One Crazy Summer (1986)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Savage Steve Holland

Writer:

Savage Steve Holland (written by)

Release Date:

8 August 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

They're out of school, out on Nantucket, and out of their minds. With this crowd, anything can happen!

Plot:

An aspiring teenage cartoonist and his friends come to the aid of a singer trying to save her family property from developers.

Plot Keywords:

Summer | Singer | Basketball | Motorcycle Gang | Male Female Relationship

Cast

John Cusack	...	Hoops McCann
Linda Warren	...	Mrs. McCann
Joel Murray	...	George Calamari
Grenville Cuyler	...	Graduation Orator
Kristen Goelz	...	Squid Calamari
Sky	...	Boscoe
Laura Waterbury	...	Crossing Guard
Jennifer Yahoodik	...	Andrea
Rachel C. Telegen	...	Brunhelda
Demi Moore	...	Cassandra
John Matuszak	...	Stain
Paul M. Lane	...	Biker #1 (as Paul Lane)
Don Ruffin	...	Biker #2
Gary Littlejohn	...	Biker #3
Pat McGoarty	...	Biker #4 (as Pat Mc Goarty)

Also Known As:

Greetings from Nantucket (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG (Approved No. 28173) | Canada:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

A&M Films

Trivia:

The film is sometimes described as "'Better Off Dead... (1985)' Goes To The Beach", as it shares the same star (John Cusack) and the same director (Savage Steve Holland), and is also about an aspiring cartoonist.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Cassandra says DOW makes Mace. The DOW Chemical Company has never manufactured Mace. They did create Agent Orange, but not Mace. It is possible Cassandra was not being serious when she gave out the information

Quotes:

Hoops McCann: Why am I talking to you? You're not a man, you're a cat! Go back to your feline world!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Spring Breakdown (2009)

Soundtrack:

In My Room

One Crazy Comedy

I cannot say enough good things about this movie. From the warped mind of Savage Steve Holland comes this superior laughfest. First, I have to say that I haven't seen many movies that start out with a David Lee Roth tune. This could be a good or bad thing. The main character is John Cusack's character, who calls himself Hoops. Which is a total oxymoron if you have seen his basketball skills in the movie. This movie is all about leaving your troubles behind and getting away for the summer to Nantucket. Hoops is afraid of boats, but has no choice when his friend George launches his clunker onto the ferry at the last minute. He shacks up with future love interest Demi Moore, the worst actress in history. But she is pretty young and 80's looking in this one. They finally hit mainland and meet a whole host of odd characters. Of these is Bobcat Golthwait and Dudley Dawson, from the Revenge of the Nerd flicks. Hoops is still practicing his drawing and falling head over heels for a debutante named Cookie. But Cookie has a muscle bound rich preppy ass boyfriend named Teddy. And he has it out for Hoops and co. As the plot thickens, Demi's character is about to lose her grandfathers house to the bank, so they decide to plan a benefit at a local dive. You can just imagine Demi lipsyncing. She ends up with plenty of money, but the bank has already sold the mortgage to the house. The movie comes to a happy ending via boat race on the lovely waters of Nantucket. Cusack and co. build a riff raff boat and blow everyone out of the water, despite some unfair play along the way. So they get the trophy, house, and Cusack ends up in a liplock with Demi. Despite the cheesey story, there are some really funny moments in this one. Some of my personal favorites are: the guy getting stabbed during the hat toss at graduation, Uncle Frank getting launched out of the bathroom window, and Bobcat getting stuck in a Godzilla costume. Also expect cameos from Rich Hall, Rich Little, and Taylor Negron. I rate this movie 4/5 for the great comic moments and the fact that I grew up watching this one. Very hard to find on dvd, and am not sure on bonus footage, but this is a comedy classic. But I think Better off Dead is equal or a little less funnier. Both have their moments. And this was way before Cusack ruined his career doing Pushing Tin.