Artist Say Anything (1989)

The quintessential high-school romance movie, Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything has become a pop-culture staple in both genres: Entertainment Weekly once named it the top modern romance and ranked it as one of the 50 best high-school movies. John Cusack (as the amazingly named Lloyd Dobler) has become a lasting iconic hero for sarcastic, emotionally tortured underachievers everywhere. The plot isn’t all that complicated: Humorous slacker-weirdo meets/woos foxy valedictorian—will their romance overcome obstacles? And will Dobler blasting Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” out of a boom box on her front lawn win her heart or forever force music fans to throw up?

Updated 09/15/2009