Better Off Dead: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''Gee, Ricky, I'm real sorry your mom blew up.''}}

 

 

After being dumped by his utterly-unfaithful girlfriend Beth, luckless teen Lane Meyer makes several futile attempts to kill himself, while wandering in and out of a series of encounters with the <s>inmates</s> residents of his bizarre hometown. These include his super-genius younger brother Badger, his severely-underachieving best friend Charles, a pair of Korean car-racing enthusiasts who learned English by watching Howard Cosell, and one ''very'' determined paper-boy. Lane's life finally begins to turn around when he meets Monique, a comely French exchange student who has been sentenced to live with Lane's grotesque neighbors.

* [[Abhorrent Admirer]]: Ricky and his pursuit of Monique.

* [[The Ace]]: Everyone other than Lane seems to have incredible skill at doing things. Highlighted by Lane's younger brother, who uses his book knowledge to pick up trashy women and build a ''launchable space shuttle'' in the attic.

* [[Alien Lunch]]: She's not an actual alien, but Lane's mother Jenny is enough of a [[Cloudcuckoolander]] that she might as well be: she's shown on-screen cooking a meal where tentacles and claws wave from the pot; in another scene she serves the family a gelatinous green goo that flees Lane's plate when he pokes it with a fork.

* [[Ascended Meme]]: "I want my two dollars!"

* [[Braces of Orthodontic Overkill]]: Lane's unfortunate but practical blind-date.

* [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]]: In-universe example: Barney Rubble of ''[[The Flintstones]]'' interrupts a broadcast to ask Lane if he can date Beth.

{{quote|'''Lane:''' ''Gee, I'm real sorry your mom blew up, Ricky.''}}

* [[Burger Fool]]: Lane has to wear a hideous pig-themed hat, even though he works back in the kitchen.

* [[Evil Genius]]: Badger possibly qualifies.

* [[Funny Foreigner]]: [[Foreign Exchange Student|Monique]] mostly avoids this, except {{spoiler|for one or two ''slight'' problems with English.}}

* [[High School Dance]]: The New Year's dance at which Lane briefly rescues Monique from Ricky.

* [[Homemade Sweater From Hell]]: Jenny wears a reindeer outfit which comes complete with an antler-headpiece, and gives one to her husband which is aardvark-themed.

* [[Mocking Music]]: After Beth has broken up with him, Lane is driving despondently and looking for something cheery to listen to on the radio. ''Every'' station is playing a breakup song; he ends up ripping the radio out of the car and hurling it out the window.

* [[My Beloved Smother]]: Ricky's harridan of a mother.

* [[Naked Freak-Out]]: The roller-skating cheerleader in the cafeteria in her underwear, due to Lane's accidental slip-up. [[It Gets Worse]] as {{spoiler|''all'' of her boyfriends give him a [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown]]}}.

* [[Obstacle Ski Course]]: The ski-off with Roy at the climax of the film turns into one.

* [[Stalker Shrine]]: Lane has turned his room into one of these, dedicated to his girlfriend.

* [[Standard Snippet]]: Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy" as Lane's Camaro rolls out for the first time. Gene Autry's "Here Comes Santa Claus" during the Christmas sequence.

* [[The Stoner]]: Charles. Or he would be, if he could find anything to get stoned on.

{{quote|How are we going to get real drugs in this town? We can't even get cable!}}

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Films of the 1980s]]

[[Category:Cult Classic]]

[[Category:Film]]