Posted 2/17/2006 05:35:00 PM by Douglas

"Yes, he could be a Lloyd."

"Jake Ryan is dessert, and Lloyd Dobler is like the vegetables you need," says Sasha Johnson, 29, a Washington TV producer. "Lloyd Dobler ruined men forever. I can't take total credit for this, an ex-boyfriend said this to me once. He contended that Lloyd Dobler's boombox moment became the pinnacle of romance -- the standard that no man could ever meet no matter how hard he tried. I've always loved Lloyd Dobler and have grown to appreciate him more as the years have gone on . . . the guy in high school that no woman wanted but ultimately now the kind of man we want to marry.

"He had that right mix of self-assuredness, sensitivity and geekiness. He was willing to make an insanely bold gesture to get the woman of his dreams back -- something every woman wishes could happen to her."

[. . .]

"Fake love is a very powerful thing," Klosterman observes. "I once loved a girl who almost loved me, but not as much as she loved John Cusack. . . . It appears that countless women born between the years of 1965 and 1978 are in love with John Cusack. . . . But here's what none of these upwardly mobile women seem to realize: They don't love John Cusack. They love Lloyd Dobler. When they see Mr. Cusack, they are still seeing the optimistic, charmingly loquacious teenager he played in 'Say Anything.' . . .

Why is it that women are actually compelled by men in movies that actually act like, oh, I don't know, men? Sometimes childish and impulsive, yet more attractive than the typical balless putz in your average chick-flick.

On a side note, the wife asked what movies we'd be getting from netflix this weekend when I grabbed a CD player, held it over my head and started singing "In your eyes." She couldn't remember the name of the movie, song, or even that it was John Cusack (at first) but she laughed her ass off, and I think, if just for a moment, swooned.