By: Heather Seebach
When we horror fans think of zombies movies, this early 90s zom-rom-com is not usually the first one that springs to mind. But before carnage and gore became a staple in my life, I fell in love with My Boyfriend's Back. I thought more people were with me on this, but then I noticed the film's 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a meager 4.9 on IMDB. Still, it has a lingering cult following of which I am included.
Directed by Bob Balaban (a regular in Christopher Guest's films), My Boyfriend's Back is about a lovesick teenager Johnny Dingle, who returns from the dead so he can take his crush Missy McCloud to the prom. But of course, reanimation comes with a price - he has to consume human flesh to stay alive. Adding to Johnny's problems, he also has high school bullies and a mad doctor coming after him.
This morbidly cute comedy is stolen by supporting performances from Edward Hermann, Austin Pendleton, Cloris Leachman, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Getting to see the latter Academy Award winner say the phrase, "C'mere, you stinkin' dead yahoo-toucher!" is worth watching alone. Matthew Fox and Matthew McConaughey also appear in their first film roles.
It is fitting this movie was written by Dean Lorey, who has penned works ranging from Arrested Development to Jason Goes to Hell. It's a silly adorable parody of teenage rom-coms of the 80s, and it brought zombies into that genre long before Shaun of the Dead and even longer before Warm Bodies.
I don't really think of this one as a shitty movie, I just consider it a "guilty pleasure" since I'm not one for romantic comedies. But I think most 80s/90s kids remember this one fondly. Doesn't this song just bring back memories?
I still remember recording that song from the TV speaker onto a cassette recorder and listening to it over and over. I feel so old now...
I still remember recording that song from the TV speaker onto a cassette recorder and listening to it over and over. I feel so old now...
