Better Off Dead

Did kids in 1985 "get" Better Off Dead? John Cusack wouldn't become a teen beau ideal until 1989's Say Anything..., and here his combination loser/geek/skiing rivet might come off as hard to relate to.


I don't get it on, I static love this movie, with its flakey tangents/dream sequences, such as when Cusack's Lane crafts an animatronic, Van Halen-rocking hamburger during his parttime job. What's that got to do with anything? Well, cypher at all. In fact, all the skiing, talking cartoons, and odd meals ("Frahnch fries...") disorder from Lane's frequent self-destruction attempts, upset over the loss of his girl (Amanda Wyss). The photographic film could have been a lot more disturbing -- but of course Lane never quite manages to off himself, and he doesn't get the girl back either; he trades up to the foreign exchange student across the street.


Directed by Savage Steve Holland (Who!? After reteaming with Cusack in One Crazy Summer, he went on to direct a lot of bad TV, including V.I.P. and the notorious Shasta McNasty.), Better Off Dead is