The Sure Thing (1985)

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writers:

Steve Bloom (written by) &
Jonathan Roberts (written by)

Release Date:

1 March 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

He's onto a sure thing . . . but ends up on the funniest journey to romance you've ever seen.

Plot:

A college student plans a cross-country trip to get laid, but ends up traveling with a young woman. They hate each other, so naturally...

Plot Keywords:

College | Cross Country | Road | Road Trip | California

US TV Schedule:

Thur. May 17

3:00 AM

TBS

Cast

John Cusack	...	Walter 'Gib' Gibson
Daphne Zuniga	...	Alison Bradbury
Anthony Edwards	...	Lance
Boyd Gaines	...	Jason
Tim Robbins	...	Gary Cooper
Lisa Jane Persky	...	Mary Ann Webster
Viveca Lindfors	...	Professor Taub
Nicollette Sheridan	...	The Sure Thing
Marcia Christie	...	Julie
Robert Anthony Marcucci	...	Bobby
Sarah Buxton	...	Sharon
Lorrie Lightle	...	Lucy
Joshua Cadman	...	Jimbo
Krystal Richards	...	Girl in Photo
John Putch	...	Mastin
Steve Pink	...	Football Player
Tracy Reiner	...	Alison's Friend
Martin J. Layton	...	Frat Guy (as Marty Layton)
Amy Resnick	...	Marsha
Robert Bauer	...	Moke
Frantz Turner	...	Cop
Garry Goodrow	...	Pick-Up Driver
Robert Snively	...	Bus Station Clerk
Carmen Filpi	...	Bus Station Bum
Richard Hamilton	...	Bartender
George Memmoli	...	Man in Bar
Rosalind Moreland	...	Barmaid
Sunshine Parker	...	Cowboy Guy
Fran Ryan	...	Lady in Car
Teresa Baxter	...	Rose Lady
Larry Hankin	...	Trucker
Jimmy Baron	...	Guy at Frat Party
Julie Ow	...	Girl in Sarong
Noelle Williams	...	Katherine
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tamara Carrera	...	Fantasy Girl (uncredited)
David Connella	...	Student (uncredited)
Helen Kelly	...	Bar Girl (uncredited)
Joy Michelle Moore	...	Hot Party Girl (uncredited)
John Richard Petersen	...	Frat Guy on Stairs (uncredited)
Christopher Rydell	...	Charlie (uncredited)

Directed by
Rob Reiner

Writing credits
Steve Bloom		(written by) (as Steven L. Bloom) &
Jonathan Roberts		(written by)

Produced by
Roger Birnbaum	....	producer
Andrew Scheinman	....	co-producer
Jeffrey Stott	....	associate producer
Henry Winkler	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Tom Scott

Cinematography by
Robert Elswit		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Robert Leighton

Casting by
Janet Hirshenson
Jane Jenkins

Production Design by
Lilly Kilvert

Set Decoration by
Lisa Fischer

Costume Design by
Durinda Wood

Makeup Department
Patricia Messina	....	makeup artist
Michele Payne	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Steve Nicolaides	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Brian James Ellis	....	second assistant director
Sam Epstein	....	second assistant director
Thomas Lofaro	....	first assistant director

Art Department
David Brisbin	....	lead man
Mickie Cecchini	....	assistant painter
Buddy Cone	....	art department assistant
Amanda J. Flick	....	scenic artist (as Amanda Flick)
David L. Glazer	....	property master (as David Glazer)
Mark 'Digger' Green	....	assistant props (as Mark Green)
Dennis Hoerter	....	carpenter
Richard Hoover	....	assistant art director
Thierry Verrier	....	set dresser
Frank Viviano	....	construction coordinator

Sound Department
Douglas B. Arnold	....	boom (as Doug Arnold)
Beth Bergeron	....	post-production sound
John Brasher	....	post-production sound
David E. Campbell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Roberta Doheny	....	post-production sound
Robert Eber	....	sound mixer (as Bob Eber)
Alfred T. Ferrante	....	sound recordist
Alia Kahn	....	post-production sound
Lars Nelson	....	post-production sound
Tony Ray	....	post-production sound
John T. Reitz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gregg Rudloff	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Gregg C. Rudloff)

