Dark, madcap and eminently quotable, Better off Dead holds up better than any 80’s teen comedy other than Heathers. Lane Meyer probably grows up into the assassin in Grosse Point Blank (Lloyd Dobler wasn’t nearly as dark), as the film shows American teenage alienation has always had a violent streak.
Despite the film’s surrealism, it’s one of the more honest about the self-serious nature of American youth - 40 years ago or today.