Better Off Dead
John Cusack, Aaron Dozier, Amanda Wyss
Lane Myer (John Cusack) is stuck in a personal hell. A compulsive, adolescent Everyman growing up in Suburbia, USA, not only does he fail to make the prestigious high school ski team (again), but his ...( read more
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DVD Released: July 16, 2002
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June 17, 2009I thought this was going to be another predictable 80's romp (like a dude version of Sixteen Candles or something)...but it was SO much better.
It was as if someone from 2005 went back 20 years into the past to film an 80's movie, and because they're totally aware of the cliches... ...( read more ) -
June 14, 2009I really really really enjoyed this.
"I once built a bird house, but it was condemned by the fair housing committee -
November 15, 2008This film is a non-stop laugh fest and the ultimate epitome of the 80's.
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May 19, 2008not the best teen comedy when compared to the likes of ferris bueller, still worth a look though
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January 24, 2007One of the few teen comedies to stand shoulder to shoulder with John Hughes' back-catalogue, Better Off Dead is a weird hybrid of the teen genre, pulling in strange fantasy elements that were (unfortunately) reined in/diluted for the director's later movies.
This is one of the truly original teen comedies in a decade awash with them - using darker, more adult themes than many of it's peers to paint a more rounded picture of the times than one would first imagine.
Lane's suicide attempts (I've always thought to be an homage to Harold and Maude), although played for laughs, strike a serious chord for such a "zany" comedy, and the drug references of the uber-cool Charles De Mar kinda outstrip the weed in Johnson's shorts (although I am in NOOO way rating Better Off Dead above The Breakfast Club) make this movie the logical step between the candy floss teen movie and their grown up counter-parts (St.Elmo's Fire, Bright Lights Big City etc.) (MORE of this on my page, if you're interested)
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