One Crazy Summer

Yesterday, I wrote about the Savage Steve Holland film How I Got Into College. Today, I thought I would take a look back at his follow up to Better Off Dead, 1986's One Crazy Summer.

Holland reteamed with his Dead star John Cusack, who plays Hoops McCann, a recent high school grad whose prospects are looking bleak. Unable to get a basketball schlolarship, because he's awful at the game, Hoops turns to his real passion, illustration in hopes of landing a schloarship at a design school. For his application, he must draw a love story. He's never been in love and is drawing a blank. Hoops decides to take his mind off his troubles and join his best friend George, Joel Murray, for a summer at Cape Cod, hoping that inspiration will come to him while on vacation.

Inspiration does come to him in the form of rock singer Cassandra, Demi Moore, that the guys meet enroute. Hoops finds out that she is coming to Cape Cod to try and save her grandfathers home from Mr. Beckerstead, Mark Metcalf, an evil businessman who wants to put a lobster restaurant on the property. With the help from local boys the Stork twins, Bobcat Goldthwait and Tom Villaird, and George's sensitive friend Ack Ack, Curtis Armstrong, the guys pull out all the stops to help Cassandra.

This might be my favorite of the Holland films. It's a tough call between this and Better Off Dead, but it's a lot of silly fun.

The cast is pretty great too. Everyone seems to be having a blast. I guess their was tension behind the scenes however between Cusack and Holland. Cusack was upset with how Better Off Dead turned out, but he was alrady committed to this one. Holland, on the dvd commentary, doesn't use Casack's name, but states that someone acted like a total primadonna on the set. Supposedly, the two haven't spoken since Summer wrapped.

Luckily the tension doesn't show up on screen. The end result was a lot of mindless fun. And where else can you see Goldthwait in a Godzilla costume? Not to mention a dolphin with rabbies.

It's available on dvd.