One Crazy Summer: The Warner Archive Collection

"You never mentioned any boats! I hate boats! I'm not getting on any boat!"

One Crazy Summer, for me, is a certified blast from beginning to end.  It’s massively underrated and deserves to be applauded on its own merits instead of being compared to its cinematic (and probably more traditional) cousin, Better Off Dead.  

"works to create a slapstick tale of satire and sun as One Crazy Summer absolutely embraces the absurd"


I was 11 years old when I first saw it and, yes, I saw it in the summertime.  At a matinee, in fact.  And I was sold on its sheer absurdity as - in one of the most memorable scenes for me at that age - I laughed hysterically as Bobcat Goldthwait, stuck inside a godzilla costume on fire, starts smashing a model city as he struggled to get out.  That Toho-styled model-smashing never gets old, but the same can be said for the entire movie.

In fact, the teen comedy - thanks to its sheer outrageousness as one man finds himself in a boat race to win the money necessary to buy back his girlfriend’s home - is a wild ass movie which should be viewed once every summer due to its reminder to EMBRACE THE ABSURD.  If only I could make something like that happen for you, dear reader.  Maybe life itself would be a bit more fantastic?

One Crazy Summer is a strange and outrageous film from beginning to end.  I mean, look John Cusak plays a lovable and easy to root for character who is named Hoops, but he can’t make a basket to save his life!  He loses his scholarship due to his dismal athleticism and, as a fallback, finds himself hoping to be admitted to the Rhode Island School of Design, but - in order to do so - he must write and illustrate a love story for his application.  Well, he’s never been in love before!One Crazy Summer: The Warner Archive Collection

From graduating in a shrunken gown to outrunning a crazy motorcycle gang with siblings George and Squid Calamari (Kristen Goelz), One Crazy Summer is not unlike a living cartoon as the absurdity found in this world continues to push and pull its characters to take more risks.  The inherent silliness pays off with segments that work to deliver a righteous comedy that borderlines on greek tragedy thanks to Cusak’s portrayal of a lovable loser.

Written and directed by “Savage” Steve Holland (Better Off Dead), One Crazy Summer loves to dip its toes into some of Hoops’ illustrations as they come to life at certain parts in the movie.  Which, truly, makes sense because, if Better Off Dead was Holland’s teenage comedy, then it is with One Crazy Summer where Holland completely satirizes the sub-genre with preppy bullies (Jeremy Piven, Matt Mulhern), rock star girlfriends (Demi Moore), wacky best friends (Joel Murray, Curtis Armstrong, Tom Villard, Goldthwait), and crazy-ass characters (Billie Bird, Bruce Wagner, Taylor Negron, Joe Flaherty, Rich Little).  

And the journey all works to create a slapstick tale of satire and sun as One Crazy Summer absolutely embraces the absurd and proves that, with a little luck and a lot of corn husks in your hair , anything can happen!

One Crazy Summer is now on blu-ray thanks to the Warner Archive Collection.

5/5 stars

 One Crazy Summer: The Warner Archive Collection

Blu-ray Details

Home Video Distributor: Warner Archive Collection
Available on Blu-ray
- August 10, 2021
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: English SDH
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

With a name like Hoops McCann, he's bound to get that basketball scholarship after high school, right? Wrong! What Hoops really wants to do is write and illustrate a love story. To help him find his way, his friend George invites Hoops to come with him and his sister to spend the summer on Nantucket. The friends Crazy Summer begins when they pickup Cassandra on the way--she's being chased by a motorcycle gang. From here on in, it only gets crazier. Once on the island, Hoops and George, along with George's island friends the Stork twins and Ack-Ack (son of a marine), 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 - and maybe a real one of his own.

Video:

Offered courtesy of the Warner Archive Collection, the AVC-encoded 1080p transfer of One Crazy Summer is a relative goldmine of previously unseen details and colors.  The details in this daylight shoot  and the clothing and some of the furnishing items are a reason to appreciate the visual “pop” throughout the high definition transfer.  The crisp image quality is the best you’re going to get with a film like this and, admittedly, even a bit better than expected.  Some stuff from the same era hasn’t made the HD transition quite as well, but the film looks better than it ever did.  Colors are perfect. Blacks are solid. Skin tones are detailed and appropriate. 

Audio:

Fans get a robust DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo track with which to enjoy Sammy Hagar, ZZ Top, and The Beach Boys by.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • There is a wild and crazy commentary from Curtis Armstrong, Bobcat Goldthwait, and Savage Steve Holland that fans are going to love.

Special Features:

Sadly, only a Theatrical Trailer rounds out the release.

  • Theatrical Trailer

Blu-ray Rating

  Movie 5/5 stars
  Video  4/5 stars
  Audio 4/5 stars
  Extras 3/5 stars

Composite Blu-ray Grade

4/5 stars


Film Details

One Crazy Summer: The Warner Archive Collection

MPAA Rating: PG.
Runtime:
93 mins
Director
: Savage Steve Holland
Writer:
Savage Steve Holland
Cast:
John Cusack; Demi Moore; Linda Warren
Genre
: Comedy
Tagline:
They're out of school, out on Nantucket, and out of their minds. With this crowd, anything can happen!
Memorable Movie Quote: "Hey, Hoops, you ever notice how people die in alphabetical order?"
Theatrical Distributor:
Warner Bros.
Official Site:
Release Date:
August 8, 1986
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
August 10, 2021.
Synopsis: After graduating from high school, art school hopeful Hoops McCann (John Cusack) struggles to complete his application to the Rhode Island School of Design. Resigning himself to a summer of boredom, McCann agrees to go along with his best friend, George Calamari (Joel Murray), on a family trip to Nantucket, Mass. But, after McCann and Calamari meet rocker-in-distress Cassandra (Demi Moore), it suddenly looks like it's going to be "one crazy summer."

Art

One Crazy Summer: The Warner Archive Collection