Shadows and Fog (1991)

Cusack Plays: Jack the student

An interesting watch from Woody Allen. There's a strangler on the loose, and Woody is summonded to be on the vigilante task force. He stumbles through the night getting progressively more confused and interacting with circus performers and prostitutes.

Cusack is a student and regular at the local whorehouse, and takes a fancy to Mia Farrow (who has run off from the circus after finding her boyfriend canoodling with Madonna, and ended up staying with the prostitutes for the night (!) ), paying her $700 for sex. That, and reflecting on it are about it for him.

The relatively short runninng time (85 minutes) meant that this kept me interested, and the star studded cast means that big names keep popping up throughout. Cusack must have impressed Allen, as he gets a much bigger part in Bullets over Broadway (1994).

True Colors (1991)

Tagline: Friendship and betrayal; Its not all black and white.
Cusack plays: Ambitious aspiring politician Peter Burton.

Oh the excitement my best friend and I felt when we discovered there was a film with two of our favourite men in it. The excitement was somewhat squished when we got round to watching it a couple of years ago. This second viewing for the Challenge provided an opportunity to take a look at why it might not have been that great.

Cusack and Spader play law students in the 1980s who then go on to political internships. Cusack, the boy from a poor background is ruthless in his pursuit of power, while Spader wants to do good by becoming a lawyer (this desire is rubbished so much it's as if he is saying his lifes desire is to work in Burger King). You would imagine that Spader would traditionally take on the bad guy role, and the swap doesn't really work that well. Nor are we given enough reasons to properly hate Cusack as his bad deeds aren't really shown on screen. However there is a fantastic/awful ski race, after Cusack confesses to bedding Spader's girlfriend. But overall, not quite as bad as I remembered.