Has John Cusack Ever Made a Bad Movie?

Kidding. Sort of.

I mean, look, the guy’s made almost 60 movies, in a career spanning more than 25 years (per his Wikipedia filmography, at least). It’s pretty much impossible to make that many films and have nary a stinker in the bunch.

Granted, I haven’t seen all or even most of those five dozen films. (Which surprised me, actually; I’d been prepared to open this post by flashing my Cusack credentials, daring anyone to challenge me.)

But I’ve seen a lot of them. And I honestly cannot think of a single film, even the ones he hasn’t “starred” in, which he has not boosted by a sly, assured performance.

Lord knows, there’s nothing conventionally movie-star about his looks — his soulful-hangdog looks (like in the above photo) or (as at left) his crazy looks or (as below right) affable, laughing, and apparently relaxed. (I’ve never seen Rachael Ray’s talk show, but I’ve seen her manic 30-Minute Meals routine. It’s hard to imagine anyone could ever really be relaxed around that person, but I remain open to the possibilities of an infinite universe.)

And Lord knows, in one of his profession’s true injustices, he doesn’t have shelves full of acting awards.

But damn, the guy is a pleasure to see on the screen.

This weekend, The Missus and I saw his most recent release, War, Inc. Blockbuster (being Blockbuster) stupidly declared the flim’s genre (per the rental box) to be “Action.” There’s action in it, sure. Explosions. Car chases. Hand-to-hand combat.

Unfortunately, as an action movie it sorta got lost in the shuffle during its opening weeks in theaters — the worst time for a movie to get lost in the shuffle — thanks to another entry in that genre: Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.

But as I said, it’s really stupid to call it an action movie anyhow. It’s really satire — political satire — in the Wag the Dog mode. (Quick brushstrokes: Iraq-like setting (“Turaqistan,” here). Country under occupation by a foreign power (not a foreign country, mind you — the premise is that this is the first war fought entirely by the employees of a single company.) Cusack plays an assassin (as he’s done before), with a loopy mop of white-streaked hair and a hot-sauce habit. (He’s training his eyes not to tear up.)

Not a bad remaining cast, either: JC’s sister Joan; Marisa Tomei*; Ben Kingsley; Dan Aykroyd; Hilary Duff; Ben Cross; and — in a star voice-only turn as Cusack’s electronic car-navigation and driver-therapy system, a souped-up version of GM’s OnStar — Montel Williams.

Good for a couple hours of laughter (much of it mordant) and, yes, action thrills. And a kicking soundtrack, too, although way too many of the songs play for just a few bars. (I almost did this post along the lines of “Has John Cusack Ever Made a Movie with a Bad Soundtrack?”)

And then, of course, there’s the sublime Cusack.

Here’s the trailer:

___________________________________

* Shamelessly overlooked/underrated since her now long-ago Oscar for My Cousin Vinnie, but here in excellent form — literally, but also comedically and as a foil to Cusack’s own character.