Hot Pursuit

1987 Directed by Steven Lisberger

She promised him ten days together in paradise. He never dreamed how far he'd have to go.

Young Danny is following his rich girlfriend's family to the Caribbean. But suddenly he simply must make 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.

John Cusack Robert Loggia Jerry Stiller Wendy Gazelle Monte Markham Shelley Fabares Paul Bates Keith David Martin LaSalle Ben Stiller Ursaline Bryant Terence Cooper Dah-ve Chodan Andaluz Russell Ted White Roberto Sneider

Alternative Titles

Danny, immer fünf Minuten zu spät, Mr. Alligator - See you later...

comedy

93 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by megan ★½

john cusack, i love you
Review by Travis Lytle ★★½

"Hot Pursuit" is a watchable adventure whose charms are too fleeting to make the experience enjoyable. Featuring a fresh-faced John Cusack who gets in all manner of scrapes while chasing his girlfriend across the Caribbean, the film has a solid premise but never generates much beyond some mid-level comedy and action beats.
As a college student who misses the opportunity to travel with his girlfriend and her family when they jet off to tropical climes, Cusack is more than competent. The story's adventure kicks in when Cusack's young man heads out to follow her and gets caught up in tropical shenanigans. The narrative is fun, the production is capable, but the film never makes much of an impact. It is…
Review by Connor Carey ★★½ 2

"Hot Pursuit" actually has a really fun first half but the second half really killed it for me unfortunately. John Cusack is as likable as ever here and the first half has a ton of laugh out loud moments. But the second half turns into a silly action adventure and it never really recovers. It's entertaining throughout but there's a pretty good reason this isn't talked about too much despite that awesome poster. Rest In Peace Jerry Stiller :(
Review by Tom Wilton ★★★ 3

Hot Pursuit is an entertaining albeit bizarre little adventure comedy from the 80s. It's very fast paced as it packs a lot into it's short running time. A lot of it seemed over-done, especially the slapstick humour and the excessively cheesy dialogue. It's all over the place, there are some seriously weird scenes (like Cusack beating the shit out of his bag with a stick) and the characters are pretty thin. But it is fun.
Cusack's lead is the highlight of the film. The script, despite being rather silly, allows him to showcase his charisma. Among the other 80s teen stars he seems to be the more alternative one as most of his films in this era are quite off-the-wall. Hot Pursuit isn't as good as The Sure Thing or his masterpiece Say Anything.. but it's a lightly entertaining watch.
It also has a young Ben Stiller in it playing the villain along with his real life father... Strange.
Review by robyn ★ 4

not nearly as good as the poster.
Review by soupydoupyy ★★★★ 3

Sometimes I wish I was a teenager in the 80s'. What an interesting period for teenage comedies. This in particular is an intriguing gem.
The movie isn't necessarily laugh out loud funny, but I always found myself smiling. It has a charm to it, perhaps completely upheld by John Cusack's eccentric performance. I love his screams in this. It's like that was his acting go to during that time: when in doubt just scream. I love it. Also, the poor guy must've been exhausted by the end of this shoot. All that running and what not? Dang, I can't imagine those hot days.
The movie doesn't have a strong script, it's a movie that is enjoyed simply for the chaotic…
Review by Patrick Bratin ★★½

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

I'm struggling to work out what the actual point of Hot Pursuit was. There doesn't seem to be a discernible story other than upper class family take vacation to the Caribbean and are hijacked by upper class pirates in the very last scene. John Cusack brings all the energy and absolutely carries this film on his back, giving hilarious reactions to his numerous scrapes and hijinks, so once it cuts away from him, it's infinitely less interesting.
1987 ranked
Steven Lisberger ranked
Review by oscine ★★★

soundtrack ✔︎
scenery shots ✔︎
leisure wear ✔︎
toucans ✔︎
young adventure ✔︎
old adventure ✔︎
good feelings ✔︎
this movie is an 80s summer treat.
Review by Steve G 🐝 ★★★½

The 1980s Teen Comedy Weekend - John Cusack edition!
I'm considering going on strike until this weather sorts itself out. I refuse to review under these conditions! There's no breeze or anything. Last week I was sleeping with my socks on, it was that chilly. Ahh, those were the days.
Anyway, this wasn't quite what I remembered at all. I remembered the bits with John Cusack chasing his girlfriend over land and sea and getting some help from Keith David. Not Keith David - were they ever in the same film? That would really confuse me. I always get them mixed up as it is. But I didn't remember the part where it becomes a kidnap thriller out of the…
Review by Austin Shermer ★★★½ 5

