Better Off Dead... - Review

This is John Cusack's version of Risky Business. That was the immediate comparison I drew when I was watching Better Off Dead.... However, the reason for deciding to watch this one was because I wrote a teenage comedy script in film school and one of my classmates directed it. The film whose tone he was attempting to recreate? Better Off Dead.... Even though I hadn't heard of it, I trusted his judgement and his comedic skills to direct my script. After watching this movie, I can totally see where he is coming from.

This humour is dry, sarcastic, situational, random and overall hilarious. It's one of those classic tales of a somewhat dorky, beta kid in high school who seems to be on the receiving end of a whole bunch of wacky hijinx. You name something that can go wrong to a teenage boy in suburbia, it happens to our Lane Meyer (John Cusack).

John Cusack back in the 80's was one of the most likeable actors. He has this sense of innocence and relatability to him that you can't help but route for him in movies like this. The kind of guy that you would want to be friends with in high school. Sure, most of his 80's characters are practically the same person, but he's such a treat to watch that you look over that fact here.

When we meet Lane, he is obsessed with his girlfriend Beth. Pictures of her all over his walls, imagining talking to her in his room, even putting her face on all of his coat hangers (that one is a touch odd). Turns out though that this Beth character doesn't really have character as she dumps Lane on the spot for the "oh-so-dreamy" captain of the ski team Roy Stalin. After this tremendous heartbreak, Lane decides that he'd be "better off dead" and tries to commit suicide many times (all of them becomes gags for the movie in an extremely dark way). He then decides that the way to win her heart back is to beat Roy in a ski race to show Beth that he is still worthy of her love. However, next door is an overweight nerd named Ricky who has a foreign exchange student staying with him named Monique (Diane Franklin) who may or may not play a factor in Lane's mission to win the ski race.

So the story is pretty barebones. You can probably tell from that synopsis where this movie is going to go. While I predicted how the movie would end from the first fifteen minutes of the movie, I certainly did not know the path we were going to take to get there. The certain beats in a movie like this that you know and would assume would happen in a certain order and at certain times, aren't really there. This movie's path to get to the ending is all over the place. You think that it's the part of the movie where Lane will go to Beth's house and beg her to take him back? Nope. We get a totally random plot line about Lane working at a burger shop that has almost nothing to do with the rest of the movie and is simply there for some gags. Some might find that to be unfocused storytelling, but I think it works as a quirk this movie has.

So with the Risky Business comparison, I'll say that Risky Business is a "better-made" movie. The characters seem more fleshed out and realistic (even for a movie about teenagers running a brothel) and the story seems to be more concrete. Better Off Dead... might not have as strong of characters and the story might be fairly thin as it's dictated by Lane's feelings and emotions, rather than the other way around, but it's funnier. If you're looking for an 80's comedy night, I suggest watching both together. They make a great pair. But I'm also glad to say that Better Off Dead... is also worth a watch on it's own.