Grace is Gone

I love John Cusack- always have. Ever since his boom-boxing days in Say Anything, he's been that celebrity crush who's always accessible somehow... He's not out-of-reach swoonworthy like Brad Pitt for example, or incredibly debonair like George Clooney. He just comes across as that guy who'll take you out on a date on a bus, make you laugh till your guts hurt, and then watch you as you stuff your face with a giant ice-cream sundae and not judge because he's having one too...

I was upset when they turned High Fidelity into a movie, but he (and Jack Black) saved it; I can't believe I sat through Must Love Dogs, but was at least grateful for the delightful chemistry between him and Diane Lane; and Serendipity has got to be one of the most formulaic and predictable romantic comedies ever made, and yet it was made somehow watchable because he was in it. I think people too often think of John Cusack as a comic actor more than anything else, but part of his allure for me is that aside from the goofball charm and sparkling wit, he is also often capable of exuding a kind of ordinary sadness, an everyday melancholy that's not dramatic or overwrought. Even in his comedies. You empathize with his plight, laugh with him, laugh at him, sometimes, but then you feel a little sad too, and you just want to reach out and give him a hug...

But this... this is heartbreaking.

[click for website and trailer]