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.

Being a child of the 80's, I enjoyed Hiding Out on several levels. I think that Annabeth Gish is a beautiful woman and love the way she smiles during this movie. She is lucky in the characters she played while a younger actress. She was a good actress then and she is a great one now. Jon Cryer is a good actor but he doesn't seem totally comfortable in this role. Perhaps that is a good thing, since he is a fish out of water character here. The high school kids were pretty believable, especially Keith Coogan. His is pretty much the same character from Adventures in Babysitting, just grown up now. This is pretty amazing since both movies came out in 1987.

The ending is bit contrived but entertaining just the same. Hiding Out is a really good movie and worth the rental fee if you want some 80's nostalgia or too see something safe for the whole family. I have watched it numerous times and still look forward to seeing it again.

Being in my early 30's and an avid movie watcher, this one somehow escaped my grasp till about 5 years ago when i randomly happened upon it. And then again I managed to get thru high school without seeing pretty in pink. For the 99% percent of you who felt badly for poor Duckie, this movie might dull the pain and serve as retribution. Sort of. The film moves along at a good clip, and while the fake beard is silly looking, it's just the way it had to be. Gotta have something extreme to offset Cryer's adorable baby face and convince you he was 28 and not actually 22...I don't think he could .grow that beard now :) And Keith Coogan as his cousin is perfect. God I had such a huge crush on him when i was 9. But I do love the red heads. Anyhow this movie is great for a rainy/ sick day when you want something to entertain you that doesn't require your brain to do any heavy lifting. Silly but satisfying. And btw I long for the roller skate scene to still exist like it does in this movie...all chill and relaxed. At my place its roll like a demon fast and furious or get off the rink if you can! So not fun :(

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.