Better Off Dead...

Plot synopsis:
In the town of Greendale in northern California, high school student Lane Myer's two main interests are skiing and his girlfriend of six months, Beth. Shortly before Christmas, Beth dumps Lane for the handsome and popular captain of the ski team, Roy Stalin. Roy is also an arrogant bully who unfairly rejects Lane at ski team tryouts. Beth also criticizes Lane's car, an old station wagon. Although Lane also owns a disabled 1967 Camaro, he has not been able to get it running.
Lane lives in a suburban development with his mother, Jenny, a ditzy housewife who improvises gut-wrenching recipes for family meals; his genius little brother, Badger, who never speaks but at the age of "almost 8" can build powerful lasers and attract trashy women; and his lawyer father, Al, who daily tries to stop the menacing paperboy, Johnny, from damaging his garage with thrown newspapers. Furthermore, Johnny claims that the Myers owe him two dollars for newspapers, and persistently hounds Lane yelling "I want my two dollars!" Lane also regularly encounters two Japanese drag racers, one of whom learned to speak English by listening to Howard Cosell.
Lane cannot get past Beth's rejection and decides that death is the only way out of his misery. He makes several half-hearted attempts at suicide, which all comically fail. With the help of his best friend, Charles de Mar--who in lieu of "real drugs" constantly inhales everyday substances like Jell-O, snow, and nitrous oxide in a whipped cream can--Lane tries to ski the K-12 himself in hopes of getting Beth back, but wipes out. Lane is further embarrassed when he gets fired from his humiliating fast food job at Pig Burgers in front of Roy and Beth, who are there on a date.
As Lane attempts to either end his life or win back his ex-girlfriend, he gradually gets to know a new girl: a French foreign-exchange student named Monique, who has a crush on him. She is staying with Lane's overbearing neighbor Mrs. Smith and her socially backward son Ricky, who are so annoying that Monique pretends she cannot speak English. Monique turns out to be an excellent auto mechanic and skier who helps Lane fix his Camaro and tries to build his confidence. When Roy insults Monique, Lane challenges him to a ski race down the K-12, with the winner to be captain of the ski team. Monique helps Lane prepare for the race, which he ultimately wins despite losing one ski and being pursued by Johnny. Beth rushes to embrace Lane at the finish line, but he rejects her and, after besting Ricky in a ski-pole swordfight, drives off with Monique in his Camaro. Lane and Monique are last seen kissing at home plate at Dodger Stadium.

Tags: absurd, cult, comedy, psychedelic, romantic

Review:
If you find yourself easily amused, can see the humor in the way life hands you a sour glass of milk to wash down lifes trials in love, then you MUST see this Classic Movie that made me a Cusack fan!.
Slowly, he finds himself bonding with French exchange student Diane Franklin, a beautiful and clever young woman, that helps to build up Cusack's self-image so he can win his girlfriend back.Better Off Dead follows a familiar basic storyline.
Rounding out the cast includes Amanda Wyss as the fickle girlfriend who is more interested in her popularity than anything else; David Ogden Stiers (Major Winchester from M*A*S*H fame) as the dad who tries too hard to be "in", Kim Darby is priceless here as the mother who is completely, absolutely and utterly clueless, Scooter Stevens as Lane's little brother Badger is one ongoing surprise after another, and what is probably going to go down as BY FAR the most coveted film role in the 20th century, Demian Slade plays the paperboy from Hell.
I watched this again, to clear my mind of "Wilbur..."What makes this a cut above is the composition of sight gags -- 'How to build a space shuttle out of household items' is in the foreground, and then the eye pulls back to reveal the mother battling a sea monster in a pot, which frustrates her attempt to cook it...Cusack frets over an impossibly broken binding, and in the same frame the 'paperboy from hell' appears on a weatherized delivery bicycle...it's priceless stuff.The story is told visually, you see...this has less to do with dialogue (although what there is of it, is classic), than with the idea of the writer's imagination conflated with movie imagination conflated with movie 'reality'.
Savage Steve Holland's sensational 'Better Off Dead...' is another one of my favourite teen films.
Lane's ex-girlfriend giving him an excuse that she dumped him for someone better looking and more popular, Lanes failed suicide attempts, Lanes cartoons are among some of the most amusing sequences.Holland gives the film a unique treatment.
Curtis Armstrong provides some morbidly funny moments.To say it in one sentence, 'Better Off Dead...' is one of the rarest examples of teen movies at its best.
