Better Off Dead
Actor: Yano Anaya , Curtis Armstrong , Frank Burt Avalon , John Cusack , Elizabeth Daily
ISBN: 0792178963
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Manufacturer: Paramount
Customer Rating:
, based on 211 reviews
Lowest Price: $8.05
By Supplier: moviemars
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Editorial Review:
Lane Myer (John Cusack) is stuck in a personal hell. A compulsive, adolescent Everyman growing up in Suburbia, USA, not only does he fail to make the prestigious high school ski team (again), but his beloved sweetheart, Beth, also leaves him for Roy, the team's popular, arrogant captain. If this isn't bad enough, he's stuck with a mother who frighteningly experiments--rather than cooks--with food, a brother who builds rockets out of models, and a best friend so desperate for drugs that he settles for snorting powdered snow. Faced with these prospects, Lane opts to end it all ... until he comes up with a ridiculous plan to gain acceptance and win Beth back. Director Savage Steve Holland warps this simple, clichéd premise, letting his wacky imagination twist it into a fairly original, slightly dark, and completely hilarious '80s teen comedy. Not as serious a "suicide-attempt" movie as, say, Harold and Maude but just as funny, the film's more a collection of screwball sketches than a narrative. Holland livens the high jinks with surrealistic fantasy touches, including Jell-O that crawls, a hamburger that sings Van Halen, drawings that mock its creator, Japanese race-car drivers who only speak Howard Cosell, and a psychotic paperboy seeking blood over a missing $2. Cusack puts the whole thing on his shoulders and carries the insanity with another one of his touching, obsessively romantic performances, which, along with Say Anything, The Sure Thing, and One Crazy Summer, made him the quintessential (and appealing) personification of lovestruck adolescence and suffering. --Dave McCoy
"Two dollars!" - CLASSIC!!!
Typical 80's humor, what more can I say
Too funny!!!
Probably not a movie for today's kids, they'd probably just roll their eyes and ask why there aren't any guns in the movie.
Still, for children of the 80's, if you haven't seen this then you owe yourself a rental.
Lane Myer (John Cusack) is stuck in a personal hell. A compulsive, adolescent Everyman growing up in Suburbia, USA, not only does he fail to make the prestigious high school ski team (again), but his beloved sweetheart, Beth, also leaves him for Roy, the team's popular, arrogant captain. If this isn't bad enough, he's stuck with a mother who frighteningly experiments--rather than cooks--with food, a brother who builds rockets out of models, and a best friend so desperate for drugs that he settles for snorting powdered snow. Faced with these prospects, Lane opts to end it all ... until he comes up with a ridiculous plan to gain acceptance and win Beth back. Director Savage Steve Holland warps this simple, clichéd premise, letting his wacky imagination twist it into a fairly original, slightly dark, and completely hilarious '80s teen comedy. Not as serious a "suicide-attempt" movie as, say, Harold and Maude but just as funny, the film's more a collection of screwball sketches than a narrative. Holland livens the high jinks with surrealistic fantasy touches, including Jell-O that crawls, a hamburger that sings Van Halen, drawings that mock its creator, Japanese race-car drivers who only speak Howard Cosell, and a psychotic paperboy seeking blood over a missing $2. Cusack puts the whole thing on his shoulders and carries the insanity with another one of his touching, obsessively romantic performances, which, along with Say Anything, The Sure Thing, and One Crazy Summer, made him the quintessential (and appealing) personification of lovestruck adolescence and suffering. --Dave McCoy
Customer Reviews:
Flash Back to the 80's!!!
WOW!!! What a classic Cusack film! He was SO young... SO cute... SO Cusack! This hilarious tale follows the hopeless romantic on his quest for a revengeful death... or lack thereof. With timeless characters, colorful cartoons and questionable food, your eyes won't be bored with all the visual delights. Not to mention the outlandish comments and situations everyone finds themselves in. Definite knee slapper!!! ;)
"Two dollars!" - CLASSIC!!!
2008-09-01
Hilarious and charming 80s feast
Take a lovelorn teen, a crazy fast food boss, kind but goofy parents, a kid brother with a science interest, a snotty skiing champ, a rotten newsboy out for his money, lots and lots and lots of cheesy, 80s synth music, a French exchange student, leg warmers, big hair, Pat Benatar lookalikes.... put them all together and you get Better Off Dead. This is one of the better 1980s comedies featuring teens in various conflicts. Virtually no violence or swearing here, and you'd have to laugh just at the fashions. This also features a very young John Cusack, who is quite likeable in his role as the lead.
2008-08-18
awesome!
The seller was fast with the delivery and the video arrived as detailed...in great condition. Will definitely do business with this seller again. 2008-08-15
Da bomb
This classic is finally available for home viewing. My family bought 5 copies (4 siblings and Dad). 2008-06-17
Another run down 80's memory lane.
Better off Dead was one of those 80's movies that still bring back good memories.
Typical 80's humor, what more can I say
Too funny!!!
Probably not a movie for today's kids, they'd probably just roll their eyes and ask why there aren't any guns in the movie.
Still, for children of the 80's, if you haven't seen this then you owe yourself a rental.
2008-06-13
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