User Reviews

The Sure Thing is great 80s teen comedy. John Cusak (in his finest of sarcasm) stars as Gib, a fellow who's not having such a hot time as a freshman at an East Coast school. His halcyonic buddy, Lance (Anthony Edwards) invites to his friend's beach house for the Christmas break. And Gib, with some coaxing, decides to take his friend up on his offer with promises of a 'Sure Thing' awaiting him (basically a former Catholic School girl played by Nicolette Sheridan).

Though, the only way Gib is getting to California is by hitching with some students, one of which is an obnoxious, hypercritical, and excessively structured classmate, Alison (Daphne Zuniga), who doesn't like Gib too well after a failed study session turned an attempt to have some fun and break a few harmless rules. Alison and Gib are total opposites, and together, they're going to have to put up with each other if they're going to get to California, where Alison is visiting her equally nerdy boyfriend at his college campus.

Being a hilarious story filled with misadventures of the two stranded students trying to make it in one piece to their respective Californian destinations, it is also a romantic comedy. Gib and Alison may start out as uncomfortable opposites with the carefree Gib (beer and porkrinds for breakfast kind of guy) and the strict Alison (her life is a day planner), but after awhile, they grow on each other. For Gib, he realizes this anticipated 'Sure Thing' isn't what he really wants. And for Alison, who starts to adapt to Gib's carefree, fun lifestyle, maybe she doesn't want to hang around with her snobbish boyfriend either. Suddenly, their expectations had to change in order to accomodate reality. Only, it's not that easy since both are, as usual, to proud to tell each other how they really feel. If you're a sucker for romantic comedies, you can't go wrong. Cusak and Zunigan were great together.

If you love 80s teen comedies, and especially if you love John Cusak (particularly in his younger roles), then you'll probably enjoy 'The Sure Thing.' It's a sweet, funny movie. I particularly love the hitchiking scene where Gib pretends to be a wandering madman.

College freshman Gib decides to go cross country to visit his friend in California during winter break.

Waiting there for him is a bikini-clad babe whom his friend assures him is a "sure thing".

Allison, a retentive girl at Gib's college has also decided to head out to see her boyfriend during break.

Gib and Allison are thrust together on a road trip, and somewhere along the way, they find each others company to be tolerable......

A staple of eighties Teen movies, it's your age old story of a guy travelling a long way to sew his oats, but obviously falls in love with the stuffy girl who has rejected him time and time again.

The clichés are rife throughout, they hate each other to begin with, they begin to grow on one another, become jealous of each other, and what do you know? The final act features a big party, Hawaiian shirts, your token jock best friend, and the nerdy boyfriend.

I wouldn't have it any other way. This was the beginning of Cusack's golden age in cinema, and it goes to show just what a great actor he is. He owns the film, and even though he's your atypical college boy, with an awful motivation for travelling, you can't help but like him.

The couple both learn life lessons from each other, they run afoul of a few people, there are some funny scenes, nothing hilarious, but it's just a comfort food sort of film.

You just know what's going to happen, it ticks every box in the eighties teen comedy checklist, but you just sit there and let it take you away with its nostalgia.

By now we are familiar with this story. It's the classic opposites attract, love/hate relationship; the loud, obnoxious Walter stuck with the preppy, uptight Alison on a lengthy road-trip. This is best remembered from the Frank Capra classic It Happened One Night, where the class divide was the prominent divider, not simply romance. At the start of the journey Claudette Colbert is convinced that Clark Gable is only in it for the story and money (and in a way he is), and by the end they have fallen deeply in love, although they refuse to believe it themselves even as we see it clearly. So Cusack and Zuniga are from the outset fighting an uphill battle, because there is no doubt that the two will end up together by the end of the movie. And yet it has charm.

Cusack taps into the persona that first made him famous in the numerous teen movies of his early career; the brash, overconfident, self-absorbed type from Better Off Dead. The Sure Thing is not necessarily a teen movie, since the characters are in college, but that has never stopped Cusack: he played a similar role in High Fidelity as the adult that had not grown up. Here he is also a teen in spirit. When he saves Alison from a sure rape on the road, he cannot help being high and mighty about it, rubbing it in her face, and then only then does he comfort and make sure she is okay. But Cusack has always played this character with a undertone of insecurity behind the overt cockiness. He's good looking, but not that good looking that he is already with someone as attractive as the Sure Thing, so we feel he is overcompensating for his insecurities. Too proud to admit these, he instead goes for the very loud and showy path but ends up saying very little.

His chemistry with Zuniga is evident. Just like Colbert and Cable delightfully improvise the sketch of a warring married couple, so too do they, feigning pregnancy and arguing about baby names, feeding each other from each end of the table, going through the whole routine when Walter stumbles into the room after a night of drinking. They take turns looking after each other, and we can feel their walls breaking down, their inhibitions swept away by the circumstances. They say goodnight on edge, nervously vying for space on the double bed, and end up spooning on the one side. Before the pan even reveals this we know it. But there is heart within the predictability; Alison wakes up in the strange new position, and instead of throwing a fuss, smiles and savours it. Cusack plays the awkwardness perfectly - anxiously denying any wrongdoing, clumsily trying to gain a foothold and stumbling, and the tables flip, with her sweetly easing his worries.

