Sunday, April 13, 2014

ONE CRAZY SUMMER (1986)

This is the movie where the two little girls get slapped on the back while making ugly faces and their faces freeze.

Writer/director Steve Holland and star John Cusack follow the success of their first film together, BETTER OFF DEAD, the very next year with ONE CRAZY SUMMER the story of yet another teenage loser with girl problems.  This time around Cusack and his buddy have just graduated from high school so they head off for a relaxing vacation on Nantucket Island.  Along the way they pick up struggling singer Demi Moore, who was running from some bikers.  Once on the island they have to join forces with some other friends to save the one guy's grandma's house from an evil land developer and his douchebag jock son.  While all of this is going on Cusack has the hots for Demi, but the jocks sexy girlfriend has her sights set on Cusack.

Like BETTER OFF DEAD the comedy is pretty wacky, but unlike BETTER OFF DEAD it doesn't have a real soul and it's not even that funny.  There's some humorous moments, but over all it's pretty dated.  Older fans who grew up during the wacky comedy wave of the 1980's will probably still like it, but I just can't see newer audiences laughing at Bobcat Goldthwait screeching nonstop, a guy listening all summer to a radio station 24/7 in hopes of winning a contest or a guy named "Hoops" who can't play basketball.  The Nantucket scenery did look beautiful though.