Review of Better Off Dead... (1985) by Daniel E. M — 09 Dec 2010

Not quite sure why this one is loved so much. It starts out well. Starts out looking like it was going to be a funny dark comedy about how a teenager copes with his break-up, in a few failed attempts suicides.

Then, transends into an undescribable mess. It's all over the place, involving gags, and elements that, most of the time, don't work. It has a few 80's movie elements that are dated today, but I don't even see those working the year the film was released.

When the story is actually moving forward it's not half bad. I thought the whole relationship between Cusack and the french girl was predictable, but amidst everything else, seemed to be the only thing that worked in the film.

It tries too hard to be different, and falls flat on it's face in the process. I couldn't help but wince everytime that annoying paper boy kept showing up out of nowhere, demanding his two dollars from Cusack.

That, and much else, made this film feel even longer than 97 minutes to me.