Hiding Out

Big shock this didn't strike when the teen iron was hot in the 80s, cuz it turned out to be a big favorite of mine. Others have pointed out its implausibility, but aren't all films? This just moves swiftly from start to finish, and I dare compare it to my all time fave, "Back to the Future", in terms of its pacing. It all begins when stockbroker Cryer goes on the run. He's due to testify against some pre-requisite mob guys who were dealing with bogus bonds (or something). So he looks up his cousin and aunt in Jersey for help. But for reasons only known to himself, decides not to tell his aunt who he is after altering his appearance. He elects to hold up in his cousin's loft for a bit and then finds refuge underneath the school in some sort of abandoned basement. All the while, dealing with an annoying teacher, an unwanted popularity that prompts the kids to nominate him for student council and falling for the sweet Gish. Coogan is good as the dorky cohort to all of Cryer's happenings, which there are plenty of that keep the film rolling. But all this talk about near 30 Cryer and teenage Gish dating in the film is blown way out. Though her age is never mentioned, she's obviously 18, just having been accepted to college. And at the end of film, graduating high school. So, Roger Ebert's comment about her being 15 is waaaaayyy off. Sure it would be an odd romance, but not stat. rape. Anywho, the whole thing is a lot of fun, exploring perfectly what could happen if...

"Hiding Out" is a decent lightweight feature for Jon Cryer and Keith Coogan fans alike. Cryer plays a financial investor who is witness to a mobster's inside trading. But, instead of expediting his testimony and sending him to the witness protection program, he plays dress up and poses as a high school student, a task which is he too uptight for at first, but eventually gets into the swing of things.

The story is pretty stupid, and the ending, in that eager attempt for a happy ending by letting all of the characters fall in love while impecably saving the day, is even more stupid. But, if you don't mind dumb 80s comedies like these, so long as they're about the teen life, then you should enjoy this. One thing's for sure, Jon Cryer, no matter how old he gets, still looks like a teenager.

I noticed that no one who left a comment said anything really bad about it. Gee, I wonder why. Could it be because it's a great movie?

I loved this movie. I'm surprised that it didn't have a bigger following amongst teens and young adults back then. Weirdos.

In spite of its faults, this movie was just fun to watch. I love the scene where Max gets in an argument with the history teacher and she sends him off to the principal's office...in high school, I had a teacher threaten to do that to me during a class discussion, so that scene really hit home! One thing that does bother me whenever I watch this movie is how bad the makeup is in the beginning when Jon Cryer was "bearded". The beard prevented him from doing much in the way of facial expressions, and it even hindered his speaking...kinda came off like a ventriloquist because he could hardly move his lips.

Fun movie though, just don't take it too seriously.

Wall Street stock broker (Jon Cryer), set to testify against a mob boss, is nearly killed by a hit-man. He escapes and runs off to hide with relatives, where he changes his appearance and passes himself off as a high school student.

Silly but enjoyable comedy. One of Cryer's better starring roles. Supporting cast is good. Pretty Annabeth Gish is the jailbait love interest. Nice soundtrack, too. My favorite part is the bit character Shawn, a troublesome high school student who tells the principal "Go ahead and call my parents, dude. I didn't do sh*t." I laughed hard at this guy because he reminded me of so many losers I went to school with.