hamachi@KIM (Gordon Hamachi) (10/20/85)
"Better Off Dead" is a poor name for what is otherwise a delightful little comedy about a teenager's struggle to win back the girlfriend he loses to the arrogant captain of his high school ski team. It has some of the energy of "Back to the Future" but is much more imaginative in sources of humor. The film hilariously spoofs horror movies, gumby, space movies, classrooms, and the ever-popular hit-man murder movies. And talk about crazy neighbors? The film gets its name from the hero Meyer's occasional desire to kill himself once he loses his girlfriend. This is a ridiculous title--the film does not dwell on this theme, while the title evokes some unsavory miserable depressing flick. The film makes unusual use of Asians. Like so many other movies they are portrayed as strange and foreign, but not offensively so when viewed in the context of the rest of the movie. They talk funny, but not in any way you're likely to imagine. Nevertheless, this movie has the same disturbing message seen in many recent movies such as "Year of the Drag-on" and "Rambo": Asians are the enemy, they are making life miserable, and they can be defeated. Do you suppose that is indicative of an American inferiority complex compared to the Japanese? Do you know who Vincent Chin was? I didn't catch the names of the stars, but there are several you may recognize. The only one to come to mind is Kim Darby as Meyer's wacky mother, who does a delightful job in a minor role. Good character developement. Lots of unusual characters. Lots of good humor. Well paced. Decent plot. No blood. No breasts. Minor basketball-fu offscreen. One broken ski. One fine movie. Ten times better than Commando and Rambo combined. One last hint: don't leave when the end credits first begin to roll. --Gordon Hamachi