One Crazy Summer

A 1986 Screwball Comedy starring John Cusack and Demi Moore. The plot focuses on the antics of "Hoops" McCann (Cusack) and his friends as they spend a summer cavorting around the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts. Sometime along the way Hoops and his friends run across a young rock singer named Cassandra Eldridge (Moore) whom they must help to save her grandmother's house from the clutches of Aquilla Beckersted and his son Teddy.


 * Animated Credits Opening: Both the opening and closing of this film are animated. The director, Savage Steve Holland, is also an animator.
 * Chekhov's Gun: Hoops' fear of boats is mentioned at the beginning, naturally the climax revolves around boats.
 * Chekhov's Skill: Inverted in that Hoops is established to have absolutely no basket-making (as in basketball) ability, but is called upon to sink a ridiculously difficult shot at the climax.
 * Cone of Shame: Worn by Squid's dog Bosco,.
 * Cute Is Evil: The "Cute and fuzzy bunnies" from Hoops' animated story.
 * Idle Rich: Teddy.
 * Ironic Nickname: Despite his name, Hoops is terrible at basketball.
 * Jerk Jock: Teddy.
 * Kaiju: See "Shout Out" below.
 * Kick the Dog: The villain literally kicks a dog as part of his over-the-top characterization. He also likes to listen to lobsters scream as he boils them.
 * Nautical Knockout
 * Never Say That Again: The very mention of the word "work" is enough to make idle rich snob Teddy clutch his ears in terror.
 * Non Sequitur Scene: Used in-universe when, during a Rousing Speech, Hoops rails against the "Cute and fuzzy bunnies," eliciting looks of confusion from his friends.
 * Overlord, Jr.: Teddy to Aquilla.
 * Scale-Model Destruction: See Shout-Out below.
 * Searching the Stalls: The leader of a biker gang opens each stall
 * Take That: Siskel And Ebert gave Savage Steve Holland's previous film Better Off Dead a negative review, so at the end of the movie a pair of "Cute and fuzzy bunnies" who resemble them get blown up.
 * The Precious, Precious Car: Teddy's red Ferrari, complete with Vanity License Plate.
 * Vanity License Plate: On Teddy's car, "CUL8R"
 * Wastebasket Ball: Hoops plays a game of this just after producing another failed cartoon. The wastebasket, which is surrounded by a couple dozen crumpled-up papers, is completely empty.