Better Off Dead -- 15 Years Later

Rating: 6/10 (3 September 2005)

***Some cryptic spoilers possibly ahead*** In many ways, this is the sequel to BETTER OFF DEAD (1985). Rob / Lane is 15 years older, has a job, but still struggling with relationships. The movies are strikingly similar -- music plays a key role in both; Cusack's character is dumped at the beginning; he finds true love at the end (albeit in BOD with a different person); there's a hodgepodge of bizarre supporting characters that move in and out of the story with, in the end, Rob / Lane and his "true love" being the only ones that are anything close to "normal." There are differences, also, of course -- Rob speaks directly to the audience throughout, something Lane never does. For that reason, HF is a heavier film -- more drama, more "black" comedy, versus BOD with its lighter comedy bordering on slapstick at times, and dramatic elements which are present primarily in the background. Then there's the constant profanity, again perhaps inevitable, but an obvious difference.
Even without making the comparison (unfortunately, for me every Cusack role ends up being inevitably compared to BOD), HF is still rather rough around the edges. Granted, it will have meaning to many, but I found myself halfway through being grateful that I got married young and don't have to worry about all this serial dating / relationship nonsense. Cusack is about my age, so I look at his roles as portraying people my age. I got married at 22 and have never regretted it; the idea of cohabitation with multiple partners without any sense of security of stability is therefore entirely foreign to me. Again, it probably means something to other people in my age group, but I'm personally glad I "missed out" on all that.
My other criticism, alluded to earlier, is that this really isn't a comedy. I don't think I laughed once. On the DVD, I watched the trailer after seeing the movie and laughed out loud. The trailer is a thousand times funnier than the movie itself (and, in fact, contains several scenes that aren't in the final cut, while misrepresenting other scenes). The movie really isn't that funny -- some black comedy, some irony, some clever twists and dialog, but it's really a "heavy" film about struggling in relationships, work, friends, parents and overall identity for twenty- and thirty-somethings.