Franklin, Diane

Better Off Dead

Lane Myer (John Cusack) is stuck in a personal hell. A compulsive, adolescent Everyman growing up in Suburbia, USA, not only does he fail to make the prestigious high school ski team (again), but his beloved sweetheart, Beth, also leaves him for Roy, the team's popular, arrogant captain. If this isn't bad enough, he's stuck with a mother who frighteningly experiments--rather than cooks--with food, a brother who builds rockets out of models, and a best friend so desperate for drugs that he settles for snorting powdered snow. Faced with these prospects, Lane opts to end it all ... until he comes up with a ridiculous plan to gain acceptance and win Beth back. Director Savage Steve Holland warps this simple, clichéd premise, letting his wacky imagination twist it into a fairly original, slightly dark, and completely hilarious '80s teen comedy. Not as serious a "suicide-attempt" movie as, say, Harold and Maude but just as funny, the film's more a collection of screwball sketches than a narrative. Holland livens the high jinks with surrealistic fantasy touches, including Jell-O that crawls, a hamburger that sings Van Halen, drawings that mock its creator, Japanese race-car drivers who only speak Howard Cosell, and a psychotic paperboy seeking blood over a missing $2. Cusack puts the whole thing on his shoulders and carries the insanity with another one of his touching, obsessively romantic performances, which, along with Say Anything, The Sure Thing, and One Crazy Summer, made him the quintessential (and appealing) personification of lovestruck adolescence and suffering. --Dave McCoy

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Keanu Reeves (The Matrix) and Alex Winter (The Lost Boys) deliver "spirited performances" (The Hollywood Reporter) in the original righteous comedy about the two ditzy dudes from San Dimas California. Also starring George Carlin this hysterically funny historical comedy is a "snappily directed" (Time) "bouncy good time" (The Boston Globe) and a party that goes on and on!Bill (Winter) and Ted (Reeves) have spent so much time forming their rock band The Wyld Stallyns that they're flunking history. Whoa duuuude! And when Ted's dad threatens to send him away to military school Bill and Ted realize it could mean the most heinous end of The Stallyns! Luckily a guardian angel from the future Rufus (Carlin) has come to them with a most bodacious solution: a time-traversing phone booth to take them into the past to learn about the world from some of history's most influential personalities. Their journey through time turns out to be a blast...but will they learn enough to pass their class?System Requirements:Starring: George Carlin Keanu Reeves Alex Winter Directed By: Stephen Herek Running Time: 90 Min. Color Copyright MGM Studios 2003.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG UPC: 027616869265 Manufacturer No: 1002728

Like, radical, dude--but not nearly as funny as it should be, even though it was a box-office hit. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are a pair of dim Valley boys, whose life is made heinous by a school history project. Enter George Carlin as a futuristic dude with a time-traveling phone booth. So Bill and Ted go back in time to round up a gang of historical figures (Socrates, Joan of Arc) to bring back for their presentation. Abe Lincoln at the mall? That's about as witty as it gets, rendering this the kind of comedy that gives teenaged audiences a bad name. --Marshall Fine

The Last American Virgin

A "let's get laid" favorite from the teen-comedy trend of the early 1980s, The Last American Virgin is beloved enough to earn its own fan-driven website, and it's still lots of fun. While tapping into the same zeitgeist that popularized Fast Times at Ridgemont High (which was released just one week earlier), this above-average sex comedy mixes high-school high jinks with the real anguish of unrequited love, as a nice kid named Gary (Lawrence Monoson) falls for Karen (Diane Franklin), a cute classmate who won't return his affections. Gary delivers pizza, leading to the comic highlight when his horny pals (Steve Antin, Joe Rubbo) deliver more than pizza to a lonely Latina bombshell (Louisa Moritz). But Gary wants his "first time" to be special, and director Boaz Davidson smartly avoids the obvious by denying Gary of the thing he wants most. Intended as the first in a series of remakes of the Israeli "Lemon Popsicle" comedies of the 1970s, The Last American Virgin offers abundant nudity, a recycled soundtrack of '80s hits, and plenty of hair mousse, but it's genuine hormonal angst that's given it a lasting reputation. --Jeff Shannon

Virginity is up against some stiff competition in this uproariously "entertaining" (Boxoffice) comedy about three sex-starved high school buddies with only one thing left to lose. Written and directed by Boaz Davidson with a "bitter sweet style" (The Hollywood Reporter) and pulsing with music by U2 The Cars Devo and more The Last American Virgin is a devastatingly funny "teen romp [that's] a notch above" (Boxoffice)!This semester Gary Rick and David are determined to get laid - even if it means going toe to toe with a hilarious array of high-strung hookers naughty nymphomaniacs and naive high school girls. But when Gary falls for the girl of his dreams - only to learn that she's about to become Rick's latest conquest - he soon discovers that having sex doesn't mean just losing his virginity it may mean losing his innocence... forever.System Requirements:Starring: Steve Antin Diane Franklin Lawrence Monoson Louisa Mortiz Joe Rubbo Directed By: Boaz Davidson Running Time: 93 Min. Color Copyright 2003 MGM Studios.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 027616888457 Manufacturer No: 1004815

