Better Off Dead (1985)

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 beloved sweetheart, Beth, also leaves him for Roy, the team's popular, arrogant captain. If this isn't bad enough, he's stuck with a mother who frighteningly experiments--rather than cooks--with food, a brother who builds rockets out of models, and a best friend so desperate for drugs that he settles for snorting powdered snow. Faced with these prospects, Lane opts to end it all ... until he comes up with a ridiculous plan to gain acceptance and win Beth back. Director Savage Steve Holland warps this simple, clichéd premise, letting his wacky imagination twist it into a fairly original, slightly dark, and completely hilarious '80s teen comedy. Not as serious a "suicide-attempt" movie as, say, Harold and Maude but just as funny, the film's more a collection of screwball sketches than a narrative. Holland livens the high jinks with surrealistic fantasy touches, including Jell-O that crawls, a hamburger that sings Van Halen, drawings that mock its creator, Japanese race-car drivers who only speak Howard Cosell, and a psychotic paperboy seeking blood over a missing $2. Cusack puts the whole thing on his shoulders and carries the insanity with another one of his touching, obsessively romantic performances, which, along with Say Anything, The Sure Thing, and One Crazy Summer, made him the quintessential (and appealing) personification of lovestruck adolescence and suffering. --Dave McCoy Amazon.com

 One of the Best 80's film EVER...
First of all, I love John Cusac he's a great actor and ages well. I have seen almost every movie he has acted in. Better Off Dead is still my all time favorite. I can watch it over and over without getting tired of it. It is a movie that has wit you will not be disapointed. The movie is hilarious I highly recommend purchasing it or if you're not sure then rent it first then you'll know it is worth owning. I'm just sorry it took me this long to purchase it. May 5, 2008

 I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if I took out Beth.......?
This movie is HIlarious! It gets better every time you watch it. The subtleties are noticable the more times you see it. Cusack is great as a self-depricating wanna-be sucicidal teenager. This is on the list of great cult films.

"I've been going to this school for 7 1/2 years, I'm no dummy." March 28, 2008

 Sucked
I liked this a tad more then One Crazy Summer which totally sucked but I was looking for another Say Anything which he was fantastic in! Sure Thing came close but I just threw this in the trash after I was done. Sorry, not my kind of humor. It was embarrassing to think anyone would have to admit to liking it. March 27, 2008

 cute, but not a must see
Not as brilliant as Say Anything, Better Off Dead has a lot of the same elements. The appeal of this movie is John Cusack's undeniable cuteness and ability to make high school losers likeable. This is a great rental. March 26, 2008

 One of the greatest 80's movies ever put on DVD.
If you're looking for great one liners and witty dialogue... this is your movie. Drop what you're doing and buy it now. There are parts of this movie that just pop into your head and make you laugh no matter what you're doing. One of Cusack's best to date. February 23, 2008

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