Better Off Dead (1985) Review from Analog Medium

Originally posted on Analog Medium September 2006


I know John Cusack is supposed to be the star of Better Off Dead, but to me Little Ricky is the real star. Better Off Dead has it all (except a mind-blowing action/violence scene). The opening credits are animated in the style that John Cusack's character is supposed to draw. During the movie he's got some great fantasy sequences, including some stop-motion claymation hamburgers that get busy in the back of the fry shack he works. Even with all that animation, Ricky is the best part of this movie. Okay, okay, Booger is pretty good too. I'm not sure if his name is Booger in this movie, but I refuse to acknowledge him by any other name. I won't do much synopsizing; if you haven't seen Better Off Dead you're a deprived individual.

Recently I was trashing The Breakfast Club for being such a crappy "quintessential teen coming-of-age movie for the 80s." Better Off Dead is my choice for seminal 80's teen movie. I might have been pre-pubescent in the 80s, but I couldn't wait til I was old enough to feel ways about stuff. Once I did, I could relate to Better Off Dead a lot more than the Breakfast Club. Being a teen wasn't an in-your-face group therapy session like Breakfast Club. It was more like a bleak, disappointing affair, like Better Off Dead portrays. I never had any hot foreign exchange student living across the street though. I never competed in any ski competitions from the K12 either. I also never had a K12 when I was a teen.

Top 3 Reasons to watch Better Off Dead
1. Little Ricky
2. Booger
3. It's maybe the best John Cusack movie ever.