John Cusack Reveals the One Movie He Absolutely Hated

John Cusack’s early career included a controversial collaboration with writer-director Savage Steve Holland on the 1985 teen black comedy Better Off Dead.

The film, which features Cusack as high schooler Lane Meyer navigating a breakup, a mute younger brother, and encounters with eccentric characters like Japanese drag racers, was meant to highlight Cusack’s talents. However, he reportedly hated the experience.

Holland later recounted to The Sneeze that Cusack walked out of a screening of the film during the production of their next project, One Crazy Summer, which shared much of the same cast and crew. “About 20 minutes into it, he walked out, and he never came back,” Holland said.

On set the following day, Cusack confronted Holland directly, saying “Better Off Dead was the worst thing I have ever seen. I will never trust you as a director ever again, so don’t speak to me.” Their collaboration ended there, making One Crazy Summer their second and final film together.

Better Off Dead was initially met with mixed reviews. Critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel gave the film “two thumbs down,” while Bill Cosford of The Miami Herald called it “the first movie in a long time to interrupt itself periodically with flights of animated fancy.” Despite early criticism, the film later gained a cult following for its surreal, absurdist humor and unconventional approach to teen comedy.

Today, the movie holds a 75% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics noting it as “an anarchic mix of black humor and surreal comedy anchored by John Cusack’s winsome, charming performance.”

Metacritic reflects more mixed opinions, scoring it 51 out of 100. Cusack himself later clarified in a 2013 Reddit AMA, stating, “No, I just thought it could have been better, but I think that about almost all my films. I have nothing against the film…. Glad people love it still.”

Although Cusack’s initial reaction was extreme, Better Off Dead has endured as a quirky 1980s classic that fans continue to celebrate for its humor and offbeat style.

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