Synopsis

Professional hitman Martin Blank returns to his Michigan hometown for his ten-year high school reunion, hoping to reconnect with Debi, the girlfriend he abandoned years earlier. While juggling a new assignment, an escalating rivalry with another assassin, and uncomfortable memories of his past, Martin begins questioning whether his violent career has left room for a more meaningful life.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film's title combines the Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe with the expression "point blank," while also echoing the title of the 1967 crime thriller Point Blank.

• Tom Jankiewicz originated the story after receiving an invitation to his own tenth high school reunion. The screenplay was later developed by Jankiewicz, D. V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, and John Cusack.

• Although the story is set in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, most of the production took place in Southern California. Monrovia, Duarte, and Pasadena were used to represent the Michigan locations, with limited Michigan footage incorporated into the film.

• Former Clash frontman Joe Strummer composed the original score. The film also uses two Clash recordings, "Rudie Can't Fail" and "Armagideon Time," within an unusually prominent mix of punk, ska, new wave, and alternative rock.

• The soundtrack album became a notable success, reaching No. 31 on the Billboard 200. A second compilation, Grosse Pointe Blank: More Music from the Film, followed later in 1997.

• George Armitage said that scenes were filmed in several contrasting styles: close to the script, more understated, and deliberately over-the-top. The most energetic versions were often used in the finished film.

• The movie includes appearances by four members of the Cusack family: John, Joan, Ann, and Bill Cusack.