Better Off Dead (1985)
by Alternative Reel Staff

MPAA Rating: PG

Director: "Savage Steve" Holland

Starring: John Cusack, Curtis Armstrong, Diane Franklin, Scooter Stevens, David Ogden Stiers


"This is pure snow! Do you have any idea what the street value of this mountain is?"

"Better Off Dead" Video


Lane (John Cusack) tries to commit suicide a variety of ways after his girlfriend dumps him but he finds salvation with the French exchange student (Diane Franklin). Meanwhile, the newspaper boy keeps harassing him: "I want my 2 dollars!" The action culminates with a ski race on the legendary "K-12" slope.

As usual, Curtis Armstrong as Lane's befuddled buddy, "Charles De Mar," steals the show with lines like "He snorts nasal spray? You know where I can score some?" AND "Outrageous! This is pure snow! It's everywhere! I think I just froze the left half of my brain!"



AR Rating: 0.00 Viewer Rating: 9.20

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TorreyakaVicki@aol.com - 2007-04-14 15:10:46
Definitely not Cusacks best but it's a cute film with a workable plot. Big thing here to not take the whole suicide thing too seriously.

Brandon Dean - 2007-04-15 21:32:56
While it may be hard to imagine that the idea of suicide could be funny, this movie is not really about suicide. It is a commentary about how teenagers so often convince themselves they are in love, and that this "love" has any real depth, when to even a casual observer the whole relationship was nothing to be taken seriously. Frankly, I love this movie and never tire of watching it. The humor is over the top, so you have to appreciate the campy 80's love-story genre...

Abe Lincoln - 2008-09-09 12:44:50
A very underrated movie. There is a fantasy scene where lane is working a fast food grill and imagines the food coming to life and playing like Van Halen. Very funny stuff.