Rating: 
Summary: "I Want my $2.00!"
Review: This is really a strange movie. It has many funny parts in it but, the mother is a little off the deep end. I enjoy watching this movie over and over. Question? Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that alot of the movies that John cusack is in he is drawing animated drawings? Just a Thought.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy the VHS. Don't waste your money on the DVD.
Review: The movie rates 5 stars and the DVD version rates a 0. The DVD claims to be widescreen and enhanced for widescreen TV's. Adding black bars to the full screen version at the top and bottom does not make it widescreen nor enhanced. This is still one of the greatest comedies of the 80's and I highly recommend it. Get the cheaper VHS version. It's half the price and no one's head is chopped off.
Rating:
Summary: Poor sound quality, but great movie
Review: First off I have seen this movie quiet a few times, and it is a great flick, but when they made the DVD I had to have it. Well I am sorely disappointed in the quality of the sound. It doesn't have either Dolby Digital or DTS. I have movies that have both, ad sound great. This sounds like a muffled person.
Rating:
Summary: What A Funny Movie
Review: This was a very funny movie made in 1985. John Cusack was hilarious in the role. My favorite part of the movie was the classroom scene because they want to learn at school, I just thought that was so funny, especially since you know everyone hates work at school. I loved the lady who sang Better Off Dead, I downloaded it off a website. This is a great comedy and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Cusack - The Early Years
Review: John Cusack in his youthful-prime. This movie is a classic 80's offbeat comedy, with dark humor galore. John Cusack plays Lane Meyer, a semi-popular angst teenager trying to land a cute girl by making the ski team. Throughout this movie you see Cusack shaping the patterns for what will be standard for him in later movies. This was the first exposure I had to Cusack and I have loved his work ever since. If you liked Say Anything, you will like Better Off Dead, a mustl see. I think my favorite moment from the movie was when Cusack's character takes on the over-weight weird kid from across the street in a duel over the foreign exchange student from France. Cusack duels him with his ski poles in a moment that is classic Cusack, and just another reason to see this flick.
Rating: 
Summary: My favorite movie - disappointed with DVD though
Review: First off, you have to see this movie. Although it would get awards for being extremely cheezy... it's quite humorous. If you want a movie review, read the excellent posts by Jeffrey Ellis or Joshua Lai. Second, my low rating is based on the actual DVD. I waited, and waited, and waited for this movie to come out on DVD. Considering DVDs have been around more than 5 years already, I'm truly amazed that companies still put out VHS quality works in DVD format. I could have sworn I was watching a videotape (on my HD monitor with progressive scan player). Unless you are a Better Off Dead nut like myself, wait until the studio releases a Collector's edition or Special editor before spending your money on this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie, Horrible DVD
Review: First off, I have to tell you this is my favorite movie. I've watched my VHS copy too many times to count so I was looking forward the the DVD. Other than the picture quality being sharp and all the other benefits of DVD, I was disappointed in this DVD release. These days, special features are standard on DVDs. Here are features that I would've liked to see: French & Spanish language, director commentary, original trailer, deleted scenes, actor bio's, even commentary on the film's cult following.
Rating:
Summary: I love this movie!
Review: I have always been a fan of Better Off Dead since I first saw it back in the 80s. John Cusack is simply one of my favorite actors of all time and he is so lovable in this movie. He truly does capture the angst of what it's like to be a teenager. All the secondary characters just rock! The Howard Kosell talking race driver to the infamous "I want more $2, cash! Plus tip" crazed little paper boy. My personal fave is the friendship that develops between Lane and Monique. I finally purchased my DVD and was a little dissappointed in the lack of special features! Um, let me correct that--there are no special features. Not even a trailer. No audio commentary, no photo galleries, no deleted scenes. Nada. Oh well--the one good thing is that it had that "kiss" scene at the end. Believe it or not, in my airings of this movie on local broadcasts they cut Lane & Monique kissing at the very end. They just show the far out wide shot with the paperboy running towards them. So I was happy to see the full ending in it's entirety. Other than that, this DVD is pretty standard and it deserves so much more--much like many other 80s teen movies.
Rating: 
Summary: Better Than Nothing - finally on DVD 7/2002
Review: It's finally here, and although it doesn't cost $2.00, it's better than nothing (if you caught that reference, you're a fan and will buy it now). I won't go into plot and such - you already know about the movie's merits (or can find them online easily). This review will concern the region 1 (USA) DVD release that came out 7/16/02 at long last! retail around $20-25 USD. One note: I had trouble finding this on release day - the local "big box" boys all told me they had "a copy on order or something"... I guess they didn't anticipate a big demand for this wildy funny 1985 cult comedy. DVD Special Features: Widescreen enhanced for 16:9, English Subtitle Option, Dolby Digital & "English Stereo" (whatever that means). No foreign language tracks, outtakes or even a trailer. No stills of the cast or bios.... nada. Zip. Zero. Initial Impressions: This DVD is truly a bare-bones production from start to finish. I actually thought the audio track was absent at first, due to the lack of any sound at all until the movie proper starts. And of course you can't skip over the annoying studio splash or the stern warning not to copy it. At least there's no ads or previews in front like some.
Menu Options: The menu page is a static photo with three options - Play, Setup and Scene Selection. Setup lets you pick from "Subtitle: English or None". That's it. No other setup options... it looks like you could change Audio Indicator to other foreign languages, but that option does not highlight. Maybe they forgot to add foreign language tracks or the coder forgot to link up to the function. Video: I played this on two different TV/DVD setups - one highend and one old/low end. The Widescreen refused to work on my lowend set, but worked fine on the new DVD player. However, both sets showed the film to be overly bright and rather soft, especially in outdoor scenes. Even inside, there were no good strong blacks to be seen. The print itself seemed rather clean, with no spots or distortions immediately visible. Overall, it looked like a moderate home-transfer job of a videotape via a DVD burner... barely better than my vhs. Such a shame. Audio: Nothing special, just good old Dolby. Not that surround would do much with this movie, but still.. blah. Extras: none. I suspect if they could have had "less than none" they would have. Truly a poor showing for this classic comedy. Summary: Although "gotta have it" fans like myself are happy to have a DVD at last, this shoddy transfer and lack of features makes me a bit ticked at whomever decided to jam it to us fans and charge "normal" dvd prices. It would have been much more accurately priced as a budget dvd in the 12.99 range after all this time... surely the production costs have been paid for many times over. Other: The VHS (20th Cent.Fox) edition indicates 98 minutes, the DVD says 97 minutes... reason not apparent. Also, the keepcase coverart is truly dreadful- whomever created this case cover needs some more photoshop lessons pronto! 5 stars for the original movie, 3 stars for this lackluster DVD edition.
Rating:
Summary: God Bless this Movie
Review: Perhaps you have to be of a certain age but this movie really spoke to me when I was teenager. It deals with suicide, unrequited love, dead end jobs and all the travails of teenage existence. How does it deal with all this? By making you laugh like a hyena. This and a couple other titles is why my generation will always revere John Cusack. I often wonder if any teenager would find this and the John Hughes movies as endearing as I did a dozen years ago. This is definetly one of the movies that could be considered a patriarch of the American Pie type flicks being lauded today.
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