Every Movie John Cusack & Joan Cusack Made Together - And Which One Is Best
Over the course of the past few decades, John Cusack and Joan Cusack have each become primetime players in Hollywood. And over the years, the celebrated siblings have appeared in big and small screen hits almost too numerous to count. In addition, they have quite often shared the screen together. In fact, they've likely shared the screen more than any brother-sister combo in history, having logged a total of nine feature films together to date.
With John and Joan now in their 50s and 60s, respectively, the former teen stars have had more than ample opportunity to line up big screen projects together. And as it turns out, they've been doing as much since the early days, first sharing the screen in the 1980 comedy, "Class." The film marked John's first screen credit, though Joan had already claimed roles in "My Bodyguard," and "Cutting Loose."
After "Class," the Cusacks would go on to appear in other '80s staples like "Sixteen Candles" (1984), and "Grandview, U.S.A." (1984). A few years passed before they appeared in another movie together, with each turning up in 1987's "Broadcast News," and the pair playing onscreen siblings in the 1989 classic, "Say Anything." 1997 found them trading lines in "Grosse Pointe Blank," followed by collaborations in "Cradle Will Rock" (1999), "High Fidelity" (2000), "Martian Child" (2007), and "War Inc." (2008). And if you're wondering which of those films is the best, Rotten Tomatoes would have you believe "Say Anything" takes the crown.
High Fidelity remains a high water mark in the Cusack's on-screen collabs
Given the all but unimpeachable legacy of "Say Anything," its 98% Tomatometer rating is not at all surprising. That impressive number indeed ranks the film atop the list of those John and Joan Cusack have appeared in together. If you've seen the Cusacks playing onscreen siblings Lloyd and Constance Dobler in the film, you know it arguably features the pair at the top of their youthful games, with their screen chemistry making it all too believable that their characters are actually bickering, but loving siblings.
Tomatometer ratings aside, a case could easily be made that "High Fidelity" is the better of the two films, with John's turn as music-obsessed record store owner Rob Gordon easily ranking among the best of his storied screen career. The same could be said for Joan's work as Liz, a mutual friend of Rob and his ex-girlfriend, Laura (Iben Hjejle). And as glorious as it was to see the Cusacks trade blows and hugs in "Say Anything," watching them square off amid Rob's and Laura's seriously messy breakup is nothing short of transfixing. Some might even say their seething tête-à-tête after Liz learns of Rob's many shortcomings as a boyfriend makes for some of the best drama and comedy in the entire film.
Of course, ranking this film or that as the best of the Cusack's onscreen collabs essentially comes down less to fact than it does personal tastes. But in any case, Cusack fans will no doubt chalk up a win for having watched them all.