Hiding Out

"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.

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.

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...

This movie falls into the "high school comedy" genre (like Better Off Dead and others). If you're not looking for a serious movie and are willing to suspend your disbelief, it is a lighthearted comedy and one of my personal favorites. Possibly not for the "serious critic" movie watcher, but for those looking for fun, check this one out.