One Crazy Summer
| One Crazy Summer | |
|---|---|
 "They're the last bunch in the world you'd expect to win anything... But with this crowd, anything can happen!" | |
| Directed by | Savage Steve Holland |
| Written by | Savage Steve Holland |
| Produced by | Gil Friesen (executive producer) Michael Jaffe (producer) Andrew Meyer (executive producer) Claudia Sloan (animation producer) William Strom (associate producer) |
| Starring | John Cusack Demi Moore Bobcat Goldthwait Curtis Armstrong Joel Murray |
| Cinematography | Isidore Mankofsky |
| Edited by | Alan Balsam |
| Music by | Cory Lerios |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date | August 8, 1986 |
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $13,432,000 |
One Crazy Summer is a 1986 romantic comedy film written and directed by Savage Steve Holland, and starring John Cusack, Demi Moore, Bobcat Goldthwait, Curtis Armstrong, and Joel Murray. The original film score was composed by Cory Lerios.
Plot summary
Hoops McCann (Cusack) is a recent high school graduate who failed to get a basketball scholarship, disappointing his parents. Hoops hopes to be admitted to the Rhode Island School of Design, and must write and illustrate a love story for his application. He joins his friend George Calamari (Murray), and George's sister Squid, to spend the summer on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts. En route, they pick up a young rock singer named Cassandra Eldridge (Moore); who is being chased by a motorcycle gang at the time. Once on the island, Hoops and George, along with George's island friends the Stork twins and Ack-Ack Raymond, must help Cassandra save her grandfather's house from the greedy Beckersted Family. Along the way, Hoops must find a way to write his cartoon love story.
Cast
- John Cusack as Hoops McCann
- Demi Moore as Cassandra Eldridge
- Curtis Armstrong as Ack Ack Raymond
- Bobcat Goldthwait as Egg Stork
- Joel Murray as George Calamari
- William Hickey as Old Man Beckerstead
- Joe Flaherty as General Raymond
- Mark Metcalf as Aquilla Beckerstead
- John Matuszak as Stan
- Kimberly Foster as Cookie Campbell
- Matt Mulhern as Teddy Beckerstead
- Rich Little as Radio contest DJ
- Tom Villard as Clay Stork
- Jeremy Piven as Ty
- Rich Hall as Wilbur, Gas station attendant
- Taylor Negron as Taylor, Gas station attendant
- Billie Bird as Grandma Calamari
- Bruce Wagner as Uncle Frank
- Kristen Goelz as Squid Calamari
- Laura Waterbury as Crossing guard
- Donald Li as Chong Freen
- Jennifer Yahoodik as Andrea
Soundtrack
| Song Title | Artist |
|---|---|
| Don't Look Back | Demi Moore |
| Take A Bow | Jaime Segel |
| Easy Street | David Lee Roth |
| Be Chrool To Your Scuel | Twisted Sister |
| What Does It Take | Honeymoon Suite |
| Dirty Dog | ZZ Top |
| Do It Again | The Beach Boys |
| Wouldn't It Be Nice | The Beach Boys |
| Fun, Fun, Fun | The Beach Boys |
| Fandango | Herb Alpert |
| I Go To Rio | Peter Allen |
| Outa-Space | Billy Preston |
| Dancing In The Street | Martha and The Vandellas |
| Would I Lie To You | Eurythmics |
| Born To Be Wild | Steppenwolf |
| Down On The Corner | Creedence Clearwater Revival |
| Wipe Out | The Surfaris |
| Theme from Jaws | John Williams |
| In My Room | The Beach Boys |
Production
Several locations on Cape Cod, Massachusetts were used for the film: Barnstable High School (as Generic High School), Hyannis West Elementary School (as Generic Elementary), the Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard And Nantucket Steamship Authority ferry dock in Woods Hole,[1] where the characters board the ferry, and the motorcycle gang leader jumps his motorcycle into the water. The internal scene of the gas station bathroom were shot on a stage built in the MBL Club in Woods Hole.
Hoops McCann is named after the protagonist in Steely Dan's song "Glamour Profession" from the Gaucho album, who is introduced as a basketball aficionado.
Savage Steve Holland was reportedly upset with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert's criticism of his earlier film Better Off Dead, which led to the gag with the two bunnies that get blown up at the end of the movie who resemble the movie critics.[2]
Reception
Nina Darnton of the New York Times wrote, "In spite of the director's flair for zany humor, this film is just absurd."[3] Pat Graham of the Chicago Reader found it "Not a bad film, and certainly more polished than Holland's Better Off Dead debut, though it's marred by unevenness and the director's ineradicable penchant for infantile clowning."[4] The film maintains a 60% score at Rotten Tomatoes among RT's selected critics, as well as the at-large RT community, among 4100 voters.
See also
References
- ^ Gelbert, Doug (2002). Film and Television Locations: a State-by-State Guidebook to Moviemaking sites, excluding Los Angeles. McFarland & Company. p. 111.
- ^ "John Cusack: The '80s comedy king rules again in 2010". New York Daily News. March 28, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-12-05.
- ^ Darnton, Nina (August 9, 1986). "One Crazy Summer (1986)". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
- ^ Graham, Pat (August 8, 1986). "One Crazy Summer (1986)". Chicago Reader.