Inspired in a screwed-up way by the economic crisis and the chaos on Wall Street, this week’s pick is about a stockbroker pretending to be a high school student to escape his troubles, because let’s face it — there are probably plenty of stockbrokers who would like to go into hiding right now.
Hiding Out (1987) stars Jon Cryer as Andrew Morenski, a successful young broker who is supposed to testify against a mob boss but is forced into hiding when the other witnesses are killed and an attempt is made on his life. With practically nowhere else to go, he decides to hide out at his cousin Patrick’s (Keith Coogan) house and pose as high schooler Max Hauser, thinking there’s no way anyone will think to look for him there. Of course, he hasn’t been in high school in years, so he has to adjust quickly to how things have changed while still keeping his true identity a secret. This becomes increasingly difficult for him as he becomes popular with the student body and starts to fall for one of his classmates (Annabeth Gish). Eventually, the mobsters catch up with him and he has to stop running.
As a big fan of Cryer’s turn in Pretty in Pink, I was pretty excited when this movie came out. It’s nothing brilliant, but it’s fun and has some sentimental value, at least for me, and sometimes that’s all you need. The official soundtrack, which features Pretty Poison’s hit “Catch Me (I’m Falling),” is long out of print. I actually do have a copy of the CD, though, so I’ll give you the whole thing; I even included tracks that don’t appear on the official release. Listen to it as you run from your Wall Street troubles.
Boy George – Live My Life
All That Jazz – Run! Hide!
Public Image Ltd. – Seattle
Black Britain – Real Life
Lolita Pop – Bang Your Head
Lime Spiders – My Favorite Room (not on the official soundtrack; also, this is a live version, not the studio version)
Hue & Cry – I Refuse
Pretty Poison – Catch Me (I’m Falling)
Jon Cryer and Keith Coogan – Crying [Prelude]
Roy Orbison and k.d. lang – Crying
The Flying Lizards – Dizzy Miss Lizzie (not on the official soundtrack)
Scarlett & Black – You Don’t Know
Felix Cavaliere – So Different Now
Claude Brooks, Lee Anthony Brisbon, David L. Robinson, and Daryl Smith – Max for President Rap
