"I Gave Her My Heart, and She Gave Me A Pen"

by April (Books&Wine) on February 3, 2010

When I think of romance, one movie immediately comes to mind, Say Anything. As far as teen-romance film goes, to me, this is the crown jewel. The 80s was a time of great movies, cartoons, and excellent music. It was a time of John Hughes and valley girls. It also brought us Say Anything.


John Cusack plays Lloyd Dobbler, the eternal nice guy, who isn’t really a guy, but a man. Lloyd is exactly the type of boyfriend I would like to (already) have. He’s sweet, funny, athletic, and rather smart. Lloyd sets his sights on Diane Court, played by Ione Skye, who is basically “a brain trapped in the body of game-show hostess.” Diane gives Lloyd a chance, romance ensues. The relationship between Lloyd and Diane feels so real because it’s not exactly whirlwind, there are ups and downs. Not everyone supports their relationship. Both characters have their flaws. Lloyd has no ambition, Diane listens to her dad more than she listens to herself.

And yes, who could forget the most amazing boombox scene. Perhaps this is hard to understand because today one would just have to hold up a cordless iHome, whereas a boombox is HEAVY. Oh, and the song, it’s perfect, especially the meaning behind it.

So, I suppose when I think young love, I do think Say Anything. I think Lloyd Dobbler and Diane Court. I think of Peter Gabriel’s ‘In Your Eyes.’

Please, if you have not seen this wonderful film, netflix it, it’s worth taking a few hours of reading off.

So why exactly am I posting about Say Anything? For BlogLuv Fest of course!

This post was written by...

– who has written 1069 posts on Good Books And Good Wine.

April is 24 years old. She is an educator. In her free time she can be found reading, working out, or eating junk food. She often wears her sunglasses at night.

Contact the author

{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }

Nicole February 3, 2010 at 11:57 pm

I love this movie! It's been forever since I've seen it. I'll have to watch it again soon.

Reply

pepsivanilla February 4, 2010 at 1:06 am

I totally agree with Nicole! I need to re-watch this movie :)

Reply

robby (once upon a book blog/fourteen years) February 4, 2010 at 7:53 am

I feel SO young whenever people talk about this movie. I have seen movie after movie from the 30s to the 60s, but if it's from the 80s, my knowledge is limited. I need to see this. :]
Congrats of 350 followers! :D

Reply

Chris February 4, 2010 at 8:18 am

I loved this movie too. That scene is one of the most romantic in movies.

Reply

Jodie February 4, 2010 at 9:56 am

I've never seen this, but I love Cusack and the quite bad in a great way 80s movies.

Reply

Caroline Starr Rose February 4, 2010 at 11:24 am

Good ol' Lloyd. I loved this movie.

Reply

Juju at Tales of Whimsy.com February 4, 2010 at 2:39 pm

OMG!
I love this movie!
"In Your Eyes" is one of my most favorite songs ever. I love that part of that says, "I see the doorway to a thousand churches"…

Reply

Juju at Tales of Whimsy.com February 4, 2010 at 2:40 pm

I've had a crush on John Cusack ever since!

Reply

Juju at Tales of Whimsy.com February 4, 2010 at 2:41 pm

Oh and when watching this drink Tang. It will help you relive the glory of the 80s :)

Reply

Nicole February 4, 2010 at 4:45 pm

So I just finished watching last nights episode of Modern Family and they had a little ode to Say Anything at the end. It made me think of this post and thought I'd share. You should check it out. And now it has just fueled my desire to see the movie even more.

Reply

A Bookshelf Monstrosity February 4, 2010 at 6:28 pm

Definitely appropriate for the BlogLuv Fest.

I love Lili Taylor's role in this movie:

"The world is full of guys. Be a man. Don't be a guy."

Reply

catherine February 6, 2010 at 11:50 pm

this is one i NEED to see! i have been wanting to, and i feel like i am missing this huge piece of culture having not seen it haha.

Reply

Jenn-ay February 8, 2010 at 9:33 am

I also enjoyed this movie and I'll back you up on recommending it to those who have yet to see it!

Reply

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: