Better Off Dead is a 1985 comedy film, written and directed by Savage Steve Holland. It starred John Cusack, David Ogden Stiers, Diane Franklin, Curtis Armstrong, Amanda Wyss, and Kim Darby. Holland made two other films: 1986's One Crazy Summer and 1989's How I Got Into College. This article is about the year. ... Airplane! is considered by some critics to be one of the funniest movies of all time. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... See: Better Off Dead(1985) and One Crazy Summer(1986). ... John Cusack as Ed in Identity John Paul Cusack (born June 28, 1966) is an American film actor, born in Evanston, Illinois to an Irish-Catholic family. ... David Ogden Stiers in his most famous role, as Charles Emerson Winchester III David Ogden Stiers (b. ... Diane Franklin (born February 11, 1963 in Plainview, New York, United States) is an American actress. ... Curtis Armstrong (born November 27, 1953 in Detroit, Michigan, USA) is an American actor. ... Amanda Wyss (b. ... Kim Darby (born Deborah Zerby on July 8, 1947 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor who has starred in many films and appeared on many TV shows. ... One Crazy Summer is a 1986 comedy movie starring John Cusack, Demi Moore, Curtis Armstrong, and Joel Murray. ...

Better Off Dead is a shining example of the 80's teenage comedy, along the same lines as Sixteen Candles and Adventures in Babysitting. The movie takes place in a fictional town in "the state of Northern California" called Greendale and centers on high-school skier and sax-player Lane Meyer (John Cusack), whose girlfriend Beth (played by Amanda Wyss) dumps him for the captain of the high school ski team, Roy Stalin. Lane cannot get past this rejection and decides that the only way out of his misery is through suicide, hence the title. Sixteen Candles is a 1984 coming-of-age film starring Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, and Michael Schoeffling. ... Adventures in Babysitting is a 1987 film directed by Chris Columbus and starring Elisabeth Shue, Maia Brewton, Anthony Rapp, and Keith Coogan. ... John Cusack as Ed in Identity John Paul Cusack (born June 28, 1966) is an American film actor, born in Evanston, Illinois to an Irish-Catholic family. ... Amanda Wyss (b. ...

His half-hearted attempts at suicide always manage to leave him alive, with comedic consequences. One of the most endearing aspects of this movie is the entertaining ensemble of characters which includes Lane's wacky family, a best friend who uses everyday substances as drugs, two Japanese guys (one of whom speaks no English and the other who only speaks Howard Cosell) that repeatedly try to get Lane into a drag race, a repulsive Pig Burger manager (played by Chuck Mitchell), with a bad temper, an annoying obese neighbor who crochets and snorts nasal spray, and the French foreign exchange student named Monique (played by Diane Franklin), who is staying with them. Monique turns out to be a Los Angeles Dodgers fan who pretends not to speak English, helps Lane fix up his 1967 Camaro, and rekindles Lane's confidence and will to live through "language lessons" in the international language of love. Howard Cosell, born Howard William Cohen (March 25, 1918 – April 23, 1995) was a well-known and influential sports journalist on American television. ... Chuck Mitchell (November 28, 1927 - June 22, 1992) was an American actor from Connecticut. ... Diane Franklin (born February 11, 1963 in Plainview, New York, United States) is an American actress. ... Modified 1969 Chevrolet Camaro. ...

In the climactic scene involving a ski competition against the ski jock Roy Stalin, a treacherous slope called the K-12, a persistent paper boy who wants his two dollars (spawning the catchphrase, "I want my two dollars!" which has become more well-known than the film itself), and Lane racing down the mountain on one ski, he overcomes a life gone downhill to find happiness. K-12 (Pronounced Kay through 12 or just Kay 12) is the American designation for primary and secondary education. ... A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is popularized, usually through repeated use, by a real person or fictional character. ...

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack was produced primarily by Rupert Hine. A number of songs that appear in the film, including Howard Jones' "Like To Get To Know You Well", Van Halen's "Everybody Wants Some", Neil Sedaka's "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do", Paul Simon's "Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover", and Hall & Oates' "She's Gone", do not appear on the CD soundtrack. Soundtrack refers to the recorded sound accompanying a visual medium such as a motion picture, television show, or video game. ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about the year. ... Genres of Cuban music and other popular music A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... This article contains information that has not been verified. ... Look up Second in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The second (symbol: s) is the SI base unit of time. ... A record label is a brand created by companies that specialize in manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and video recordings, on various formats including compact discs, LPs, DVD-Audio, SACDs, and cassettes. ... A&M Records is a record label formed in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Rupert Hine is a musician, but also a prolific producer in the synth pop era, helming albums such as Tina Turners Private Dancer. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. ... Soundtrack refers to the recorded sound accompanying a visual medium such as a motion picture, television show, or video game. ... Rupert Hine is a musician, but also a prolific producer in the synth pop era, helming albums such as Tina Turners Private Dancer. ... Howard Jones can refer to three different people: Howard Jones, the British pop singer. ... Van Halen is an American rock band formed in the early-1970s and discovered by KISS bassist and co-founder Gene Simmons. ... Neil Sedaka 2005 Neil Sedaka (born March 13, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American Brill Building pop singer, songwriter and pianist. ... Publicity still for Youre the One, released in 2000 This article is about the musician; for other Paul Simons, see Paul Simon (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that Daryl Hall be merged into this article or section. ...

The opening track, "With One Look (The Wildest Dream)", was produced by Hine and features Cy Curnin and Jamie West-Oram of The Fixx on lead vocals and guitars respectively. Hine had previously worked with Curnin and West-Oram, and also contributed vocals to the song. The following track, "Arrested By You", as well as "Better Off Dub (Title Music)" and "Race The K-12 (Instrumental)" were performed solely by Hine. The picture cover of The Fixs 1981 first single: Lost Planes - subsequently the band would change the spelling of their name to The Fixx, after learning of another band with a prior claim on the Fix name The Fixx is a British new wave band formed in 1980. ...

"Dancing In Isolation" features Terri Nunn of Berlin on lead vocals. Hine produced the song and was reportedly under consideration to produce an album for Berlin. Terri Nunn (born June 26, 1961 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actress and singer. ... Berlin was a new wave band featuring lead singer Terri Nunn. ...

"Come To Your Rescue" was performed by Thinkman, a group formed by, and including, Hine for the purpose of restoring his solo career without the music press knowing about it [1]. West-Oram also provided guitar work to this song, as well as the instrumental "The Falcon Beat".

The only two tracks on the CD without Hine's involvement are "A Little Luck" and "One Way Love (Better Off Dead)" [2]. Valley Girl's Elizabeth Daily, credited on the soundtrack as E.G. Daily, sang lead vocals on both songs and also performed them "live" in the film during the high school dance scene. Movie poster for Valley Girl (1983) Valley Girl is a 1983 comedy and romance movie, starring Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, E.G. Daily, Cameron Dye, and Joyce Hyser. ... EG Daily Elizabeth Guttman (born September 11, 1961), better known by her stage names of Elizabeth Daily and E.G. Daily, is an American voice actress, actress, and singer. ... Elizabeth Guttman (born September 11, 1962), better known by her stage names of Elizabeth Daily and E.G. Daily, is an American voice actress, actress, and singer. ...

Tracklisting

1. "With One Look (The Wildest Dream)" (3:26) (written by Torrence Merdur/Rupert Hine)
2. "Arrested By You" (5:07) (written by Torrence Merdur/Rupert Hine)
3. "Shine" (3:49) (written by Martin Ansell)
4. "Better Off Dub (Title Music)" (3:48) (written by Rupert Hine)
5. "Dancing In Isolation" (4:04) (written by Torrence Merdur/Rupert Hine)
6. "Come to Your Rescue" (5:03) (written by Jeanette Therese Obstoj/Rupert Hine)
7. "A Little Luck" (4:21) (written by Angela Rubin)
8. "The Falcon Beat (Instrumental)" (2:37) (written by Rupert Hine)
9. "One Way Love (Better Off Dead)" (3:33) (written by Steve Goldstein/Duane Hitchings/Craig Krampf/Eric Nelson)
10. "Race The K-12" (3:49) (written by Rupert Hine)

• Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 produced by Rupert Hine.
• Tracks 7 and 9 produced by Steve Goldstein.

External links

• Better Off Dead at the Internet Movie Database
• Fan site
• Soundtracks for Better Off Dead