The Sure Thing

Rob Reiner's second film was anything but a sure thing: a teen-oriented romantic comedy that owed more to It Happened One Night than to Animal House. Rather than pander to an audience's worst instincts, he appealed to their best with this 1985 road movie that throws together two mismatched travelers: the whimsical Gib (John Cusack) and the buttoned-up Alison (Daphne Zuniga). The combative Ivy League college classmates share a ride to California; she to rendezvous with her sensible boyfriend, and he to hook up with a "sure thing" (Nicollette Sheridan, who is to this film what Bo Derek was to 10). The Sure Thing helped put Cusack in the driver's seat as a leading man with the smarts, sense of humor, and Everyteen charisma to carry a film, and while he does seem to be channeling Bill Murray in several scenes, he would eventually become his own man in Say Anything. Tim Robbins and Lisa Jane Persky enliven the proceedings as the show-tune-singing couple who initially give Gib and Alison a lift. A shockingly young-looking Anthony Edwards is Gib's former high school friend who lures him 3,000 miles with the promise of a no-guilt-trip. Boasting a lovely digital widescreen transfer, the disc also contains a trio of featurettes about the making of the film, and laid-back commentary by Reiner. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)[Blu-ray Review—Mar. 24, 2015—Shout! Factory, 95 min., PG-13, Blu-ray: $24.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1985's The Sure Thing features a decent transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. Extras for this 30th anniversary edition include audio commentary by director Rob Reiner, the production featurettes “Road to The Sure Thing” (26 min.), “Dressing” (9 min.), “Casting” (7 min.), and “Reading” (5 min.), and a trailer. Bottom line: an ‘80s classic rom-com makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]