![]() ![]() Salvation comes in the form of Monique ( Diane Franklin) the foreign exchange student trapped in the home of Meyer’s bizarre neighbors ( Laura Waterbury and Dan Schneider). Lane, like many teens, suffers from a lack of self-confidence. And his parents ( David Ogden Stiers and Kim Darby) are tragically out of touch with Lane’s generation. His best friend ( Curtis Armstrong) is a drug-obsessed buffoon. His girlfriend ( Amanda Wyss) dumps him for a shallow jock (the Ted McGinley-channeling Aaron Dozier). The film follows Lane Meyer ( John Cusack) as he navigates all the cliches of 1980s-era teen comedies. The film is both a testament to social progress and a subversive irritant that keeps our enlightenment from becoming stodgy. In short, the weird aesthetics of Savage Steve Holland‘s writing and direction allow this film to transcend its politically incorrect material. This film is so bizarre that it somehow manages to be both appalling and redemptive. Yet somehow, the film retains a charm that many of its contemporary films cannot. Though Molly Ringwald has expressed regret about certain elements of The Breakfast Club as well.īetter off Dead is similarly outrageous to contemporary notions of propriety. Also, much of John Hughes’s catalog makes us more than a little uncomfortable now, particularly 16 Candles. Revenge of the Nerds is appalling in the #MeToo era and offers very little to anyone outside the retrograde “Incel” community. Many teen comedies from Ronald Reagan’s decade have not fared so well. Better Off Dead (1985) – source: Warner Bros. ![]() “Political Correctness,” the divisive concept of our time, has changed the rules about what is acceptable to say and portray in the public sphere, largely for the better. Even by 1980s standards, the film basks in the kinds of jokes that have not aged particularly well in our more inclusive and enlightened social environment. The situation brings to my mind Cusack’s masterpiece of political incorrectness, the bizarre 1985 comedy Better Off Dead, directed by Savage Steve Holland. And his prickly personality did not lead to a pleasant outcome when the actor ran up against a politically-charged Twitter-mob. Yet, Cusack is as much known as an irritating Chicago Cub’s fan as a beloved teen film icon these days. After all, few images resonate like him in his trench coat holding his boom box over his head in Say Anything. He still works regularly of course, but Hot Tub Time Machine seems a bit slight given the outsized role Cusack occupies in Gen X’s collective imagination. ![]() TV Exclusive: CRUEL INTENTIONS Chases Waterfalls at Broadway Sessions!įor someone so closely connected to 1980s nostalgia, Cusack is weirdly not a particularly beloved figure. ![]()
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