Flick Pick: Better Off Dead

Better Off Dead
(CBS Films, 1985)

Back in the '80s, before his own inner acting demons and some strange career suicide pact with his agent led John Cusack to make the longest unbroken string of bad role choices and mediocre to atrocious performances by any actor with such a wellspring of talent, he starred in two wonderful films written and directed by "Savage" Steve Holland, then all of 24.
Better Off Dead was the first of the pair, the better of the two, and while it tripled the return on a minimal budget, was originally regarded as a disappointment.
Time and cult-favorite status have erased that earlier mistaken stigma, and it remains one of Cusack's best performances, the quintessential '80s summer movie, and hugely funny from beginning to end.