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Better Off Dead...

1985 · 97 min

A giddy, surreal teen comedy full of absurd gags and deadpan whimsy, where even suicidal despair becomes a joke.

Genres
Comedy, Romance
Tagline
Insanity doesn't run in the family, it gallops.
Overview
High school student Lane Meyer sinks into suicidal depression when his girlfriend dumps him for jock Roy Stalin, the high school ski racing champion. Meanwhile, he has to deal with his eccentric family, a tenacious paperboy and an obnoxious neighbor whose mother is hosting a beautiful French exchange student named Monique.

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Genres
Comedy, Romance
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • absurdstrength 3 of 3
  • whimsicalstrength 2 of 3
  • lightstrength 2 of 3
  • romanticstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
brisk, 3 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
easy-watch, 2 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • coming-of-age
  • love
  • family
  • identity
  • obsession
Places
  • small town
  • suburbs
  • school
Era
contemporary
Audience
teen
Form
  • twist ending
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action4
Horror1
Humour9
Realism3
Romance5
Tension3
Darkness4
Complexity3
Emotional weight4

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Cast

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Details

Genres
comedy, romance
Directed by
Savage Steve Holland
Written by
Savage Steve Holland
Starring
John Cusack, Amanda Wyss, Diane Franklin, Aaron Dozier, Curtis Armstrong, David Ogden Stiers, Kim Darby, Demian Slade
Music
Rupert Hine
Cinematography
Isidore Mankofsky
Runtime
97 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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