Splice's Greatest Films Ever Made To Come Out In The 90's (The 1990's)

#1 Grosse Pointe Blank: The Response

Grosse Pointe Blank's one of those films that came out in the mid-90's in that post-Pulp Fiction era. Loads of cool, hip, jive... sorry I turned into an old man there! Basically it was one of those popular "indie" movies. I have to confess that at the time I didn't get it. And unlike Ruud, who thanks to the wonder of Minnie Driver's tits (let's be honest that's what he meant to say when he was prattlin' on about her hair and her sass!) has reignited some long-lost feelings from his youth, I don't want to revisit 1997. Sure Scotland actually qualified for a major tournament and Oasis' Be Here Now didn't sound like the coke-fuelled mess it actually is but see in 1997 I was a pleb.

Hard to believe I'm sure but at that point I was and my taste in movies was shite (it could be argued that that never changed as my choices on this list will probably attest) and so maybe that's why Grosse Pointe Blank never worked. I then never bothered to see it again until now. All I can say is; "thanks Ruud".

It's a cracking wee film. The soundtrack's a belter, Driver is adorable and Cusack is most certainly the man. Plus Jeremy Piven's in it which is always a good thing and it's probably the last time we'll ever see Dan Ackroyd good in anything, I'm still not forgiving him for playing Britney Spears' Dad in Crossroads, at least that bint frae Whores in the City had the good sense to scarper after one scene. Plus the killer going to his therapist and spilling his guts, not always to the therapist's liking? Grosse Pointe Blank only went and influenced one of mankind's towering achievements in art Analyze Th..., er, The Sopranos!

Basically I was a bit too young, mentally at least, to appreciate Grosse Pointe Blank when I first saw it. The music, the snappy dialogue, the genius setup all kind of passed me by. But something else rang true beyond just being able to appreciate film better. With being that bit older now I can identify with Martin Blank. The whole small town thing, the want to get away and how things change when you do. It's funny that Ruud chose the scene where Martin discovers his house is gone and a convenience store now stands in its place as I have recently discovered that the place I grew up in is to be demolished soon. Doubt a shop's going there (knowing this place it'll be mare unaffordable shitey hooses) and so the scene resonated with me. The whole shootout thing afterwards not so much, but then casual violence isn't rare here either so maybe it did.

When Ruud first declared Grosse Pointe Blank as his choice to start the whole thing off I was a bit unsure. Now I'm in full agreement that it's a very deserving film. It is in some ways also highly appropriate to start with it, as it does represent a strain of filmmaking quite common in the 90's, the cool, popular "indie" flick. Of course it wasn't long until "indie" pictures became those ones about white, middle-class American families that are all miserable because it turns out being comfortable's a bit dull (thanks alot American Beauty!). But in 1997, my plebishness aside, things seemed to be pretty cool indeed.