Thehibikiew
Not even bad in a good way
Protraph
Lack of good storyline.
BoardChiri
Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay
gwnightscream
John Cusack, Demi Moore, Bobcat Goldthwait, Curtis Armstrong, Joel Murray, Tom Villard, Matt Mulhern and Mark Metcalf star in this 1986 comedy. This focuses on aspiring cartoonist, Hoops (Cusack) who has just graduated high school with pal, George (Murray) and they head to Nantucket island for the summer. Hoops is about to have a summer he'll never forget when he gets into mischief with George and finds romance with singer, Cassandra (Moore) who is trying to save her house from being knocked down. Hoops also has a fear of the water since childhood, but overcomes it when he and his pals enter in a Regatta to try to win Cassandra's house back. Goldthwait (Police Academy 2) plays Egg, Armstrong (Revenge of the Nerds) plays Ack Ack, the late, Villard (Popcorn) plays Egg's brother, Clay, Metcalf (Animal House) plays Beckerstead, a shrewd, land developer who wants to build a restaurant where Cassandra's house is and Mulhern (Major Dad) plays his spoiled son, Ted who doesn't like Hoops and his friends. I grew up watching this and always liked it. It's got a lot of funny moments and a couple dramatic ones as well plus the film sort of pokes fun at "Jaws" and "Godzilla." I recommend this 80's summer classic.
Scarecrow-88
It's a simple fact that there are many of us from the 80's generation who grew up loving those loopy John Cusack comedies made by Savage Steve Holland, and while I prefer there other more bizarre, out-there flick, Better Off Dead, it's hard for me to dislike One Crazy Summer, a movie I grew up loving wholeheartedly as a kid into my teens. OCS was a follow-up to Better Off Dead, returning Cusack and Curtis Armstrong from that film. Cusack is Hoops, following graduation pal Joel Murray(George)to Nantucket for the summer to each some fun on the beach. Hoops finds himself embroiled in a feud with a blonde, buff punk named Teddy Beckersted whose lecherous father has designs on bulldozing over homes of a neighborhood to build a giant condominium. One of the homes, needing it's mortgage repaid belongs to Demi Moore(Cassandra). There's a sailboat race which might be their only hope of saving Cassandra's grandfather's home(..he had recently passed), but it has been won by Teddy over the past many years, and Hoops is deathly afraid of boats over water. But, with the help and motivation of newfound Nantucket friends(..such as Bobcat Goldwait and Tom Villard as auto-mechanic twin brothers!), George, and budding love-interest Cassandra, perhaps Hoops can come to terms with his fears and win the race to save the neighborhood. Armstrong has a supporting part as the son of a kooky, manic weapons salesman, General Raymond(..SCTV's Joe Flaherty in an inspired bit of casting), Ack, who uses the training from his father to assist Hoops and company in their goals to win the race. Memorable scenes include Bobcat getting stuck in a Godzilla suit(!)running rampant across an entire model of Aguilla Beckersted(Mark Metcalf, barely recognizable as Teddy's rather unhinged pops)'s condominium, Hoops being chased by deranged cub scouts wishing to perform first aid, George a victim of toxic flatulence, Bruce Wagner's nutty Uncle Frank's increasing insanity every time he tries to better his chances to win 1 million dollars from a radio show, and the wonderful Billie Bird as George's grandma who actually bills the group after a meal! Jeremy Piven as(you guessed it)a brutish jerk who associates with Teddy and causes trouble for Hoops and his posse, the yummy Kimberly Foster as Cookie(..Teddy's girl who attempts to make-out with Hoops while he attends a luncheon with his father), and the one-and-only William Hickey as Old Man Beckersted, who will not reward his son and grandson an inheritance if they lose the sail boat race. Demi Moore is cute, but this is Cusack's vehicle, though Bobcat and Villard steal most of the scenes their in. Again, some delightful animation from Holland are sprinkled throughout the movie(Hoops is an artist, appropriately). If you like his movies, I highly recommend the underrated, How I Got Into College.
kittiwake-1
This is the follow-up creation to Better Off Dead. In a competition, Better Off Dead would win hands-down. But for star power, One Crazy Summer outshines Savage Steve's better script. Problems with One Crazy Summer (OCS): casting. Better Off Dead (BOD) was cast so much better. Friendship: OCS shows Cusack giving hateful looks to Bill Murray's little bro. Trouble on the set?? More outrageous friends in OCS, but more genuine friends in BOD. Plot was good. You'll predict some of it, but even the predictable parts go further than you think they could. So, even though this is Better Off Dead's ugly stepsister, it's worth a look. See Demi Moore before the plastic surgery if for no other reason. John Cusack fans, you gotta see it, just to say you have. If you don't like Bobcat Golthwaite, I'm sorry. I don't like him either, but you can't escape him in this one. At least he does a great job in the film doing a tribute to another movie monster. Editing needed help on the beach, but for most part, not much to complain about. Overall, it's good and funny. But try not to compare it to BOD or you'll find it lacking. *sigh*
Blueghost
...you know something's up.The movie isn't all that bad. It's got a number of humorous moments in it. When it aired on HBO all those years ago I'd watch it to kill time, but I can't recall ever really laughing at the jokes and other gags (save the "Godzilla" scene).The film making style is professional enough, but also some what spartan, and the gags (like in "Better Off Dead") are mostly telegraphed or trumped by the characters stating the obvious. There's a distinct lack of coverage with a heavy reliance on master shots and the actors' performances to carry the scenes (again much like Holland's previous film "Better Off Dead").Historical footnote; one could call this the origins of crude humor in film, but that might be giving it too much credit.I didn't find the movie all that funny way back then, and after seeing the DVD I still don't find it all that funny. Still, it has a certain appeal to it. It's worth a night's rental to see Bobcat Goldwaith if nothing else. Not great, but a decent film all around.
