DECADES GRAB BAG: Better Off Dead (1985)
“Gee, I'm really sorry your mom blew up, Ricky…”
CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of suicide and suicidal ideation. While presented in a lighthearted manner, listener discretion is advised. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call or text 988 for help.
Savage Steve Holland probably never contemplated his cartoons and wacky sense of humor would result in him making a true cult teen classic, but that's exactly what happened. John Cusack is just starting to find his path to the ultra-awkward teen of our dreams, and his supporting cast is pretty fun to boot. But mostly, the bits just keep on coming and just when you think a joke is overdone, a new one pops up in its place. We want our two dollars as we watch 1985's Better Off Dead on Have a Good Movie!
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Intro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive.
Excerpt taken from "Better Off Dub (Title Music)" from the soundtrack to Better Off Dead, written and composed by Rupert Hine. Copyright 1985 CBS Inc.
Excerpts taken from the film Better Off Dead, copyright 1985 CBS Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Excerpt taken from "I Am The Body Beautiful", written by Bernadette Cooper and Cheryl "Salt" James, and performed by Salt-N-Pepa. Copyright 1995 MCA Records.
