Good start, but then it gets ruined

Better Late Then Never

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Andrew Morenski is successful stock broker who is called to court to testify against a mob boss who was into some rather dubious dealings. When one of his co-workers, who is also due to give evidence, is murdered, Andrew is called to be guarded by the police. But all thoughts of safety are blown away when an attempt on Andrew's life quickly follows. On the run, Andrew finds a safety haven in the form of his cousin's High School. Posing as a student, Andrew finds that High School has a whole different type of peril waiting to engulf him....again.Released just a year after Jon Cryer had become popular due to his turn as Duckie in John Hughes' Pretty In Pink-Hiding Out finds Cryer attempting to be leading man potential. That he isn't, is of no major harm to this charming and overlooked picture in the American teen comedy genre. When we first meet Cryer's Andrew Morenski, he's a successful business man with a beard you could lose a badger in. But we know it's a youthful Jon Cryer {he was 21 at the time of making the film but looking every inch like a teenager}, so it's kind of a murky start from which to hopefully entice the viewer fully into the premise. Yet it all quickly turns around as Morenski hits High School. Hair dyed two colours and dressed like some rockabilly rebel, this is where Cryer steps into his element.From here on in, save for the inevitable gun buffoonery show down at the end, the film is a delightful comedy about the perils of school. Love, rivals, school politics and witch like teachers all come in for a shiny going over in Bob Giraldi's film. Some of it's twee, and some of it is even morally questionable, but it wears its comedy and romantic heart on its sleeves. Hell the film even has something to say about the truth and how it's taught in schools {look out for a great sequence as Andrew/Max calls into question the teachers teaching of President Nixon}. So it's not all fluff for sure. But it's the fluff that drives the film to its conclusion, and if that fluff chiefly is decent enough to have met the viewers expectations?For me it most certainly did, I only asked one thing from this film, and that was for it to give me some chuckles and to leave me smiling come the end. It did both, so maybe, just maybe, you missed this in the late 80s and are now stuck for some 80s veneer comedy with a zippy 80s soundtrack. If so? This might just be the ticket for you. 7/10

This is one of those films from the 80's that may not have been up to scratch in comparison to other popular movies at the time, but now that we're way beyond that time period, I rank it higher than many popular films of the time. It just seems equally cool now as it did before. It didn't have the best script and it had clichés, but it wasn't cliché in and of itself, because it did everything so much differently. It's something you watch knowing that it won't be realistic, but counting on enjoying it as an escape from reality.Jon Cryer's character is nervous and almost twitchy from the beginning, but his transformation into a teen shows a definite conflict, where his fun loving self is trying to get out. Gradually, these desires to have a good time with his situation start to come out. And yet, he can't stop doubting himself and trying to stop the flow of coincidences causing him to unwillingly come into the limelight. It's really an enjoyable performance and a fun movie with some really notable quotes. The type of movie that, had it reached just a little larger of an audience, may have become a cult classic.

a great film a bit drematic for the most part but worth seeing all together. Done very well and in most cases very believable for the most part. However it seems that it was hard to beleive he was as old as he claimed to be but a great film

If you have not seen this motion picture, you're missing the gift that keeps on giving. Why? Here's why this film was robbed at the 1987 Oscars: 1) The story. "Guy hides from vindictive businessman by going back to high school" That log line alone deserves an Academy Award. 2) Performances. Jon Cryer is so good, you're wiling to overlook that fishy-looking beard (courtesy of makeup department). Why was there no Oscar nomination for him? Keith Coogan as Patrick is brilliant in a role that is, admittedly, beneath him. Did he get an Oscar nod? No, but he should have. Annabeth Gish is so charming and likeable as Ryan, that after the film is over, you realize that Cryer's character -- who's like, 30 yrs. old -- was dating a 17 year old vixen. And we know that that's just wrong, dear readers.3) The direction. Bob Giraldi, who directed Mike Jackson's "Hair-on-Fire Pepsi Video", goes above and beyond the call of duty with this opus. Sweeping dolly shots, flawless blocking of both camera and actors, and flawless choice of camera lenses put this one in a class of it's own. And yet, those stuffy academy members decided to give that golden statue to some dude named Bernado Bertolucci. I don't remember the name of BB's movie, but if you want Oscar-worthy entertainment without taking 12 hours to see it, Hiding Out is for you.