Absolutely Fantastic

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Young Danny is following his rich girlfriend's family to the Caribbean. But suddenly he simply must take a chemistry test and cannot go with them. After they have left, he gets a leave from his professor and takes a plane to find them. But he is not quite sure where they are, and meets smugglers, crazy captains and murderers.This is a strange role for Ben Stiller. That is all I have to say about that. This is so far removed from everything else he has done, it does not even look like the same person.Of all the 1980s John Cusack films, this may be the least best. I hesitate to say "worst" because it is not necessarily bad. A bad Cusack film is still better than many other things you could watch. But it is rather blah, and it does not help that the love interest is completely unlikable.

Another in a never ending stream of movies about teens where the actors are not really teens. I think Cusack was around 21 in this one. Another reviewer said that he always plays an average guy. That's true, but how many average guys are super tall? That always struck me as the weird thing about his "everyman" persona.This is also another movie where high school kids are already well into their sexual boyfriend/girlfriend relationship as if they are adults. They talk about making love under the stars as if they can just do that with full permission from the adults involved.Having said all that, it's mildly enjoyable. You root for Cusack and sort of envy his Spring Break adventure. Ben Stiller looks great. He actually plays a good looking player rather than the pathetic dork he plays as an adult.Robert Loggia is great. He kind of makes the film. He plays his usual gruff renegade, but he does it with memorable panache.The plot is a bit too complex and you find yourself wanting it to end long before it actually does.I like it for the eerie 80s synth soundtrack and the idea of a young guy having an attractive girlfriend and a Caribbean adventure. But unless you like Cusack and Stiller, stay away. It's too convoluted.

HOT PURSUIT (1987) ** 1/2 John Cusack, Robert Loggia, Wendy Gazzelle, Jerry Stiller, Monte Markham, Shelley Fabares, Ben Stiller, David Keith. Cusack is at his amiable frazzled best as a preppie frantically trying to reach his girlfriend and her family vacationing in a sunny paradise with misadventures aplenty. Good clean anarchy.

I was flicking through the TV channels when I came across this film being broadcast. I thought John Cusack, Why not give it a go. After laughing and enjoying this film from beginning to end I was really suprised that I had never heard, of it. It is a clever, witty and easy to watch. I hope it comes out on DVD.