In his second feature with Savage Steve Holland (after "Better Off Dead"), actor John Cusack plays "Hoops" McCann, who's nicknamed that way because it's presumed that he'll play basketball for a living like his old man. But he'd really rather be a cartoonist. After he and his best friend George Calamari (Joel Murray) graduate from high school, George decides to try lifting Hoops' spirits by inviting him to Georges' family's home on Nantucket Island. Hoops makes the best of things, finding one thing that he likes about the location in aspiring pop singer Cassandra Eldridge (Demi Moore). Unfortunately, a piece of property belonging to Cassandra's family is due to be taken away from her by scheming developer Aguilla Beckersted (Mark Metcalf). So Hoops does everything that he can to help her out, with the help of bumbling twins Egg and Clay Stork (Bobcat Goldthwait and Tom Villard).
Holland can't help but fail to quite match the inspired zaniness of "Better Off Dead" with this sophomore effort. Overall it's just not as funny or as fresh. Of course, that doesn't mean that there aren't some great moments. Certainly the location is one big plus, and it's gorgeously shot by Isidore Mankofsky. Holland does include some amusing animated sequences, which he did himself. The characters are all pretty well defined, the heroes and the villains alike. (The villains aren't exactly subtle.) Cusack is engaging in the lead, and Moore is appealing as his love interest. Supporting players Murray, Curtis Armstrong (who plays a very non-"Booger" like role here), Goldthwait, and Villard are a hoot to watch; Goldthwaits' spastic shtick reaches a real zenith here. Metcalf and Matt Mulhern as his thuggish preppy son are guys whom you will love to loathe. And there are an incredible number of other familiar faces in the cast: Laura Waterbury, John Matuszak, Jeremy Piven, Billie Bird, Joe Flaherty, William Hickey, Taylor Negron, Rich Hall, Donald Li, and Rich Little.
There are some delicious gags scattered throughout, such as the obvious spoofs on "Jaws", but best of all is Goldthwaits' big Godzilla scene. It's hilarious and is the highlight of the movie. Clearly Holland was enjoying himself coming up with such ridiculous character names.
Never overly crude, this is an amiable "feel good" feature that, while rather predictable at its core, is still rather hard to resist.
Seven out of 10.
Holland can't help but fail to quite match the inspired zaniness of "Better Off Dead" with this sophomore effort. Overall it's just not as funny or as fresh. Of course, that doesn't mean that there aren't some great moments. Certainly the location is one big plus, and it's gorgeously shot by Isidore Mankofsky. Holland does include some amusing animated sequences, which he did himself. The characters are all pretty well defined, the heroes and the villains alike. (The villains aren't exactly subtle.) Cusack is engaging in the lead, and Moore is appealing as his love interest. Supporting players Murray, Curtis Armstrong (who plays a very non-"Booger" like role here), Goldthwait, and Villard are a hoot to watch; Goldthwaits' spastic shtick reaches a real zenith here. Metcalf and Matt Mulhern as his thuggish preppy son are guys whom you will love to loathe. And there are an incredible number of other familiar faces in the cast: Laura Waterbury, John Matuszak, Jeremy Piven, Billie Bird, Joe Flaherty, William Hickey, Taylor Negron, Rich Hall, Donald Li, and Rich Little.
There are some delicious gags scattered throughout, such as the obvious spoofs on "Jaws", but best of all is Goldthwaits' big Godzilla scene. It's hilarious and is the highlight of the movie. Clearly Holland was enjoying himself coming up with such ridiculous character names.
Never overly crude, this is an amiable "feel good" feature that, while rather predictable at its core, is still rather hard to resist.
Seven out of 10.