Bearing in mind all the obvious issues with this film, it is a great surprise to me that it is one of my favourites. Firstly, it is a romantic comedy. I don't "do" romantic comedy. I am one of those males who the thought of softening to a rom-com reduces to a pre-teen "err, I wouldn't kiss a girl" state. I enjoyed 'Last of the Mohicans' but that was an adventure with a romantic element. This is definitely a rom-com, dead square and centre. Secondly, the whole film is so dated {to an era which was not the greatest of my life). Within five minutes of the start, with the music, clothes and 'Miami Vice' font, I would expect anyone born before 1975 to be able to date this film to within 1 year either side. Thirdly, despite the journey, not enough is made of location to describe this as a road movie. Lastly, the plot is entirely predictable within the rom-com formula. As soon as the male and female leads fall out you know what is going to happen by the end of the film... (whoops, is that a spoiler!?!).
Despite these problems, 'The Sure Thing' hits the mark. This era produced some now badly dated and still immensely enjoyable American films like 'Ferris Bueller', 'Weird Science', 'The Breakfast Club' and 'Flight of the Navigator'. Like those films, the script, acting and direction are first-rate: you can laugh at and laugh with the Cusack character and understand why he gets up the nose of the Zuniga character. There are many genuinely funny moments and an underlying humour through it all. The minor parts - the party animal, the geek, the irritating couple - are all stereotypes but sympathetically drawn. Campus life is fun but innocent fun. Yes, there is drinking and fooling round, but no drunkenness, fighting, drugs or pregnancy. This is the ultimate appeal of the film, and it is a nostalgic one. It is innocent and simple like you wish your teenage years had been. The way the central characters draw together and meet halfway, not one adapting to the other, sustains the film throughout. For all its obviousness, this is an enjoyable film to watch.