Special Effects by
John Frazier	....	special effects
Jeffrey A. Wischnack	....	special effects assistant (as Jeff Wischnack)

Camera and Electrical Department
Paul Amorelli	....	electrician
Greg Bridges	....	grip
François Duhamel	....	unit photographer (as Francois Duhamel)
Kevin Kelley	....	best boy electrician
Martin J. Layton	....	camera assistant (as Marty Layton)
Michael Meek	....	grip
Ron Meurrier	....	lamp operator: Stockton
Jack Palinkas	....	key grip
Lee Phillips	....	gaffer
Krishna Rao	....	camera assistant (as Chris Rao)
George Ressler	....	grip best boy (as George Resler)
Thomas Vanghele	....	camera assistant (as Thomas P. Vanghele)
Devik Wiener	....	electrician
Roland Young	....	electrician

Casting Department
Eve Brandstein	....	casting executive

Costume and Wardrobe Department
May Hart	....	wardrobe assistant
Constance Sech	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Christine Cholvin	....	assistant editor
Terry Haggar	....	color timer
Jack Hooper	....	negative cutter
Cathy Rosenstein	....	post-production coordinator
Adam Weiss	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Kenneth Karman	....	music editor
Alexandra Leviloff	....	assistant music editor
Gary Lubow	....	music recording engineer
Elliot Lurie	....	music coordinator
Becky Mancuso-Winding	....	music supervisor (as Becky Shargo)

Transportation Department
Ken Day	....	driver
Bo Falck	....	transportation co-captain
Pat Gordon	....	driver
Thomas A. Gordon	....	driver (as Tom Gordon)
Greg Landis	....	driver
Ronald Linxwiler	....	driver (as Ron Linxwiler)
Tim Roslan	....	transportation captain
Dusty Saunders	....	driver
David Shaffer	....	driver (as Dave Shaffer)
Larry Sims	....	driver

Other crew
Robert Breech	....	location manager: Los Angeles
William Burke	....	location manager: Stockton
Leslie Cornyn	....	assistant production accountant
Leigh French	....	coordinator: custom looping
Joan Gagrelcik	....	studio teacher (as Joan Thompson Gabrelcik)
Elizabeth Galloway	....	production coordinator
Walter Hart	....	production assistant
Edward Hersom	....	craft service: Stockton
Lisa Lynn Kearsley	....	production secretary: Los Angeles
Cathy Lerner	....	secretary: Mr. Birnbaum
Leslie 'Tinker' Linville	....	production assistant (as Leslie Linville)
Mitch Marcus	....	production assistant
Anne Rapp	....	continuity (as Anne Rapp-Dowd)
Cathy Rosenstein	....	assistant: Rob Reiner & producers
Eric Silvern	....	craft service: Los Angeles
Mary Vigna	....	production secretary: Stockton
Joyce Wagner	....	unit publicist
Zelig Walters	....	caterer
Ron Welch	....	caterer
Ruth Whittle	....	production accountant

Production Companies

• Embassy Films (presents) (as Embassy Films Associates)
• Monument Pictures

Distributors

• Embassy Pictures Corporation (1985) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox Network (1991) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2008) (United Arab Emirates) (DVD) (Middle East)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Canada) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Atmosphere Casting  extras casting
• BT Industrial Supply  expendables
• Compact Sound Services  re-recording by
• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.®)
• J's Fine Art Inc.  post production sound
• Modern Film Effects  title and opticals
• Otto Nemenz International  cameras and lenses supplied by
• Record Plant Scoring  music recorded at
• Seiniger Advertising  main title design
• Split Reel Recording  sound transfer

Also Known As:

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Canadian Home Video rating) | Portugal:M/12 | France:U | Australia:M | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (No. 27534) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Embassy Films

Trivia:

The scene where Gib teaches Alison to shotgun a beer was added to the script after John Cusack told Rob Reiner it was something he knew how to do.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Gary is driving after the first night in the hotel he is on the left-hand side of the road. In the next shot he is back on the right.

