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DVD Comedy
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Written by Abbie Bernstein
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Tuesday, 16 July 2002 |
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title:
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Better Off Dead |
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studio:
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Paramount Home Entertainment |
| MPAA rating: |
PG |
| starring: |
John Cusack, David Ogden Stiers, Diane Franklin, Kim Darby, Amanda Wyss |
| release year: |
1995 |
| film rating: |
Three Stars |
| sound/picture: |
Three Stars |
| reviewed by: |
Abbie Bernstein |
If someone wanted a quintessentially and literally average – not good,
not bad, just smack-in-the-middle run-of-the-mill – teen comedy from
the mid-‘80s, “Better Off Dead” fills the bill. It’s mildly quirky,
amiable, predictable and formulaic while displaying small flashes of
wit, charm and humor.
The likable and already visibly gifted John Cusack stars as Lane, a
teenager in a small Northern California town whose existence comes
unraveled with his girlfriend Beth (Amanda Wyss) dumps him for a
popular jock. Lane is so devastated that he makes a number of forlorn
(and fairly half-assed) attempts at suicide, giving the movie its
title. Lane’s well-meaning but clueless parents are no help. Luckily,
Lane has an ever-encouraging best friend (Curtis Armstrong) and a
comely French exchange student neighbor (Diane Franklin) – but can they
help him when he rashly challenges his evil romantic rival to a skiing
competition down the most dangerous slope in the area?
Director/writer Savage Steve Holland livens the proceedings up in
places with animation that seems inspired by the Fabulous Furry Freak
Brothers. The Chapter 1 opening titles are promising and Chapter 11 has
a pretty funny bit in which Lane envisions himself as a hapless cartoon
monster. Chapter 21 has a nifty Claymation hamburger singing and
dancing to “Everybody Wants Some.” For uber-fans of “The Powerpuff
Girls,” that series’ voice star E.G. Daily (billed here as Elizabeth
Daily) turns up onscreen in Chapter 17, singing zestily at a high
school dance sequence.
The film print used for the DVD transfer is crisp, clean and
well-preserved, though there are no exciting color contrasts. Sound
format is stereo, with no center channel. All things considered, the
mix is solid and cohesive, though there are no especially noteworthy
sound effects.
Holland takes aim at easy targets for the most part – bullying school
kings and queens, dazed or overbearing adults and (no points for this
last) physically outsized youths, along with menacing younger kids
(there’s a nice nightmare spoof in Chapter 19 that finds Lane pursued
by a posse of malevolent paperboys). The filmmaker has no particular
insights, but Cusack and Armstrong are pleasant company and there’s
something rather soothing in the film’s generic but not addled nature.
“Better Off Dead” isn’t the best of its breed, but it’s good enough to
watch on those days when things are otherwise … well, you know.
| more details |
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sound format:
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English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo |
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aspect ratio(s):
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1.85:1 |
| special features: |
English Subtitles |
| comments: |
email us here... |
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| reference system |
| DVD player: |
Kenwood DV-403 |
| receiver: |
Kenwood VR-407 |
| main speakers: |
Paradigm Atom |
| center speaker: |
Paradigm CC-170 |
| rear speakers: |
Paradigm ADP-70 |
| subwoofer: |
Paradigm PDR-10 |
| monitor: |
27-inch Toshiba |
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