John Cusack plays wonderfully as Lane Myer who had an obsessive relationship with his ex girlfriend, Beth, who breaks up the relationship for somebody better.
As his friend played brilliantly by Curtis Armstrong tells him "Suicide is not the answer" and lines like "I've been going to high school for 7 years, I'm no dummy." While Lane depresses over his adolescence existence in a small northern California town, the laughs just keep getting better.
First time director Holland is conspicuously the new kid on the block as he saturates his film with so many ideas, a clear giveaway that he is yet to trust himself enough to release the reigns enough to let his movies breath.
His is one of several casting choices that are pitch perfect: John Cusak as the self-involved teen who wants to end it all when his vapid girlfriend (Amanda Wyss) dumps him for someone more popular; Laura Waterbury as the odious loud-mouthed neighbour and gas guzzling mother of shy bullish nerd Ricky Smith (perfectly played by Dan Schneider); Kim Derby as the timid clueless stay-at-home mom who makes slime-ridden meals that seem somehow sentient and slide off the plate by themselves (her "Frawnch" dinner party host is unforgettable); Curtis Armstrong ostensibly reprising his role from REVENGE OF THE NERDS gets the lion's share of one-liners and he delivers them with so much aplomb; Chuck Mitchell reprising his PORKY'S role is perfect as bad-tempered burger baron Rocko; Diane Franklin as the hapless frustrated French exchange student who is both a fairy godmother and the surprise love interest; monster child Scooter Stevens who wields newspapers as weapons and to whom two dollars means the world; and the super talented David Ogden Stiers as the priggish father attempting to bridge the generation gap with his checked-out son.BETTER OFF DEAD is not for everyone and the film is most likely best enjoyed by those who lived through the 80s and understand its cultural peccadilloes, but if you have watched your fair share of 80s comedies like SCREWBALLS, 16 CANDLES, BACHELOR PARTY, PORKY'S, NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION, REAL GENIUS, ZAPPED, or POLICE ACADEMY, you might wanna give BETTER OF DEAD a chance.
Now, I like John Cusack (he was great in Grosse Pointe Blank and Eight Men Out) and I enjoy teen comedies like Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but this flick is about as bad as a movie can get.
The film's title come from Cusack believing himself to be better off dead than minus Amanda Wyss.
It's films like this that give teen comedies a bad name.STORY: $$$ (There was plenty room here for Holland to give his viewers the goods but his writing skills are wanting to say the least.
Cusack is far better in other films and David Ogden Steirs is wasted as John's father).SEXUALITY: $ (Little of note here.
The paperboy then stalks Lane throughout the movie which is just one of the many things that lowers the quality to the level of a second-rate Saturday morning kiddy show.If you're a not-too-bright, upper-middle class ten or eleven year old kid, you'll probably love this movie and laugh until you wet yourself.
But, if you hate trivial movies that contain silly chase scenes, lame car crashes, idiotic daydreams, and unbelievable situations that the director seems to think are ever-so-wacky, you'll want to avoid this movie.If you like wacky movies, but don't want your intelligence insulted too much, try "Weird Science." Lots of crazy stuff happens in that movie, but it's a thousand times more believable because of the premise..
The gags, the things some of the characters say, the weird scenarios, and Lane Myer's over-active imagination, all add up to a great movie!
There are so many scenes and quotes from this film that had me laughing and I still laugh at them after numerous viewings 'It gets Better the more you watch it' All the characters in the film are Hilarious from Lane's family his wacky neighbours Ricky and his Mom. I don't want to spoil the film for anyone by saying anymore except just watch it and enjoy...
I've seen Holland and Cusack's followup film, One Crazy Summer, and I remember liking that one better..
Though much of what came out of the decade is now considered stupid kitsch and not worth much, some of the films remain a really good time and it's refreshing to see a movie that never takes itself seriously in this day and age; when there seems to be an unwelcome feeling that only A-grade material can truly be accepted.
Better off Dead is a surreal and inventive comedy from a man calling himself 'Savage Steve Holland', that depicts teen life.
So imagine my excitement at finding a Cusack film I hadn't seen, on Play.com, namely 'Better off Dead'.
I was 15 years old and I thought it was a bit slow.But then, something happened and like "The Waterboy" (Adam Sandler Vehicle) the darn thing grew wings!While BOD isn't the funniest movie in the world, it IS one of the most QUOTABLE flicks I have ever seen.
