Where to watch One Crazy Summer
4 Stars
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.
There are a few movies that define the summertime movie-watching experience. One Crazy Summer is possibly the perfect encapsulation of that perimeter. This movie played in heavy rotation on HBO in the latter part of the 1980s; it became a stone-cold classic to me and my set of friends. I’m not positive, but I speculate that I’ve seen this film at least two dozen times over the last 28 years.
One Crazy Summer is a spiritual sequel to Better Off Dead; this one ends with a big boat race and the latter with a big ski race, and both pictures feature the energetic filmmaking style of director Savage Steve Holland. Demi Moore and John Cusack headline the cast, making OCS a ‘Brat Pack’ adjacent film. The thing I responded to in this movie is the collection of oddball characters, inspired lunacy, and an overall good-natured tone. One Crazy Summer gets a yearly rewatch, and with renewed interest in the 1980s, I hope this film garners renewed interest from modern audiences.
Directed by: Savage Steve Holland
Written by: Savage Steve Holland
Starring: John Cusack, Demi Moore, Linda Warren