Lane Meyer is obsessed with his girlfriend Beth and is crushed when she falls for the new captain of the ski team, Roy. After several failed suicide attempts, narrow escapes from the relentless paperboy, and nearly unbearable dinners at home with his crazy family, Lane finds a new love in French foreign exchange student Monique Junot. Meanwhile, the upset Lane challenges Roy in a competition on the K12 slope to regain his honour, which he instantly regrets. I absolutely adore this lesser-known, under-appreciated 80s classic. It manages to feel fresh and original and is like nothing I have ever seen before. It works to convey so many issues and teenage nightmares that we have faced in our lives at some point. It shows this by alternating from the brilliant 80s coming-of-age movie style to being just completely wacky at times, in the best way! We could go from addressing how it feels to break up in a relationship and how that can make you feel in regular teenage fashion to then show Lane's mother's cooking coming to life, crawling off of their plates at dinner, a claymation living hamburger and Lane's brother creating working ray guns and a spaceship (which crashes through the roof at the end of the film). Such bizarre moments are thrown into the mix of this hilarious flick that ultimately makes it all the better. It has your typical storyline for a coming-of-age movie with Lane trying to beat the jock, Roy, in a ski challenge to get back with his ex-girlfriend, Beth and in the process will find a new love in Monique who helps him in his troubles and constant lows. I adore the relationship that is formed between Lane and Monique as they develop throughout the film, starting as neighbours to friends and slowly becoming more, to the point where Lane realises his feelings for her. Their on-screen moments are very cute and romantic, the best in any rom-com. Now the movie does cover a sensitive topic, that being suicide, which Lane tries to do a few times during the film, however, the whole point and message we are told is that you are never better off dead. No matter what life throws at you, there is no reason to go to it which is shown through the meeting and romance with Monique. So besides all the typical and regular movie topics that are covered, the highlights for me are some of the more silly and strange moments of the movie where it just goes all out. This can be seen very early on by showing Kane's obsession with Beth by having his entire wall covered in pictures of her to even showing his clothes hangers having her face on them. It is a perfect representation of one's obsessive states during a relationship and shows how much the break-up is going to affect him. The most iconic subplot is without a doubt the paperboy. Upon being denied his pay by Lane, who makes up some hilarious excuses to get out of having to give him his money, the boy is relentless, stopping at nothing to get his two dollars. He shows up plenty of times throughout when you would least expect him from clinging to the roof of his car to chasing him down the mountain during the ski competition. He is hell-bent on his two dollars, which he frequently shouts as he pursues him easily becoming the most iconic line. Alongside all these mad capers, the film has some incredible musical pieces, most notably a song from the phenomenal Van Halen - 'Everybody Wants Some!!' played to the incredibly weird claymation that is just as memorable. I also really like Lane's friend, Charles De Mar who is hysterical with some unusual habits like snorting jelly and snow but my favourite moment of his is when he simply laughs at the bully's jokes, which is so contagious that I couldn't stop laughing. I loved how many quotable scenes there are in this film too that stand out for how unexpected they are, like for example, "Gee, I'm really sorry your mom blew up, Ricky", and the fact it is said in the straightest face ever, is so funny. Overall, this is a cherished favourite in my collection and one I think everyone should view once in their lifetime. I had such a blast and it is one I can assure you will be viewed over and over for years to come. This is another masterpiece added to the catalogue of the 1980s.
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