The film can also be quite funny, which is whenever Rob Reiner is allowed to tap into his natural sensibility for humour. The adolescent mind of Walter allows for some liberties; the Sure Thing's dream sequences are exaggerated in a way that only a sex-starved teen could do, she praising his sexual prowess like some sort of literary professor (no doubt reality mixing with his fantasies). The side characters are given life, a rarity for this genre. Tim Robbins is hilarious as one half the showtune- loving middle-aged couple, indignantly refusing to sing along because of his guest's icy silence. And there is the obstacle of the dignified boyfriend Jason, who indulges only in tiny delights like a tedious card game and intimacies like side hugs. "Disneyland is for children," he chastises, doing an impeccable impersonation of her father. In a lesser film he would be some meathead, or be found between the sheets with a similar blonde bombshell like the Sure Thing, pushing the lead pair together. But Reiner doesn't succumb to such contrivances. He draws their actions appropriate to their ages; they're hesitant, tentative, and despite how they want to appear, a little apprehensive at just jumping into bed with the hottest thing around. He eventually realises that he does not even know the Sure Thing's name, and that perhaps what he has been travelling across the country for was really right there by his side all along.

This film was fantastic. I like to relate it to Ferris Beullers Day Off, a teenage comedy made about 20 years ago, that still please so many immensely, maybe even more than when it was released.

John Cusack is Matthew Broderick. Small role as a 20 year old, then, when they get older, they become huge stars. It is Ferris Beuller, but in some way, made better.

John's character is witty and charming, you cant go one scene without laughing out loud. Esecially the bits on the road.

The supporting cast is great, no faults, with a great surprise appearance from Tim Robbins, probably one of his upcoming films also.

This film can be quoted to hell, and needs to be watched by all. Its the law.

*swallows mouth wash* "shit"

(good bit in the film)

The Sure Thing is one of Rob Reiner's lesser known films from the 80s. It was his second feature after making his debut a year earlier with the superb This Is Spinal Tap. And although TST is just as good as anything else Reiner was producing during this period, its never gone on to cult status like his other films of the 80s. Certainly not when compared to Spinal Tap or The Princess Bride.

And The Sure Thing proves that Spinal Tap was no fluke on Reiner's part. It was not beginner's luck. This is a wonderful movie. Very confident. Very funny. And in John Cusack's own words, "an absolute laugh-riot."

Walter "Gib" Gibson (Cusack) is a college freshman unlucky in love. He's a young man who says much and means little. He has his eye on Alison Bradbury (Daphne Zuniga), a studious, prim and proper girl in his English class, but he's just not her type. On the rebound, Gib is invited to come down to California for Christmas by a friend, where he can get laid with no consequences, no guilt, and no strings attached. Its a Sure Thing!

The only problem is that getting to UCLA is harder than he thought. Not only does he have to put up with bad weather, money troubles and sleazoid truck drivers, he's sharing his journey with Alison. On her way to LA to meet up with her milquetoast boyfriend Jason, these opposites find themselves attracting each other. Their nightmarish road trip has brought them together, but Jason and The Sure Thing are still waiting at the end of the line.

The Sure Thing is the film Planes, Trains & Automobiles might have been if John Hughes had made it as one of his teen movies. And although Hughes was the undisputed king of the teens during the 80s, Rob Reiner shows quite a flair for it as well. I think its sad that The Breakfast Club and Fast Times at Ridgemont High are considered quintessential teen classics, while The Sure Thing is cruelly ignored.

Reiner has clearly put a lot of thought into these two characters. Gib and Alison are not just sculpted from the textbook study of teen stereotypes. Much as he did with Spinal Tap, Reiner takes steps to make them real people. Gib and Alison start out as walking clichés and end up as human beings.

The Sure Thing could seem very predictable. Right from the second Gib and Alison end up on the road together, we have a pretty good idea where this film is headed. But Reiner proves that excellent direction, expert casting and witty writing can overcome even the most familiar scenario. The film emerges as a considerable delight.

One thing I especially enjoyed about TST is the way it knowingly plays into our expectations only to sidestep them wittily at the last minute. Reiner's direction is pretty deft during Gib's dream sequences. At one point we're led to believe he's scored with the girl of his dreams. But that's all it is...just a dream! Especially when The Sure Thing turns into Alison. There are lots of neat little gems like this throughout the movie. They make the film a real treat.

