Movies You Might Have Missed: Rob Reiner's The Sure Thing

John Cusack, who was just 16 when cast in Reiner's film, had to seek legal emancipation from his parents in order to shoot on location in this romantic comedy

John Cusack as Walter ‘Gib’ Gibson in Rob Reiner’s 1985 romantic comedy film ‘The Sure Thing’

The great Rob Reiner turned 71 this week – he is perhaps the most underrated film director of the modern era. From his debut in 1984 to 1992, the son of comedy legend Carl embarked on one of the greatest runs of form in the medium’s history: This is Spinal Tap, The Sure Thing, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally..., Misery and A Few Good Men.

To have made such diverse and rewarding films would be an achievement in and of itself, but to have done so in a row marks Reiner out as a remarkable talent. The streak came to an end in 1994 with North, a truly abysmal effort, but they can’t all be winners.

The Sure Thing (1985) is the least acclaimed of the aforementioned films, but it is well worth a look. A kind of modern take on It Happened One Night, it stars John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga as college friends who fall in love on a cross country drive from New England to California, the journey clearly a progenitor of the early scenes in When Harry Met Sally. Gib (Cusack) has been set up with a beautiful girl he’s never met (the “sure thing” of the title) while Alison (Zuniga) is en route to meet her insipid boyfriend.

Cusack was just 16 at the time of his casting and the director was reluctant to hire an actor so young. In fact, the lead actually had to seek legal emancipation from his parents in order to shoot on location. For the duration of the shoot, producer Roger Birnbaum became Cusack’s legal guardian. It was worth the effort, however, since the central pair have the kind of chemistry that is essential for a romantic comedy to succeed. The genre might be predictable, but when a film is as funny and tender as this one, who cares?

A poster for This is Spinal Tap hangs on the closet of Gib’s dorm room and it’s hard to believe this was Reiner’s sophomore effort. Eighties teen films tended to be raunchy sex comedies in the vein of Porky’s, but here’s a sweet road movie with the kind of charm and innocence that was falling out of favour.

The writing is sharp and focused, the direction is assured and the young leads ensure there is a laugh in just about every scene. The Sure Thing perfectly captures the joy of being young and falling in love, a pretty remarkable achievement so early in a director’s career.