Film #9 of What Should I Watch?
Recommended by James
Hot Prusuit is a criminally under seen 80s teen comedy starring one of my favorite actors of all time, John Cusack. Cusack plays a college student who has to find his girlfriend and her family in the Caribbean after missing a flight. The plot takes many left turns and is constantly entertaining. Although there are not many truly hilarious moments during the film, it had me chuckling at small jokes or Cusack's charismatic performance throughout. Hot Pursuit is easily my favorite film that I've watched for this project so far and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys teen comedies.
Review by willmoviefan97 ★★½

Well it's certainly way better than 2015 Hot Pursuit...
In all honestly, this wasn't too bad at all. I'm kinda debating my rating here, as the film never quite becomes nearly as consistently funny as I would've liked, and there's a pretty ridiculous subplot with Ben & Jerry Stiller that felt unnecessary, but Cusack is as charismatic here as always, there's definitely some good laughs, and it's always at least entertaining. Plus any appearance from the great Keith David is always a welcome bonus. And thank you to my buddy Connor Carey for the access to this.
Review by Grant Berridge ★★★

John Cusack features in this very shouty and extreeeemely 1980s action adventure in the Caribbean.
It starts off nicely, with the action bar set low, but it ramps up consistently through the movie taking us from a Say Anything teen romance right through to A-Team action set pieces. Jeeps. Grenades. Cars driving off cliffs.
I don't know why this film exists but I'm glad it does. I learnt nothing.

Recent reviews

Review by Patrick Bratin ★★½

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

I'm struggling to work out what the actual point of Hot Pursuit was. There doesn't seem to be a discernible story other than upper class family take vacation to the Caribbean and are hijacked by upper class pirates in the very last scene. John Cusack brings all the energy and absolutely carries this film on his back, giving hilarious reactions to his numerous scrapes and hijinks, so once it cuts away from him, it's infinitely less interesting.
1987 ranked
Steven Lisberger ranked
Review by Vince Abbate ★★

D
Review by djrio ★★★½

A pretty whimsical teenage cliffhanger. What's really surprising is seeing the father and son team of Ben and Jerry Stiller together on screen, which was a bit of a miscast, but does add up for a 3 star 80's flick.
Cusack is as Cusack as you can get. He seems to be playing the same person in Say Anything, The Sure Thing , and this one. A trilogy of sorts.
Review by Chuck Dowling ★★½

This middling comedy is John Cusack’s follow up to One Crazy Summer and the director’s follow up to Tron. None of that makes sense. Keith David is the best thing about this, despite his somewhat unfortunate character.
Watched as part of the MOVIES ON SHOWTIME IN JANUARY 1991 project.
Review by bmoviedrinkgame ★★

A tale of three different movies in one: a goofy teen comedy-goofy vacation calamity-cutthroat fucking action flick
Review by benbk ★★★

Ben stiller outta no where
Review by VHSvandal ★★★½

A 80S CUSACK FLICK I NEVER SAW?...INCONCEIVABLE!...YET ITS TRUE..THIS ONE SLIPPED BY ME SOMEHOW...UNTIL NOW...CUSACK SPENDS THE WHOLE MOVIE TRAILING HIS WOMAN AND BEING ASSAULTED BY HIS CIRCUMSTANCES...ROBERT LOGGIA STEALS THE SHOW...PRETTY GOOD ALL IN ALL.
Review by allmungs ★★½

john cusack really reaaaaaaally wants to have some freaky sex in the tropics with his hot girlfriend... and i understand him because wendy gazelle is a real babe, whatever happened to her?
Review by EvanDonnellan ★½

I’m usually all in on John Cusack’s 80s teen comedies but this thing blows.
Review by Greg Andersson ★★★½

From the director of Tron (!) comes a weird, comic take on... Treasure Island? This one eluded me my whole life, but after hearing about it a lot in recent months it was kind of kismet that I found it at a thrift store for two bucks last week. I love that it starts as a screwball comedy and kind of turns into a dramatic pirate thriller? Wild. Wish there was more of Keith David, Paul Bates and Ursine Bryant, because when they’re on screen I was practically cheering.
Review by helvetica black ★★★

john cusack is really cute
Review by Nanni Cobretti

This must be one of those "I was bored and couldn't get anything better" projects for John Cusack. He's mostly asked to just go loud and hysterical whatever happens – this is from the guy who directed Tron, he probably needed some kind of human FX box to make up for the story being rooted in the real world. Also I didn't know this was Ben Stiller's first role.