"Sometimes you're Better Off Dead"

That headline sounds insensitive, and that's why back in 1985 it was canned by the studio execs when reviewing the promotional materials for the film Better Off Dead. (It was changed to "Relax, you're never Better Off Dead." What wimps.)

This week's Stuck in the 80s podcast on Better Off Dead is now online! Download it now. And stop putting it off -- just subscribe to us via iTunes and your life will be complete.

Here's some trivia about the movie that 80s addicts love so much:
-- John Cusack, who starred in the film, hated this movie and considers it one of his worst performances. (He also hates One Crazy Summer, which like Better Off Dead was directed by Savage Steve Holland.)
-- Impersonator Rich Little provides the voice of the Asian brothers who talk like Howard Cosell. (Little also does the Barney Rubble voice later in the movie.)
-- Diane Franklin, who plays Monique, might be best known as "Karen" in Last American Virgin. She also appears as the step-mom in How I Got Into College, the 1989 movie directed by Holland, and as a princess in 1989's Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.
-- Amanda Wyss, who plays fickle girlfriend Beth, also played the first victim of Freddy Krueger in Nightmare on Elm Street. She also plays Judge Reinhold's girlfriend Lisa in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
-- The math teacher is played by the late Vincent Schiavelli, who played Mr. Vargas in Fast Times.
-- The cartoons that Cusack draws in both Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer are actually drawn by director Savage Steve Holland.
-- Elizabeth Daily, a.k.a E. G. Daily, who co-starred in Valley Girl, plays herself in Better Off Dead, singing the title song at the school dance, which happened to take place on the same set as the school dance in 16 Candles.
-- Dan Schneider, who plays nasal-spray-addicted Ricky, later played one of the students on the 80s TV series "Head of the Class."
-- Better Off Dead is given tribute in two separate episodes of South Park, largely because creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are reportedly huge fans of the movie.
-- The network TV version of the film excludes three scenes: Charles DeMar snorting jello, Cusack with the Q-tips, and Badger with the women in his room.

One last unbelievable piece of trivia. The Camaro that Cusack and Franklin fix up in the movie is now owned by a rabid fan of the movie. It took years of phone calls and crawling through DMV records. Get the whole story at the website -- ta-dah! -- www.betteroffdeadcamaro.com.

Comments

[Andrew]

Sometimes you're better off dead...there is a gun in your hand pointed at your head..you think you're mad, too unstable, picking up chairs and knocking down tables in a restaurant in a WEST END TOWN call da police deres a mad man around

[Samoht]

Another interesting bit- Kim Darby (Lane's Mom) was the feisty little girl in True Grit- I don't remember the character's name, just "Lil' Sister". I can't watch that movie anymore without thinking about boiled bacon. :D

[Mark]

Forgot to put the address for Diane Franklin website http://dianefranklinfan.blogspot.com/

[Mark]

Hi i have set up a new fan site for any fans of Diane Franklin, it on going so if you have anything you need to know then send me a message

[Allison]

Does ANYONE happen to know if there is any recording out there in cyberland of Elizabeth Daly singing the title song? It has been one of my favorite parts of the film since I first saw it in 1985, and the song just doesn't seem to exist.

[Jen]

Oh! And Elizabeth Daily also had a small, but memorable role as a teenage air head in the movie "Fandango". She played a Texas teen who kept saying "That would be so neat!" with a rather thick accent. The movie also featured Judd Nelson as an ROTC nerd - It may not have done well in theatres, but "Fandango" has a pretty solid cult following.

[Jen]

Amanda Wyss also played Woody's ex-girlfriend from back home, "Beth" on "Cheers". They split over a shared over-eating compulsion.

[Wendy O]

Thanks anonymous...I'm a big dork and I asked her to be my Myspace friend : )

[Anonymous]

also check out E.G. DAILY's Newwebpage featured on "MySpace"www.myspace.com/egdaily1and my tribute website on E.G.:http://LouCass.net/egtribute.html

[Wendy O]

Speaking of Nickelodeon...did you guys know that E.G. Daily is the voice of Tommy Pickles (and a number of other cartoon characters) from The Rugrats? She was also Dottie in "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" and played a prostitute in both "Dutch" and the recent "The Devil's Rejects." She's my character-actress hero.

[Anonymous]

My kids watch a lot of Nickelodean and I noticed that Dan Schneider produces a lot of the shows there. In fact, he's quite successful. Shows like "Drake and Josh", "The Amanda Show" and othere are produced by him.His production company name? Scheider's Bakery.

[Steve Spears]

Wow, that's amazing (and sad) news, Dodd. Thanks for contributing.Guess he won't be in the Porky's remake. It won't be the same without him.

[Dodd]

You weren't too far off on the actor who player Porky. Chuck Mitchell's heart didn't explode, but he did die of cirrhosis of the liver in 1992.

[Gax]

Two Dollars

[powerage]

Though it was not the 80's, The Grifters is a must buy DVD for any movie fan. In my top 10 of personal favorites. Superb movie for those who have not seen it.