Quotes:

Lady in Car:What are you gonna name it?
Alison Bradbury:What?
Lady in Car:The baby.
Alison Bradbury:[realizing she's faking being pregnant] Oh, the baby. Well, if it's a girl, Cynthia, and if it's a boy, Elliot.
Lady in Car:Those are lovely names.
Walter (Gib) Gibson:Elliot? You're gonna name the kid Elliot? No, you can't name the kid Elliot. Elliot is a fat kid with glasses who eats paste. You're not gonna name the kid Elliot. You gotta give him a real name. Give him a name. Like Nick.
Alison Bradbury:Nick?
Walter (Gib) Gibson:Yeah, Nick. Nick's a real name. Nick's your buddy. Nick's the kind of guy you can trust, the kind of guy you can drink a beer with, the kind of guy who doesn't mind if you puke in his car, Nick!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Psych: Earth, Wind and... Wait for It (#3.12)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Party All Night

One of the best romantic comedies ever made....

Rating: ***1/2

Review: I know I've seen this more than 100 times, and chances are I'll see it a 1000 more times until I die. One of the most underrated films of the 1980s, this film not only marked the second directorial effort by Rob Reiner (THE PRINCESS BRIDE, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY...), but also the starring debut of John Cusack, one of my all-time favorite actors (even if he wasn't, I'd still feel the same way about this film). Even after 15 years, this film remains fresh, funny and wonderfully romantic, with a tenderness and innocence that's missing in so many teen films. It still offends me how so many teen films put it out today (with CAN'T HARDLY WAIT leading the pack) could become hits with their target audiences and films like this are left on the video shelf being forgotten. Their excuse may be simply that "it's old," but considering how cliched teen films are today, I can't believe they are smart enough to realize that. It's a shame that THE SURE THING hasn't recieved the DVD treatment, so that it could be re-discovered by today's audiences. THE SURE THING stars Cusack as Walter "Gib" Gibson a guy who loves junk food, beer, and life in general but feels lost for the first time in his life in terms of love when he completes high school. While having a beer with his best friend Lance (Anthony Edwards), he recalls all the women he's been with and how's he's changed. We now find out that they are about to depart to seperate colleges: Lance is going to California, and Gib is going to an Ivy League school up in the Northeast. Gib discovers that college is not all it's cracked up to be, and soon starts to flunk English. This is when we meet Alison Bradbury (Daphne Zuniga) a straight-A, education committed young woman who is too uptight, to say the least.

Gib tries, but fails, to win Allison and finds himself back to Square One when he gets a call from Lance. Since Christmas is coming soon, Lance invites Gib to travel cross country to spend the holidays with him. Gib declines, until Lance mentions that there is a "very special person...who loves sex" who would very much like to meet him. After seeing a picture of this "sure thing" that Lance sends him, he immediately makes plans to travel to California. He soon realizes that he's not travelling alone, but with Alison, who's also journeying to CA to see her boyfriend (calling him uptight would be much too kind). The majority of the films shows them on the road trying to get to California, though they soon learn not only tolerate but also respect each other, and soon their goals become dimmer, but not forgotten. There are so many wonderful moments on this little trip! Instead of using cliches, director Reiner likes to poke fun at them like in a near-rape scene where Gib becomes a real actor, or when Alison is learning to shotgun beer (one of Gib's favorite hobbies) and finally discovering the last thing you'd expect to be sticking out a car window while driving by. Finally, when they both arrive in California, Alison learns of Gib's reason for coming and the climactic scene is at a dorm party where unions are forged, words are passed and feelings are finally looked at by the two main characters. The film's final sequence is quite unusual and different, which is all the more reason for you to forget the film's only negative element. That element that THE SURE THING seems to get attacked by is predictablity, though most people shouldn't care, considering how charming and funny the film is. Sure, you know that Gib and Alison are going to end up together but the trip to that point is something to a grab a seat for. Writers Steven Bloom and Jonathan Roberts make every character real and believable and manage to give nearly every one of them an unforgettable line. Saying just one of those lines would spoil a lot for the person who hasn't watched this movie yet. All I'm saying is, if there is a film that shouldn't be missed it is this one, because like a lot of critics said "It's a genuinely special love story."