Review of One Crazy Summer (1986) by Josh S — 31 Jul 2007

A definate forgotten classic of the 1980s.

People probably remember director Savage Steve Holland for Better off Dead (which oddly enough also starred Cusack) and those that have seen this movie have accused Holland of basically ripping himself off with this film that a few have called "Better off Dead at the Beach".

There is some truth to those accusations, but the sheer insanity and wackiness of this film makes up for any inadequecies in the story.

When a movie includes an ugly dog, wild chase scenes, a crazy man living in seclusion trying to win a million dollar radio contest, a killer dolphin with rabies, some poorly drawn yet funny cartoon segments, and Bobcat Goldthwait in a Godzilla costume, you know the film is going to be entertaining.

The story itself is simple enough. Hoops McCann (Cusack) graduates from High School and decides to spend the summer in Nantucket with his friend George. While in Nantucket, Hoops tries to finish his scholorship assignment, which is an illustrated love story, so he can get into art school (which is where the cartoons come in. Damn those Cute and Fuzzy Bunnies!) Also, Hoops, George, and their misfit friends try to help Cassandra (Moore) raise enough money to keep her grandfather's house from being torn down to make room for a seafood restaurant.

It doesn't sound like anything special, but like I said, the story itself isn't all that important when it comes to this particular movie. All that matters is that the movie is filled with shameless stupidity and tons of charm. Heck I could say the same thing about classics like Animal House, Caddyshack, and Revenge of the Nerds (like One Crazy Summer, the basic plot of those films is that the loser types get back at the empowered class) The Stork Twins (especially Bobcat) are two of the goofiest characters I have ever seen in a comedy, and Ack Ack's (played by Booger from Revenge of the Nerds) little sub plot with him being an extremely wimpy guy in a military family is kind of funny too.

Amazingly, this film hasn't quite reached the cult film status I feel its deserving of. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one that has both watched it and loved it. Movies as wacky and ridiculous as this should be praised as a classic.