Review of Better Off Dead... (1985) by Chris M — 27 Oct 2008

This strange eighties teen comedy is only saved by its star. Savage Steve Holland, who later gained sorted fame with Saturday morning cartoons like "Eek! the Cat" and "The Terrible Thunderlizards," wrote and directed this dark and quirky film and, I guess after this, was one of the go-to guys for teen-comedies of the Me decade (he also did One Crazy Summer and How I Got Into College).

Don't search for any sense or logic, but Better Off Dead... follows a young buck on the brink of suicidal who must win the heart of his dream girl in a skiing contest from the oh-so-necessary blond bully, surrounded by buffoons all the while.

There's an oddly placed claymation music video of a hamburger singing David Lee Roth (good for reminiscing purposes and a flare for the odd only) and a mastadon of a geek standing firmly between Cusack and the girl he should want (and eventually does).

Curtis "Booger" Armstrong has a somewhat amusing scene here and there, but Cusack's first starring vehicle is mostly forgettable; it's a good thing Say Anything... came along.