The Sure Thing is a 1985 American romantic comedy Christmas[4] road film directed by Rob Reiner and starring John Cusack, Daphne Zuniga, Viveca Lindfors, and Nicollette Sheridan.

The film chronicles the cross-country journey of college students Walter Gibson (Cusack) and Alison Bradbury (Zuniga) as they make their way from New England to Los Angeles over Christmas break, each in an effort to meet their ideal romantic match.

His attempt to woo the ambitious, pensive Alison Bradbury from his English class by tricking her into tutoring him only results in his angering and alienating her.

Eventually, he receives a phone call from Lance telling him to come to California for Christmas break because he has set him up with a beautiful girl, assuring him she is a "sure thing".

Gib grows jealous when he overhears Alison talking to Jason on the phone, and ventures to a nearby bar where he spends his remaining money on alcohol and drunkenly sings Christmas carols with the locals.

The next morning, Gib rushes Alison out of the motel, and has her stuff her shirt with scarves so she appears pregnant, hoping it will increase their chances of getting a ride.

In their English class, Professor Taub reads an essay composed by Gib as a writing assignment, which is a description of his night with the "sure thing".

[8] When casting for the part of Walter Gibson began, director Rob Reiner initially refused to meet with John Cusack because the actor was under-aged.

[1] Several days before shooting was scheduled to begin at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, a blizzard hit upstate New York, and a second unit was sent to Ithaca to capture the snowy locale.

[1] Meanwhile, the exteriors at the University of the Pacific—which was used as a stand-in for the east coast college campus—were sprayed with a fire-retardant foam to appear as though snow had fallen there.

The following is a list of tracks featured in the film:[10] The Sure Thing was given advanced sneak previews in the United States and Canada on February 23, 1985[11][12][13] before its wide release on March 1, 1985.

"[16] Time Out magazine described the film favorably as a "confident, witty teenage variation on It Happened One Night [that] focuses on two students hitching across the States through rainstorms, starvation and show tunes.

The website's critical consensus reads: "Though its final outcome is predictable, The Sure Thing is a charming, smartly written, and mature teen comedy featuring a breakout role for John Cusack.