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Two Generations: Apart, Together From December 1999 The movie Say Anything was released in April 1989. After ten years, it seems fairly safe to analyze the film's appeal and try to figure out if it has stood the test of time. It seems to have retained its appeal for people of my age group (mid-thirties). Is it just a fun movie or a signpost on the cultural landscape? Don't get me wrong. Generally, I despise cultural debris. It leads to such phenomenon as baby boomers weeping over Woodstock or saying things like, "Like Dylan said, 'Don't follow leaders, watch the parking meters.'" All caution aside, I think I'm safe in identifying Say Anything as The Graduate of my generation. Back in 1967 when The Graduate was released, Dustin Hoffman's Benjamin Braddock stood in for a lot of young men. They felt a strong connection with him. He wasn't a pretty boy. He was smart, but confused. He felt alienated from the world around him, and was unsure about the future. Of course, he was also a bit of a weasel and a schmuck. There's a counter-culture hero for you. Made 22 years later, Say Anything stars John Cusack as Lloyd Dobler, another young man on the brink. Just as Benjamin had just graduated from college, unsure of his next step, Lloyd faces leaving high school with no idea of what to do. Benjamin is unsure of everything. What does he believe in? What should he do? Where should he go? Should he sleep with Mrs. Robinson or not? Should he go after Elaine? Should he do the right thing or the expedient thing? He sort of stumbles around a little, his moral compass swinging wildly, like many others of the Woodstock Generation. Lloyd Dobler is unsure of things as well, but he's measured by what he is sure of. This is exemplified by Cusack's big scene, the equivalent of The Graduate's line about "plastics," when Lloyd is asked at a dinner what his goals are: "I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that." Lloyd's lack of focus is due less to his confusion about the future than to his interest in the present; he wants to explore and savor the moment he lives in, rather than blindly moving on to college. He assumes most of his fellow students don't know what they want to do either, but feel as if they have to pretend they do. John Cusack was 22 when the film was released; I was 26 myself. Kids born in the sixties got a glimpse of the idealism of that time, tempered by the cynicism of the Watergate Age and the hedonism of the seventies. Reagan was a final nail in the coffin. The go-go eighties were a time of intense greed. Thanks to Nixon, now everyone knew the government lied; who cares about sending money to the Contras? Lloyd stands as a tall tree in a barren landscape. Eccentric as he is in his basketball shoes and billowing topcoat, Lloyd has a solidity about him, and a touch of poetic gallantry. He is romantic in a most endearing way: he has a refreshing sensitivity and a willingness to explore aspects of himself typically gendered feminine by our society. He's protective without being smothering. He's brave without being aggressive. He's the classic underdog that we all think of ourselves as -- earnest, engaging, and impossible to resist because of his flaws, rather than in spite of them. And today, in the Clinton Era, Lloyd Dobler is still relevant, as a symbol. It's even more difficult to be sure of what you're for, but even more important to at least be sure of what you can be sure of. Having made my points about Lloyd, skip back up to the second paragraph. I made cruel fun of the previous generation for crying at Neil Young singing about "four dead in Ohio," or reciting the "chicken salad" scene from Five Easy Pieces by heart. And yet, how different am I or my generation? Is it better to worship the memories of hippie dreams or the memories of breakfast cereals and cartoon characters? Others of my age might argue that we are entitled to our cynicism, as though we were betrayed. But the young men and women of the late sixties and early seventies were feeling their way towards an uncertain future. Benjamin Braddock may have made some choices that are easy to poke fun at, but in the end, he takes a stand, an uncomfortable one, by choosing his love for Elaine. He does so in the face of contempt from everyone he knows. Look at the final scenes of both The Graduate and Say Anything: Benjamin and Elaine on the bus, Lloyd and Diane on a plane. Both couples scared and uncertain, facing terrible odds. Maybe they'll do the right thing, maybe they won't. Perhaps Benjamin and Lloyd are more similar than I made them out to be. Symbols of their respective generations, possibly linked across a gap of two decades. Lloyd's my man, my brother. But in another time, under other circumstances, I'd be standing alongside Benjamin outside that church, running in to save myself. Times change. Some things remain constant. Say Anything (1989) was directed and written by Cameron Crowe. He went on to write and direct Singles (1992) and Jerry Maguire (1996). For the latter film, he was nominated for Best Screenplay in the WGA Screen Awards and the Academy Awards. His newest film Almost Famous is due out on September 15, 2000. UPDATE FOR 2005: Since then, Crowe did Vanilla Sky (2001), which is considered a failure, but it's the one film of his I haven't seen. His latest film Elizabethtown was released on October 14.