Revisiting favorite old films from your childhood can go
one of two ways. In most cases you can be fairly certain that it’s not nearly
as good, interesting, clever, or funny as you remember. But you can be sure
that you’ll either be supremely disappointed to discover there’s little
redemption to be found within its frames or that there’s actually a lot more to
discover than your innocent and immature brain was capable of comprehending at
the time.
Better Off Dead…
is one of two bizarre comedies (along with One
Crazy Summer) from the mid-80s written and directed by Savage Steve Holland
and starring John Cusack. What was Holland thinking? Can you imagine a film
being made today whose main character is a depressive teen who tries to kill
himself several times over the course of the film’s 90 minutes – and oh yeah,
it’s a comedy?
