John Cusack looked barely old enough to shave when he rolled out of bed in the opening scene of Better Off Dead, clutching a photo of the pert blond with whom he was obsessed. The 1985 teen comedy was one of the early roles in what became a significant acting career, and the Aug. 2 Blu-ray release shows Cusack has no reason to be ashamed of his formative years.
Sure, the movie by writer-director Savage Steve Holland was feather-light and formulaic, but contains a surprising number of laugh-out-loud moments all these years later, a decent grasp of high school angst in the mid-Reagan era and—when viewed today—a winsomely giddy nostalgia for that moment when new wave penetrated prom night. The screenplay maintains what could be called a consistent worldview: parents are hapless and unable to communicate with their children and teachers are smarmy asses. Despite his youthful visage, Cusack was already partially formed as an actor, clad in Teflon irony against the awesome oddness of society.
