Hot Pursuit (1987)

Dan Bartlett (John Cusack) is a poor kid in a boy's prep school. His girlfriend Lori Cronenberg has invited him on the family Caribbean cruise with her parents and sister Ginger. He flunks his test and misses the trip to take a makeup test. His teacher gives him a break but he misses the plane anyways. He gets to Porta Rosa and makes the mistake of accepting a ride from smuggler Alphonso (Keith David) and his friends. Meanwhile, the Cronenbergs board the boat with Captain Andrew and Chris Honeywell (Ben Stiller). A hungover Dan joins MacClaren (Robert Loggia) on his boat as Mac chases after Chris.This is so 80's with a young John Cusack and a wacky adventure. Even the gun action is so 80's with lots of shooting and nobody gets killed. It's a lesser example of one of these movies. Cusack does his best but he's essentially alone. He's perfectly lovable. I can do without the violent last act. This is mostly for Cusack fans only.

From John Cusack's earlier days, this film is a cute one that slipped through the cracks. It features a shaggy-haired John from his earlier, hapless romantic teen phase. Ben Stiller, as ever, plays a jerk. It's not a must-see, but a good one to pass the time with and just have a laugh at the strange things Cusack has to do in this movie--aside from getting wet and topless...High points of the movie: watching him get stoned with a bunch of island natives, get drunk in an island bar and shanghaied into service on a boat, and then arrested and thrown into a local jail. The crazy pirate, played by Robert Loggia was excellent comedy relief as well.

This is my favorite John Cusak movie of all time. Although he has been in many more ambitious projects and tried a multitude of roles, Hot Pursuit places him pat where he plays best, the hapless but spirited underdog whose love for anupper-class girlfriend forces him to undergo a "trial by fire" where he finally discovers what he's made of. (Okay, upon reflection that could be a summary for half his movies. Still I say this was better than "The Sure Thing" or "Say Anything".) It is unpretentious, the dialogue is by now ways "Mammat" in sophistication, but it delivers its point and gives the audience an enjoyable journey in themeantime.

Formulaic, uninspired but painless teen comedy. It's the typical formula where the young hero encounters every imaginable object as he tries to get to his (constantly changing) destination; thanks to his wits, and to pure luck, he overcomes all of them. This film shares with many 80s comedies ("Stripes" comes to mind) the bad habit of turning into an action film halfway through, but the beautiful locations (beautifully photographed) keep it pleasant enough. (**)