TWO DOLLARS....CAAAASH!"  and of course, my favorite....from Beth, the complete shallow stuck up ex-girlfriend of LANE MEYER (Cusack) "..I think I need to go out people that are ya know...better looking, drives a better car...."And of course, the nostalgia, which is the main reason why most of the people giving this movie an A+ is because we are giving our 80's teen memories an A+.
I think that this movie is way better then Nepolean Dynamite, just like Ferris Bullers' Day Off. It is the best teen movie out there because it shows the comedy of teen suicide.
but they're not annoying like Nepolean Dynamite.It's one of those movies that is funny because it is showing the life of a teen and his mind around his girlfriend dumping him, while there are hilarious happenings that are important to the story too.
It has such a wacky take on teenage days in the 80's, with a hint of surreal and supernatural."Better Off Dead..." is about a high school student, played by boy-wonder John Cusack, who gets dumped by his girlfriend, leaving him with suicidal inclinations while trying to win her back by extreme measures.
The characters are simply excellent, just mildly stereotyping the teen genre, with a memorable newspaper boy and his eternal yell "I want my two dollars!"Savage Steve Holland's debut film would assure him as a cult director, but sadly once the 90's emerged, he would fall into an abyss of mediocraty."Better Off Dead..." is a unique teen movie that captures the vibe of the 80's and is an essential watch in a period where the "brat-pack" ruled..
But later, when I decided to watch a number of 1980s teen movies, I saw the original poster for Better Off Dead (which looks much better than the DVD cover) and decided to watch the film.
"Better Off Dead" has all the tropes of the '80s teen comedy, but jazzes it up with the surreal sense of humor of Savage Steve Holland (best director name ever).
It's a movie that leaves every cult film lover hooked: repeating catchphrases, reciting scenes, and even trailing along with the dialogue.Better Off Dead is the story of a miserable teenager on the failing end of high-school fame.
As you can guess, he's better off...well, you get the idea.John Cusack is perfect as the bottoming-out 80s hero: a dashing young guy you keep hoping for, but who keeps falling deeper into the predictable pits of `Savage' Steve Holland's weird cinematic world.
John Cusack plays Lane Myer, an unhappy high school student who has just been dumped by his beloved girlfriend, and becomes confused and despondent.
He then decides to commit suicide, but can't quite decide how to do it...Strange comedy(to say the least!) is undeniably funny at times, and Cusak is appealing, but film is so far off-the-wall, that it leaves the house altogether!
They don't get more typical '80s teen comedy than "Better Off Dead." Savage Steve Holland's debut feature even goes so far as to have the main character challenge the jerk jock to a ski race in front of the entire school down a supposedly untamable mountain.
Those who hold '80s comedy in high regards will likely consider "Better Off Dead" a treasure, everyone else will be amused and eternally grateful that era is gone and never coming back.Everyone can at least be grateful to this film for launching the career of would-be teen icon John Cusack.
Though he wouldn't cement his legacy in that decade until Cameron Crowe's 1989 film "Say Anything," he's an instantly likable softie with a tough exterior as Lane Meyer, a teenager whose girlfriend with which he was unhealthily obsessed has left him for the high school's ski team captain to better serve her reputation.
Life seems to do nothing but suck after that for Lane, who half-heartedly attempts suicide to comical results.Filling Lane's universe is a kooky family along with a space case mother (Kim Darby) and peculiar science wiz little brother, a demon child paper boy who has come to collect, a best friend (Curtis Armstrong of "Revenge of the Nerds" fame) who will snort just about anything and a big-boned dorky neighbor who's turned a French exchange student (Diane Franklin) with an eye for Lane into his personal pet.Some of these characters and gags are just off-kilter enough to work, particularly the clueless mother and her terrible cooking and Lane's little brother Badger who's constructing a space ship from homemade parts, but others like the recurring paper boy gag are terribly forced and unfunny.
Better off Dead is definitely one of John Cusack's better 80's teen movies and far superior to the dull 'Say Anything'.
The surreal situations and characters (the dreadful cook mother, the homicidal paper boy, Lane's best friend) are wonderful and recall the best work of the Coen brothers, while Cusack's hangdog performance is excellent, standing alongside 'the grifters' and grosse pointe blank as one of the best of his career.
It stands as one of the most interesting and original teen movies to ever grace the genre and it is a great shame that writer/director Savage Steve Holland never hit these highs again, spending the remiander of his career languishing in TV hell.
I especially got a kick out of the two oriental guys who always challenged John Cusack to race and provided running commentary of the action through a P.A. system in their car....IMITATING Howard Cosell!!Rent this one with Holland's other films...."One Crazy Summer" and "How I Got Into College" for a solid night of silly fun!.
