Better Off Dead (1985)

John Cusack plays Lane Meyer, a teenager who attempts, repeatedly, to remove himself from this earth after he’s dumped by his girlfriend, Beth Truss (Amanda Wyss) for cocky blonde guy Roy Stalin (Aaron Dozier).

The whole plot would never fly today, nor the slapstick jokes around a teenage boy trying to end himself. But the entire movie is such masterful absurdist comedy that no thinking person could possibly take it seriously.

Also, like many of the movies of the time, it features some dicey Asian characters, but at least they’re good at racing and have girlfriends. We’d say they’re much cooler, at least by high school standards, than poor Lane is.

Finally, Diane Franklin (above, with Cusack) is excellent as Monique, a notably smart, capable and cool dream girl. So there’s that. This is another of our favorite ’80s comedies.