After 25 years I can say with even more enthusiasm than ever that Lloyd Dobler is still my dream man.
I've written about Lloyd and Say Anything many times over the years (you can read a past blog about this subject HERE) and I couldn't let this milestone pass without writing about it once again. My wise lovey mom has always said, "The reasons I fell in love with your dad are not the reasons I love him today" and the same can be said for my love of Lloyd. What starry-eyed teen wouldn't swoon when Lloyd kicks the glass out of Diane's way while walking her home or be able to resist that iconic image of Lloyd holding up the boombox while blasting "In Your Eyes"?
But, the reasons I fell in love with Lloyd are not the same reasons I love him today.
As an adult, what I love about Lloyd is his confidence. As he contemplates his future beyond graduation he's confident that he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life aside from kickboxing ("the sport of the future"). When someone asks him how it happened that Diane was his date to their graduation party he confidently explains, "I'm Lloyd Dobler!" And when Diane's father asks him about his plans for the future, Lloyd confidently explains that he plans to spend as much time with his daughter as possible.
Coupled with that confidence is his unassuming strength. [On the outside chance that you've been living under a rock for 25 years, I must say, "spoiler alert!"] Knowing that Diane will regret leaving the country if she doesn't make some sort of effort to reconcile with her father (a man who has made no secret about his disdain for Lloyd), he hand delivers a letter to him when she thinks she can't face him yet.
And, 25 years later, I also really dig the fact that Lloyd showed that he's got an ear for great music as evidenced by the then-little-known Red Hot Chili Peppers playing in his car at the beginning of the movie.
Thank you, Cameron Crowe for 25 years of greatness!