THE funniest movie ever made: and sadly the least known.For whatever reason, this movie slipped past recognition by the majority, and has faded into obscurity; yet many of the great pieces have been stolen (borrowed?) by other movies, such as Men at Work, to the proclamation of "Sheer brilliance"; yet this is the originator, and best, of all of them.John Cusack shows where his real talents laid: in comedy - his perfect timing, dead-pan facials and vocal intonations make the character believable yet totally "out there"."Savage" Steve Holland created a masterpiece here - with wonderful integration of fantasy/thought displays (via animation etc) and observational comedy (the class "home work" scene struck such a chord with me, and maths classes when I was a kid) as well as damn-right absurdism.
Just like John Cusack doing gangster movies etc: their forte is obviously here: in the world of inspired and brilliant comedies.If you do one thing in your life, make 90 minutes available to see this - preferably with friends: when I watched this with my elder brother (a straight-laced scientist) seeing tea spray from his nose as John Cussack's dinner crawled off his plate made the humour all the more appealing.
From what I know, Savage Steve Holland only had a shelf life of two films in Hollywood and that is because even though his two films probably did alright, no one could truly understand the true genius behind his work and his vision.Better Off Dead is about a guy ( Lane Myer )that has been dating a pretty girl named Beth for six months, which in highschool is like the Silver Anniversary of dating.
If you're willing to buy into the wackiness, you'll be rewarded with a charming movie that you will quote with friends forever.Lane Meyer (John Cusack) is a high school kid obsessed with his popular and beautiful girlfriend, Beth.
Cusack is, as always, mostly normal with lovable quirks while the others in the film excel in their over-the-top portrayals of their mostly one-note characters.Comedy is subjective, but in the eyes of this viewer everything in Better Off Dead...
Steve Holland first wrote a pretty much run-of-the-mill film script for an 1980ies teenage audience, about an average small-town high school kid getting dumped by his superficial girlfriend for a jock, getting into all sorts of capers with his family and peers, until finally finding true love in the ever-lovin' arms of a foxy French exchange student.Then, as a director, he whacked the plot up eleven notches with as many absurd elements as possible -- such as the hero being pursued by a paper boy who's collecting his "two dollars", animated sequences where hamburgers break out in song and dance, or his mother preparing space aliens for dinner.
A very young John Cusack is remarkable as the lead character, and I also liked the actor who plays his stoner friend.On the other hand, the movie is often gimmicky and somewhat lacking in the plot department -- as I said, the underlying story is somewhat unimaginative and stolid.
That in itself shows what a range he has, and his face is so expressive that every nuance of emotion comes across as perfectly natural.Better Off Dead, one of John's first in a starring role, is an incredibly wacky movie, with a predictable plot but enough crazy characters and hilarious lines to make it worth seeing over and over again.
John Cusack + Savage Steve Holland = great comedies.
"Better off dead..." and "One crazy summer" should be considered the films that launched John Cusack's career.
Has a lot of great moments in..especially the hamburgers...Also good acting by Cusack and the lovely Diane Franklin who looks every bit the sweet french girl on a scale of one to ten..8.
John Cusack stars with Curtis Armstrong in this comedy about a guy who's horribly depressed and trying to commit suicide, each time failing.
BETTER OFF DEAD (1985) **** John Cusack, Diane Franklin, David Ogden Stiers, Curtis Armstrong, Kim Darby, Daniel Schneider, Amanda Wyss, Vincent Schiavelli, Taylor Negron.
The film is definitely weird and unlike most of the teen comedies of the 1980s, but it is by no means a bad movie.The cast alone makes it appealing, with Cusack alongside the amazing Diane Franklin, Kim Darby and Amanda Wyss.
Better Off Dead is a film from 1985 starring John Cusack - and he was a baby in this one.Cusack plays Lane Myer, the son of an insane mother (Kim Darby) who makes horrific recipes and gives out TV dinners as gifts; and a long- suffering David Ogden Stiers.
I read that Cusack hated this movie but I think he was perfect for the role and it's one of his best films ever.
That's a crime!), a portly neighbour trying to hook up with a lovely French exchange student, and our main character, Lane Myer (an engaging John Cusack), despondent over his girlfriend (Amanda Wyss) dumping him for an incredibly obnoxious athlete (is there any other kind?), prompting him to contemplate various means of suicide.The cast is great fun to watch.