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.

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.

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. (**)