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Grosse Pointe Blank
Metascore
76 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
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  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    91
    High school reunions should only be this satisfying.
  2. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Paul Malcolm
    90
    With a brisk pace and satiric blend of nostalgia and violence, it's the sharpest, funniest comedy so far this year.
  3. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    90
    A bright burst of action and comedy with a cast that makes for rousing good company.
  4. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Keith Phipps
    90
    Smart in a rare way that matters greatly to good contemporary comedy: Like last year's "Flirting With Disaster," its script and direction underplay absurd situations, letting its characters amuse without showing the strains of forced wackiness.
  5. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    90
    A wild at heart, anarchic comedy that believes in living dangerously.
  6. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Schickel
    90
    In its soft-spoken way, it is fierce, shaggy and deeply weirded out.
  7. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Rita Kempley
    90
    A hilarious new addition to the wonderfully warped Generation X-Files.
  8. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    88
    Grosse Pointe Blank is covering the same kind of territory as that elephantine, if exciting, 1994 family man-killer thriller, "True Lies." But this time, the joke stings. [11 April 1997, Friday, p.A]
    All this critic's reviews
  9. San Francisco Examiner
    Reviewed by: Barbara Shulgasser
    88
    This movie has the jaunty good cheer of another great movie about hit men, "Prizzi's Honor." And that is high praise indeed.
  10. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Sean Means
    80
    Armitage, Cusack and his Evanston chums have their work cut out for them to turn a stone killer into a sympathetic romantic character. That they succeed in such a shrewdly funny way is downright amazing.
    All this critic's reviews
  11. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Elvis Mitchell
    80
    Enough wild-card energy to keep it bright and surprising.
  12. Newsweek
    Reviewed by: David Ansen
    80
    A premise this preposterous must be carried off with unflappable comic conviction, and Cusack is just the right man for the job.
  13. Variety
    Reviewed by: Leonard Klady
    80
    The zeal and good nature of the cast overcome the artificial quality of the situations.
  14. New Times (L.A.)
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    80
    It's a killing comedy for people who have learned to stop worrying and love their iden-tity crisis.
  15. The New Republic
    Reviewed by: Stanley Kauffmann
    80
    As Blank, Cusack is both proud and remorseful. And the amazing thing is that as usual, you believe him. [Oct 10, 1997]
    All this critic's reviews
  16. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Alison Macor
    78
    A wacky joyride.
  17. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    75
    This clever and original movie is like a John Hughes comedy for the '90s.
  18. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Susan Wloszczyna
    75
    The kind of quirky, character-driven comedy they don't make much anymore.
  19. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    75
    An entertaining oddity, an amiably black comedy whose bared teeth double as an engaging smile: It takes a satiric bite and leaves you laughing through the pain.
  20. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    70
    A slick, mannered and frequently clever comedy.
  21. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    70
    As black comedies go, Grosse Pointe Blank is just sort of gray.
  22. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    63
    The film takes the form but not the feel of a comic thriller. It's quirkier than that.
  23. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    63
    A bleak, black satire that occasionally strays all the way into "Pulp Fiction" territory.
  24. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Dave Kehr
    50
    The tone remains uneasily divided between lightly realistic character comedy and the darkest, chilliest kind of farce.
  25. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    50
    The picture is a soggy, all-over-the- place mess.
  26. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Ron Wells
    50
    It's damn funny. It's also the best date film I've seen in a long time.
  27. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    50
    An unholy mess that becomes steadily more incoherent -- morally, dramatically, and conceptually.
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User Reviews

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User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 18 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 2 out of 10
  1. hoops2448
    7
    To make a film that can be both painfully brutal and extremely funny is impressive if you pull it off but unbearable if they don't. Luckily Grosse Pointe Black is hilarious with a talented cast able to handle the darker elements because believe me, the film is quite dark. The film follows Martin Blank (John Cusack) a professional killer who decides to attend his high school reunion and do a job while he is there. He also hopes to reunite with his ex girlfriend Debbie (Minnie Driver) who he hasn't seen since prom night. Unfortunately for him, several other assassins have followed him to town in hopes of killing him. Cusack is fantastic in him role as he has a sharp tongue and wonderful comic timing, but he also has a menace to his look that makes him convincing. Driver is charming and makes a great lead while being able to shine beside Cusack. It's a real treat of a film with a nice script, an eclectic soundtrack some wonderful performances and some of the most unique deaths ever committed to film.… Full Review »
  2. BrianF.
    2
    John Cusak at his self absorbed best! This movie was nothing more than a pathetic attempt to return to the Better Off Dead success of Cusak...and failing miserably. Are we supposed to like a hired killer, even if he has a overplayed 80's soundtrack as a score?… Full Review »
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