I watched this movie in the theatres back when it came out, which means nearly 30 years ago. Given that this is a movie that’s about the passage of time and the loss of one’s youth — it takes place at John Cusack’s ten-year high school reunion — this makes me feel extra old. The delta between the in-movie high school and the reunion is like a fraction of the time between seeing this in college and now.

Not making me feel any younger is that the characters in the movie — even though they’re ten years out of high school — still feel like babies. They’re in their twenties, right.

But I don’t think it’s just that I’m old; I think these characters really are written somewhat infantilized: Cusack is dicking around at professional killing, but clearly is going to need to get into a real career at some point; Minnie Driver is living in an apartment that screams “dorm room.” They’re all seemingly obsessed with their high school relationships, even beyond the reunion dragging history back up. The characters really feel like they’re maybe five years out of high school, but I guess that wouldn’t give them the soundtrack they wanted for the reunion.

Anyway, though, the ironic heart of the movie is the contrast between its bucolic suburban setting and Cusack’s violent life as an assassin, and the movie handles this well. The scenes where he ends up doing cool Movie Assassin shit in absolutely banal settings are the main thing I remembered from this movie, and hold up.

I’m not sure this movie works if you don’t have at least some nostalgia for the ’90s and/or the late ‘80s; but if you do, it’s good retro fun.