Gib, a beer-guzzling slob, and Alison, an uptight Ivy-Leaguer, are an unlikely duo stuck together on a cross-country trip during Christmas break. At first they get on each other's nerves but, as time passes, they find their divergent natures complement each other. Now they need to realize what they've already found before it's too late.
Acting
Cusack's manic charm before he got sad; Zuniga's ice queen thaw.
Direction
Reiner finding his voice between mockumentary and heart.
Writing
Dialogue that actually earns its emotional beats.
Director
Rob Reiner
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Rob Reiner's first narrative feature after This Is Spinal Tap, and he cast Cusack after seeing him in Sixteen Candles.
The film essentially blueprinted the modern rom-com structure: meet-cute, false conflict, third-act separation, public declaration. Nora Ephron studied this.
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