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The Sure Thing

year 1985decade 80sdirector Rob Reinergenre Romantic comedygenre Christmas film

91 minutes

IMDb
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

John Cusack Walter "Gib" Gibson
Daphne Zuniga Alison Bradbury
Viveca Lindfors Professor Taub
Nicollette Sheridan "The Sure Thing"
Tim Robbins Gary Cooper
Boyd Gaines Jason
Lisa Jane Persky Mary Ann Webster
Larry Hankin Trucker
Fran Ryan Lady in Car

The Sure Thing | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanproducer Craig Horlbeckproducer Chia Hao Tatproducer Eduardo Ocampo
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Roger Ebert's review

Ebert review

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:29Read transcript
  • The cited three-and-a-half-star review praises the film for treating its love story with thought, respect, and love.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Dive bar scene

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:32Read transcript
  • The dive-bar interlude is the final preferred scene.
  • Other favorites include the opening credits, quad football, the pool encounter, the Tim Robbins car ride, the accidental cuddle, the Hawaiian party, and the professor reading the final essay.

The most "year the movie came out" thing

Letters and cordless phones

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:35:14Read transcript
  • Long mailed letters to friends are selected as a defining 1985 detail.
  • The cordless-phone phrase, letters to an adult magazine, Culture Club poster, and physical ride bulletin board are additional 1985 candidates.

What’s Aged the Best?

Soundtrack and college life

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:43Read transcript
  • The soundtrack is praised as having aged well, with several featured songs named.
  • The film's vision of 1980s college life, including classes, parties, schedules, and Southern California campuses, is praised.
  • Young Cusack and the prospect of spending the next 40 years watching him are offered as having aged well.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Hitchhiking and dated conventions

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:40Read transcript
  • The dated comic accent and using stars and outer space to humanize boys are criticized.
  • Walter Gibson's name, creative-writing workshops, and hitchhiking are raised as dated elements.
  • Traveling cross-country solely to pursue sex is considered obsolete in the era of dating apps.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Gibb and Allison's future; 1980s teen-movie ranking; Daphne Zuniga's unrealized career path

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:17Read transcript
  • The couple are predicted to have met too early for a permanent relationship because freshman-year changes and academic uncertainty would strain them.
  • One forecast has the relationship end after he drunkenly kisses someone else and she never forgives him; it may not survive the first summer.
  • A conflicting forecast says they make it through most of college before he wants to be himself and do something else.
  • Risky Business and The Sure Thing are ranked first and second among 1980s teen movies, followed initially by The Breakfast Club, The Karate Kid, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
  • The Karate Kid is then removed from the teen-movie ranking because it is considered more a sports movie, leaving The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off on the four-film list.
  • Daphne Zuniga is argued to have deserved Brat Pack membership and to have been preferable to Ally Sheedy in St. Elmo's Fire, The Breakfast Club, and Bad Boys.
  • One Crazy Summer is used to compare Demi Moore's role with the kind of part Daphne Zuniga played, prompting speculation that Zuniga might have had a career resembling Moore's.

Recasting Couch

No cast change

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:19Read transcript
  • The cast is kept intact; the only proposed alteration is making the college's identity more specific.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Shared role and shotgun-beer anecdote

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:57Read transcript
  • Robert Bauer is said to have played a character named Moek here and in This Is Spinal Tap.
  • The shotgun-beer scene is reported as an addition based on John Cusack telling Rob Reiner that it was one of his talents.
  • Gibb's jersey is identified as a Kangaroos rugby-league shirt chosen for its appearance.

Apex Mountain

Shotgunning beers

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:07Read transcript
  • Shotgunning beers is the affirmative Apex choice because it becomes a recurring story device.
  • John Cusack, Daphne Zuniga, Anthony Edwards, road-trip movies, hitchhiking, and the roommate's contorted position are discussed without an affirmative consensus.

Picking Nits

Logistics and ending

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:25Read transcript
  • Questions include how Gibb entered the truck unseen, why the Sure Thing was eager to meet him, whether Gibb was a virgin, and why the ending cuts away so abruptly.
  • Gibb's pajamas, the implausible amount and condition of his packed clothing, and the short time at the Hawaiian party are also criticized.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Relationship and travel questions

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:54Read transcript
  • The discussion asks whether Gibb lied about his sexual history and is actually a virgin.
  • The discussion asks what credit-card bill Allison's father would receive after the trip.

Best Double Feature

Stand by Me and One Crazy Summer

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:20Read transcript
  • Stand by Me and One Crazy Summer are the two distinct double-feature selections.

More from the conversation

The episode opens as a tribute to Rob Reiner after his death and surveys his career, collaborators, casting judgment, and ability to balance comedy with emotional stakes.
Approx. transcript time · 00:03:13Read transcript

Mentions across The Rewatchables

Recorded movie reference

Top Gun

The Rewatchables · aired July 23, 2019

The Sure Thing is listed in the sourced research for this episode. The precise discussion has not been linked yet.

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