And as always, Reiner's hand-picked an exceptional cast. In his first starring role, John Cusack rises to the occasion admirably as the glib Gib. Its a performance of sly ironies, something that Cusack would build out into a whole career. He plays Gib as someone who's just looking to get laid, when the real Sure Thing (Alison) is standing right in front of him. And he knows it, but he's trapped within teen insecurity to know what to do about it. John Cusack has always seemed an intelligent performer, and TST, along with High Fidelity and Being John Malkovich are the three finest films on his resume.

Daphne Zuniga probably gets her best role here as the uptight Alison. She's not really an actress that I pay much attention to, but she does quite well here. Watching her prissily share the screen with the sex-mad Cusack is always fun, especially with Gib melting down Alison's icy exterior. There is genuine chemistry between them. They're discovery of each other is ably conveyed, even when they become confused by the emotions that come out in the process. And Alison's a girl of marvellous contradictions ("spontaneity has its time and place").

My favourite character of the film (and one we don't see nearly enough of) is Gib and Alison's free-spirited English teacher Professor Taub. Played by the late Viveca Lindfors, she is absolutely delightful! Her English classes are so interesting. And she's such a charismatic and persuasive figure. She's a character that really deserves her own movie. You could easily imagine her in a female equivalent of Dead Poets Society. And the way she provides the bridge between Gib and Alison at the end is a charming touch.

There are lots of good actors throughout the movie. Look out for a young Tim Robbins as Gary Cooper ("but not the one that's dead"), the car-pooler from Hell. Nicollette Sheridan as the aforementioned Sure Thing. Even Jason is allowed to develop some depth. Going from a bookish stiff to a freaked out young man when he learns Alison is in love with Gib.

Despite falling within the trappings of the road trip genre, The Sure Thing, much like Planes, Trains & Automobiles, transcends its origins and becomes a sweet and appealing story. I knew Gib and Alison would wind up together. That was never in any doubt. But its the way Rob Reiner gets them together that makes this such a great movie. An underrated, addictive film that's aged flawlessly, and shows Reiner's chameleon ability to swap genres with total ease.

This comedy from the 80s sure makes newer films like She's All That (or It's All Cr*p, as I like to refer to it) look even worse than they are. "The Sure Thing" is a sweet and funny film with a huge heart. It's just such a wonderful, though very predictable, story with many good performances. John Cusack is brilliant of course, even Daphne Zuniga does a good job, not to mention Tim Robbins who is simply hilarious in a very small part. Of course, it's not a perfect film, but as far as teen comedies and romantic comedies go -- this is quite brilliant! It actually manages to be both sweet and laugh-out-loud funny which is no easy thing to accomplish. The only thing I have to say against "The Sure Thing" is that the fantasy scenes (where Gib is thinking about the sure thing) are pretty unnecessary. Okay, so they are later used to show how his feelings are changing (with Alison in the shower), but we know that his feelings are changing anyway, and those scenes are, like I said, unnecessary. Great film though. (7/10)

John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga spend their time together hitchhiking across country to California in director Rob Reiner's romantic, teen comedy "The Sure Thing," a quasi-"It Happened One Night." Walter 'Gib' Gibson (John Cusack of "Sixteen Candles") and his best friend Lance (Anthony Edwards of "Top Gun") graduate from high school and head off to opposite ends of the nation to attend college. Eventually, Lance sets Walter up with a hot babe (Nicollette Sheridan) but he has no means of transportation. At the same time, Alison Bradbury (Daphne Zuniga) needs a ride to California during the Christmas break to visit her bespectacled boyfriend Jason (Boyd Gaines) who is in for a surprise. Inevitably, the two wind up together in the same car, a Volkswagon station wagon driven by Gary Cooper (Tim Robbins) and his girlfriend. Our hero and heroine don't last long with Gary and his girlfriend after she bares her breasts during the ride and flaunts them to another vehicle whose occupants had mooned them. After the cops cite Gary for her promiscuous behavior, he leaves Gib and the girl on the roadside and they have to thumb a ride to get to the land of sun and fun. Harmless fun from start to finish with nothing heavy in between and dreamy Nicollette Sheridan as the eponymous babe in her cinematic debut, "The Sure Thing" qualifies as a sure thing. Nobody—at least guys—will forget Nicollette's first scene when she sprawls out on the beach and oils up her lithe body as the waves crash behind her. According to Reiner, he was so nervous that he didn't show up for this scene and let his director of photography lense it. Lots of hit music tunes enliven this sweet little comedy that Rob Reiner directs. For the record, Henry Wrinkler produced "The Sure Thing."

The Sure Thing is a decent, but light and cliche-riddled film.

Though aspects of the whole thing are poor in regards to every secondary characterization taken to the extreme infinitum, the two leads John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga have good chemistry together and make it a likeable enough film. Though never breaking through, failing to commit to an important scene. Alison's choice of timing's also a problem. She doesn't say or act on anything at a given time, but repeatedly soon after takes a drastic step... i.e. Not taking the trip, going to the party and even at the end, getting together with him.