Better Off Dead... (1985)

A teenager has to deal with his girlfriend dumping him among family crises, homicidal paper boys, and a rival skier.

Director:

Savage Steve Holland

Writer:

Savage Steve Holland

Stars:

John Cusack, David Ogden Stiers, Kim Darby

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Cusack	...	Lane Meyer
David Ogden Stiers	...	Al Meyer
Kim Darby	...	Jenny Meyer
Demian Slade	...	Johnny Gasparini
Scooter Stevens	...	Badger Meyer
Diane Franklin	...	Monique Junot
Laura Waterbury	...	Mrs. Smith
Dan Schneider	...	Ricky Smith (as Daniel Schneider)
Yuji Okumoto	...	Yee Sook Ree
Brian Imada	...	Chen Ree
Chuck Mitchell	...	Rocko
Amanda Wyss	...	Beth Truss
Curtis Armstrong	...	Charles De Mar
Aaron Dozier	...	Roy Stalin
Frank Burt Avalon	...	Roy's Ski Buddy #1

Storyline

The teenager Lane Meyer has a crush on his girlfriend Beth Truss. When Beth dumps him to stay with the successful skier Roy Stalin, Lane is depressed and decides to commit suicide. However he gives up and tries to improve his skill of skier to ski the dangerous K12 slope to impress Beth. Meanwhile his neighbor Mrs. Smith receives the exchange French student Monique Junot and her fat son Ricky Smith considers Monique his girlfriend; however, Monique has an unrequited crush on Lane that does not note her. When Lane stumbles upon Monique in a high-school party, he befriends her. The upset Lane challenges Roy in a competition on the K12 slope but then he regrets. However Monique is a great mechanic and skier, and fix Lane's Camaro and teaches him how to ski the K12 slope. What will happen to Lane?

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Plot Keywords:

slapstick comedy | woman wears eyeglasses | attempted suicide | dark humor | bedroom | 

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Taglines:

You've blown up your neighbor's mom. Your seven-year-old brother has better luck with women than you do. Your girlfriend has a new boyfriend. Relax, you're never...

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Better Off Dead

Filming Locations:

Sandy's Char Burger - 6223 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$56,371, 25 August 1985

Gross USA:

$10,297,601

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,297,601

Company Credits

Production Co:

A&M Films, CBS Theatrical Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Henry Winkler was instrumental in getting the film made. In the early 1980s, Savage Steve Holland's short film, My 11-Year-Old Birthday Party, played at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Winkler saw the film and took a liking to Holland. At Winkler's suggestion, Holland checked out John Cusack in The Sure Thing (1985), which Winkler executive produced. After seeing the movie, Holland thought Cusack was perfect for the lead role. Holland had to fight to cast, as the studio didn't think he was much of a leading man, based on his nerdy turn in Sixteen Candles (1984).

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Goofs

Charles DeMar (Curtis Armstrong) says to Lane Meyer (John Cusack) at the end of the algebra class, "if you make that run girls will get sterile just looking at you". Sterile is a male trait. Women can become infertile, but it's men who can get sterile. Charles isn't very bright (he remarked that he had been going to high school for seven and a half years), so a mistake like this on his part is not out of character.

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Quotes

Monique Junot: I think all you need is a small taste of success, and you will find it suits you.

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Crazy Credits

The last line of the credits reads The film's over... you can go now.

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Alternate Versions

Network TV/HBO versions include two additional shots at the end of the film, one being a wide angle shot of the baseball stadium, and the other being a close up shot of Monique and Lane kissing together. Because of the deletion of these shots, the music and sound effects on the current video release are not synchronized with the picture.

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Connections

Referenced in Sports Jeopardy!: Episode #2.17 (2016)

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Soundtracks

One Way Love
Written by Steve Goldstein, Dwayne Hitchings, Craig Krampf, and Eric Nelson
Performed by Elizabeth Daily
Produced by Steve Goldstein
Courtesy of A&M Records

User Reviews

Funny movie!

This one's hilarious! My family have borrowed several lines from this film and use them as inside jokes. John Cusak stars in this film about a teenager whose girlfriend dumps him for the Captain of the ski team. The film has enough skiing in it to satisfy most ski buffs, but it's not really about skiing. It's about relationships more than anything and the results are absolutely hilarious. This is destined to be a classic and it's a permanent part of my film library.