One man - one murder

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Movie
German title One man - one murder
Original title Big punch line blank
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1997
length 107 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director George Armitage
script Tom Jankiewicz
production Susan Arnold
Roger Birnbaum
music Joe Strummer
camera Jamie Anderson
cut Brian Berdan
occupation

A man - a murder (original title Grosse Pointe Blank) is an American comedy film from 1997 by George Armitage based on a screenplay by Tom Jankiewicz . The film was shown in German-speaking cinemas under the title Grosse Pointe Blank - Ein Mann, ein Mord . On TV and on DVD under Grosse Pointe Blank - First the murder, then the pleasure .

action

Martin Blank is a professional killer . Things don't always go according to plan, which is why his clients are dissatisfied. His professional colleague Dan Grocer wants to persuade Blank to join his killer union in order to get higher prices. However, he is not interested, whereupon Grocer threatens him with consequences. At the same time, Martin was invited to a ten-year high school reunion in 1986 in his hometown of Grosse Pointe . His secretary encourages him to go; However, he only decides to do so when an assignment takes him to Detroit . His psychiatrist also advises him to do this, as Martin has been dreaming of his childhood sweetheart Debi for years.

In Grosse Pointe, he first meets old friends and also the radio presenter Debi. There is another spark between the two. Debi is still upset because Martin transferred her to the prom ten years ago and disappeared without a trace. Martin's parents' house no longer exists and his mother lives in a retirement home. In addition, his rival Grocer, who originally got the contract in Detroit, has two NSA agents who are waiting for him to do something illegal. Also, another killer is set up to kill him. Martin barely escapes him in the hail of bullets and survives the supermarket explosion.

Meanwhile he approaches Debi again and they go to the class reunion together. He tries to bypass questions from his friends about what he does for a living or, half-jokingly, answers professional killer . The killer set on him also shows up at the class reunion. Martin can kill him with a ballpoint pen during a fight. Debi joins them and then doesn't want anything more from Martin; an old classmate helps him remove the body.

Finally Martin opens the file of the witness to be dealt with. He recognizes Debi's father and decides to save him - he has realized what he had missed in the last ten years. He was able to prevent Grocer's attack at the last moment and holed up with Debi and her father in his house. There he can kill all killers. In the end, it seems that Martin and Debi are a couple again.

criticism

"Unsuccessful attempt at social satire on the American (night) dream of striving for professional success at any cost. Steady staging and not very pointed in the dialogues, the film turns out to be a mixture of romantic comedy and over-the-top action, whose flat 'Pulp Fiction' borrowings testify to the authors' lack of imagination. At most he stands out from the current Hollywood mediocrity because of the likeable leading actors. "

- Lexicon of international film

“George Armitage's black comedy from 1997 lives on through its fast-paced production and even faster dialogues. The film is primarily carried by actor John Cusack, who gives his Martin Blank a lot of self-irony, but never turns him into a mere joke. "

- Critic.de

The readers of Total Film , the second largest British film magazine, chose the film in 2000 at number 21 of the best comedies of all time.

Trivia

  • In the video version, the German title Ein Mann - ein Mord was replaced in the cinema version by Grosse Pointe Blank - first murder, then pleasure . In the meantime, the film is only advertised in Germany with the original title Grosse Pointe Blank .
  • Cusack's sister Joan can be seen as Blank's private secretary .
  • His other sister, Ann Cusack, shows up as a drunk former schoolmate Amy at the Hippo Club , his brother Bill as the waiter there.
  • Alan Arkin plays Blank's psychiatrist , whose patient is slowly but surely driving him insane.
  • The soundtrack contains pop music from the 1980s throughout, including Blister in the sun by the Violent Femmes and 99 balloons by Nena , which runs in the background (also in the English version of the film in German) at the class reunion, right after Blank gave his opponent a ballpoint pen rammed in the neck. The soundtrack also includes songs by The Clash ( Rudie Can't Fail and Armagideon Time ), Queen and David Bowie ( Under Pressure ). Faith No More ( We Care A Lot ) and The Jams Absolute Beginners .
  • When Martin is looking for his parents 'house, the cover version of the James Bond title song Live and Let Die by Guns N' Roses is played in the background . When he enters the supermarket, the piece is played in an easy-listening version in the store.
  • A sequel to this bizarre gangster comedy co-produced by Cusack was originally planned, but unofficially only the film War Inc. - You order war: We deliver .
  • John Cusack co-wrote the script.
  • The English title is a play on words. On the one hand, he mentions the name of the city Grosse Pointe and the surname Blank . On the other hand, point blank (Pointe is pronounced like point ) in German means "from a short distance (to shoot)". The title may be an allusion to the 1967 film Point Blank by John Boorman . In it, Lee Marvin plays a professional killer without a doubt.
  • The killer Felix La PuBelle, who is put on Martin by an angry client, is played by John Cusack's kickboxing trainer Benny Urquidez .
  • The slot machine in the supermarket with Doom 2 is just a movie prop.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ One man - one murder. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ Short review on Critic.de