Better Off Dead - I Love the 80's Edition

Lane Myer (John Cusack) is stuck in a personal hell. A compulsive, adolescent Everyman growing up in Suburbia, USA, not only does he fail to make the prestigious high school ski team (again), but his beloved sweetheart, Beth, also leaves him for Roy, the team's popular, arrogant captain. If this isn't bad enough, he's stuck with a mother who frighteningly experiments--rather than cooks--with food, a brother who builds rockets out of models, and a best friend so desperate for drugs that he settles for snorting powdered snow. Faced with these prospects, Lane opts to end it all ... until he comes up with a ridiculous plan to gain acceptance and win Beth back. Director Savage Steve Holland warps this simple, clichéd premise, letting his wacky imagination twist it into a fairly original, slightly dark, and completely hilarious '80s teen comedy. Not as serious a "suicide-attempt" movie as, say, Harold and Maude but just as funny, the film's more a collection of screwball sketches than a narrative. Holland livens the high jinks with surrealistic fantasy touches, including Jell-O that crawls, a hamburger that sings Van Halen, drawings that mock its creator, Japanese race-car drivers who only speak Howard Cosell, and a psychotic paperboy seeking blood over a missing $2. Cusack puts the whole thing on his shoulders and carries the insanity with another one of his touching, obsessively romantic performances, which, along with Say Anything, The Sure Thing, and One Crazy Summer, made him the quintessential (and appealing) personification of lovestruck adolescence and suffering. --Dave McCoy

After his girlfriend (AMANDA WYSS) ditches him for a boorish ski jock Lane (JOHN CUSACK) decides that suicide is the only answer. However his increasingly inept attempts bring him only more agony and embarrassment. Filled with the wildest teen nightmares a family you can't help but identify with and a host of wonderful comic characters Savage Steve Holland's writing/directorial debut is a masterful look at those painfully funny teen years.System Requirements:Running Time: 97 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/COMING OF AGE Rating: PG UPC: 097361378343 Manufacturer No: 137834

The Amityville Horror II - The Posession

Before the residence at 112 Ocean Avenue became infamous in The Amityville Horror its supernatural legacy of terror had already begun. Inspired by a true story this chilling prequel is a bloodcurdling special-effects-laden encounter with all-powerful all-consuming evil. Although the Montellis are not exactly the "perfect family" at least they've found the perfect home. And even though a liquid that looks like blood gushes from the kitchen faucet and every window has been nailed shut it still qualifies as their dream house until all hell breaks loose! A local priest tries to rid the house of unclean spirits but what he doesn't yet suspect is that teenage son Sonny Montelli has been possessed body and soul by a murderous demon bent on total destruction.System Requirements: Running Time 104 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: R UPC: 027616909381 Manufacturer No: 1006792

Second Time Lucky

Punchcard Player

Punchcard Player is a thought-provoking dramatic comedy about an impressionable 23-year-old suburbanite named Tim Perroni who punches in and out of six jobs at the same time to survive a materialistic lifestyle. From time clock to time clock, Tim is a PUNCHCARD PLAYER.
Tim wants to be bigger and better than everyone else. He wants people to look up to him as many people including Tim look up to Tim s dad. He wants to have the hottest car, the nicest clothes, the newest technology, a girl that will one day be his wife... and, one day, the best job.
While working several little jobs simultaneously, Tim works toward finding a career that will support him and the dream family he wants to build with his girlfriend, Angela. Tim s Punchcard Player lifestyle leaves very little time to actually spend with Angela, or anyone for that matter.
Tim finally lands a full-time dream occupation, but on the first day, he gets fired for falling asleep on the job and lying to the boss.
Tim has no time to find another career. He has far too many overdue bills, including a school loan that he ll soon have to start paying.
As pressure builds to uphold his extravagant lifestyle, Tim takes several part-time jobs far worse than his initial punch-card positions. His lifestyle becomes one of survival, and Tim soon realizes that he s headed toward a miserable existence.

Better Off Dead [Region 2]

Lane Myer (John Cusack) is stuck in a personal hell. A compulsive, adolescent Everyman growing up in Suburbia, USA, not only does he fail to make the prestigious high school ski team (again), but his beloved sweetheart, Beth, also leaves him for Roy, the team's popular, arrogant captain. If this isn't bad enough, he's stuck with a mother who frighteningly experiments--rather than cooks--with food, a brother who builds rockets out of models, and a best friend so desperate for drugs that he settles for snorting powdered snow. Faced with these prospects, Lane opts to end it all ... until he comes up with a ridiculous plan to gain acceptance and win Beth back. Director Savage Steve Holland warps this simple, clichéd premise, letting his wacky imagination twist it into a fairly original, slightly dark, and completely hilarious '80s teen comedy. Not as serious a "suicide-attempt" movie as, say, Harold and Maude but just as funny, the film's more a collection of screwball sketches than a narrative. Holland livens the high jinks with surrealistic fantasy touches, including Jell-O that crawls, a hamburger that sings Van Halen, drawings that mock its creator, Japanese race-car drivers who only speak Howard Cosell, and a psychotic paperboy seeking blood over a missing $2. Cusack puts the whole thing on his shoulders and carries the insanity with another one of his touching, obsessively romantic performances, which, along with Say Anything, The Sure Thing, and One Crazy Summer, made him the quintessential (and appealing) personification of lovestruck adolescence and suffering. --Dave McCoy

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure [Region 2]

Like, radical, dude--but not nearly as funny as it should be, even though it was a box-office hit. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are a pair of dim Valley boys, whose life is made heinous by a school history project. Enter George Carlin as a futuristic dude with a time-traveling phone booth. So Bill and Ted go back in time to round up a gang of historical figures (Socrates, Joan of Arc) to bring back for their presentation. Abe Lincoln at the mall? That's about as witty as it gets, rendering this the kind of comedy that gives teenaged audiences a bad name. --Marshall Fine

Amityville II: The Possession [Region 2]