Quoting movies is pretty much a sickness for me. Friends can vouch for the fact that I'm never without an apt movie quote from a well known movie. Today I wanted to go to the well for one my favorites on the quotations front, Grosse Pointe Blank.

Grosse Pointe Blank is one of the great dark comedies of the past few decades. It came out in 1997, and it had two of the most quotable guys of our generation, John Cusack and Mr. Jeremy Piven. Piven has made a name for himself in the past few years on Entourage, but long before that his potential was hinted at here. Enough exposition, let's get to the quotes!

Debi: Where are all the good men dead, in the heart or in the head?

A doozie from Minnie Driver in her opening scene. I know this is lifted from literary history, but it definitely sets the tone for what kind of comedy we're in for. Bonus: This is a good one to use at parties.

Cusack, as killer Marty, on his upcoming high school reunion: They all have husbands and wives and children and houses and dogs, and, you know, they've all made themselves a part of something and they can talk about what they do. What am I gonna say? "I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork. How've you been?"

Nice! I don't know about you, but I wanted to see the movie where he killed the president of Paraguay. Next up:

Mr. Newberry (Debi's dad): What have you been doing with your life?
Marty: Uh ... professional killer.
Mr. Newberry: Oh! Good for you, it's a ... growth industry.

It's thought of as a sarcastic aside, but it's an easy one to use no matter what a person's job is. Plumber? Growth industry. Bee Keeper? Growth industry. C'mon, you know you will start using this immediately.

Debi: You're a psychopath.
Marty: No, no. Psychopaths kill for no reason. I kill for money. It's a job .... That didn't come out right.

The movie trades on the conflict between Driver and Cusack, between life and death. Cusack rationalizing murder is high comedy.

Marty: A thousand innocent people get killed every day! But a millionaire's pet gets detonated, and you're marked for life.

Cusack referring to the "job that went wrong." Who hasn't been there?

Marty: I'm a professional killer.
Paul: Do you have to do postgraduate work for that?

Cusack talking to his real-life and movie pal Jeremy Piven. Note that the more Cusack tells the truth the less people tend to believe him. And finally, my personal favorite:

Mr. Newberry: I visualized you in a haze as one of those slackster, flannel-wearing, coffee-house misanthropes I've been seeing in Newsweek.
Marty: No no no, I went the other road. Six figures, doing business with leadpipe cruelty, mercenary sensibility. You know ... sports, sex, no real relationships.

So that's that (a quote from Punch Drunk Love). I'm sure you've got a few of your own from Grosse Pointe Blank and others. Check back with Film.com for more fun with other's words.

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