, you could *never* be a priss.


Diane Court: So, what's your job this summer?

Lloyd Dobler: Job? Being a great date.

Diane Court: No, I'm serious.

Lloyd Dobler: So am I. I wanna see you again. I wanna see you as much as I can before you leave. I said it!

Diane Court: I only have something like sixteen weeks?

Lloyd Dobler: Sixteen weeks is a long time.

Diane Court: Then call me tomorrow.

Lloyd Dobler: Today is tomorrow.

Diane Court: Then call me later.


Diane Court: Lloyd, I'm sorry.

Lloyd Dobler: What do you want?

Diane Court: I'm sorry.

Lloyd Dobler: What do you want?

Diane Court: My father's guilty. He lied to me, he lied to everybody. I just left home... I need you.

Lloyd Dobler: You do?

Diane Court: Everything else means nothing to me. If I hurt you again, I'll die.


Diane Court: I have to be honest, though. I have all the hope and ambition in the world. But, when I think about the future, the truth is, I - am - really - - scared.


IRS Agent Stewart: Your income, Mr Court, hasn't changed substantially in seventeen years.

Jim Court: That's right.

IRS Agent Stewart: Why would you stay so long with an operation that is so clearly not a growth enterprise?

Jim Court: Taking care of people isn't a growth enterprise, Mr Sims. I hope you write that down in your report, I'd like your bosses to read it.


Diane Court: You don't like old people, do you?

Lloyd Dobler: Me? Sure I do.

Diane Court: Come on.

Lloyd Dobler: Except for one thing. I used to work at a smorgasbord and the old people would flock there and they love to eat. And they just jammed their mouths, you know, and they would just eat with their mouths open and, you know, it's just too much for me. I mean, you know, you get to be thinking about how short life is and how maybe everything has no meaning. Because, you wake up and you're frying burgers and you then you're like 60 and 70 and then, you know, you check out and, you know, what are you doing? And I just don't need to think about those kind of things. So, that - that's the reason I was - But, I'm not sure I'm right, about any of that.

Diane Court: I think that's ageism and that's being prejudiced against people because they're old. Maybe their mouths don't work well as yours.


Lloyd Dobler: I think I know too many girls! You know, I should hang with more guys. I should be like one of those guys who hang at the AM-PM Gas 'n' Sip on Saturday. But, I don't know, do guys like that really know the answers?


Guy #1: Lloyd, man, no babe is worth it, dude. Listen, hang with us. We'll teach you bibles full of truths.

Guy #2: Lloyd, man, you can't even trust 'em, man. But, you know what it's about? They spend your money and they tell their friends everything, man. It's economics!

Guy #3: Man, all you gotta do is find a girl that looks just like her, nail her, and then dump her, man. Get her off your mind.

Guy #4: You're only mistake is that you didn't dump her first. Diane Court is a show pony. You need a stallion, my friend. Walk with us and you walk tall.

Guy #5: Bitches, man!


Lloyd Dobler: One question. Do you need... someone, or do you need me?

[pause]

Lloyd Dobler: Forget it, I don't really care.

Diane Court: [hugs him] I need you.


Lloyd Dobler: Are you going to to go to that party at Vahlere's? Look, Diane, I'm sorry but I can't allow you to leave the country without going to Vahlere's graduation tonight. This gentleman is 22 and comes out of hiding once a year for this occasion and he dresses up as the Lakeside Rooster. And he makes this drink called the Purple Passion.


Diane Court: I just don't want it to get too heavy. I feel really overloaded.


Corey Flood: Lloyd, listen to me. Everything has changed. You've had sex. No matter what you might think, nothing will ever be the same between you two. You might be 60, you might be walking down the street, and you'll talk to her about something, whatever - But what you'll really be thinking is, "We had sex."

Lloyd Dobler: What's the point?

Corey Flood: You've got to do something special. You've got to make a statement.

D.C.: Wait a minute...

Corey Flood: You've got to show her respect!


Corey Flood: Get ready for greatness, Lloyd!


Jim Court: Is that it? Am I being selfish? I just want you to have everything! Is that wrong? I owe you an apology.


Jim Court: What's the goddamn point? Live your life.


Lloyd Dobler: I felt like I wanted to tell you something but I didn't put it in the letter. And, I didn't say it, but, I think I want to say it now. But I'm not sure if I should say it, you know. Because, people always say it but they don't mean it. But, I think that I mean it. So...


Lloyd Dobler: [talking into a handheld cassette tape recorder] It's me. I'm cruising around. It's pretty late. You know, I haven't called you lately. I guess I didn't wanna be reminded of the Diane nightmare. By the way, I hardly remember her. I've wiped her from my mind. I don't remember when the time or place I knew her. This is it. The site of our controversial first date. I met her in a mall. I should've known our relationship was doomed. To our left, we have - the street where she broke up with me! And there's the path we took.


Diane Court: I don't want to leave something out because I know I can Say Anything to you. You're a liar!

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