Better Off Dead
starring: John Cusack, David Ogden Stiers, Kim Darby, Demian Slade, Scooter Stevens
directed by: Savage Steve Holland
directed by: Savage Steve Holland
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Product Description:
Lane Myer's (John Cusack) dreams are shattered when his girlfriend Beth (Amanda Wyss) decides she prefers the company of a sleazy ski jock over his own. This disheartening news leads Lane to attempt to take his own life in various ways--all of which never seem to work out. But if he can beat Beth's new boyfriend in a ski run down the treacherous K-12, he may be able to win her back. Along the way, Lane also encounters a beautiful French exchange student, a nasal spray-snorting neighbor, a rabid newspaper boy, and dancing hamburgers. "Savage" Steve Holland (ONE CRAZY SUMMER) directs this 1985 cult favorite.
Amazon.com:
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
Lane Myer's (John Cusack) dreams are shattered when his girlfriend Beth (Amanda Wyss) decides she prefers the company of a sleazy ski jock over his own. This disheartening news leads Lane to attempt to take his own life in various ways--all of which never seem to work out. But if he can beat Beth's new boyfriend in a ski run down the treacherous K-12, he may be able to win her back. Along the way, Lane also encounters a beautiful French exchange student, a nasal spray-snorting neighbor, a rabid newspaper boy, and dancing hamburgers. "Savage" Steve Holland (ONE CRAZY SUMMER) directs this 1985 cult favorite.
Amazon.com:
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
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- looks great
I purchased this movie because I thought it was hilarious. The DVD version looks really good.
Great timeless comedy.
Rating: 
- Corny, cliche filled and idiotic
I can't begin to tell you what a terrible bomb this is. Every corny, cliche known to man is in this pukey show.
Rating: - One of the best
Love this movie, and have since childhood.A must see for any John Cusack fan.
Rating: - I want my two dollars!!!
This movie is a classic!I've had it on VHS (taped from t.v.) for years and I finally had to order it on DVD.The characters are hysterical.My favorite line is the newspaper boy's constant chant, "I want my two dollars!"If you love teen movies, '80s movies, classic camaros, and/or moms that make scary dinners, you'll love this movie.If you're tired of dramas, the bad economy, etc. you need to watch a comedy!
Rating: - How funny can it get
This movie had me laughing so hard it hurt.I was laughing so hard when the mom was cooking that seafood creature - what the heck was that thing?It looked like an octopus with lobster claws.And the blue glob that slid off the plate - omg.i couldn't hardly breath.John Cusack's one of my top 5 favorite actors and this was a great comedy for him.His subtle despair and turn around hit the mark. Sweet, hilarious, creepy, exciting (ski scenes! wow)Great flick.
- looks greatI purchased this movie because I thought it was hilarious. The DVD version looks really good.
Great timeless comedy.
- Corny, cliche filled and idioticI can't begin to tell you what a terrible bomb this is. Every corny, cliche known to man is in this pukey show.
- One of the bestLove this movie, and have since childhood.A must see for any John Cusack fan.
- I want my two dollars!!!This movie is a classic!I've had it on VHS (taped from t.v.) for years and I finally had to order it on DVD.The characters are hysterical.My favorite line is the newspaper boy's constant chant, "I want my two dollars!"If you love teen movies, '80s movies, classic camaros, and/or moms that make scary dinners, you'll love this movie.If you're tired of dramas, the bad economy, etc. you need to watch a comedy!
- How funny can it getThis movie had me laughing so hard it hurt.I was laughing so hard when the mom was cooking that seafood creature - what the heck was that thing?It looked like an octopus with lobster claws.And the blue glob that slid off the plate - omg.i couldn't hardly breath.John Cusack's one of my top 5 favorite actors and this was a great comedy for him.His subtle despair and turn around hit the mark. Sweet, hilarious, creepy, exciting (ski scenes! wow)Great flick.
