Before Nickelodeon, Dan Schneider Was the Creep in This John Cusack Comedy
Need more evidence that life imitates art? Before Quiet on Set revealed the well-traveled “secret” that Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider was a super-creep in the 2000s, he was acting the part in John Cusack’s 1985 comedy Better Off Dead. 1980s teen comedies were populated with dudes who made your skin crawl but few were more disgusting than Schneider’s Ricky.
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When we first meet the character, he’s more pathetic than disturbing. Ricky’s family is hosting beautiful French exchange student Monique, and his mother decides to encourage a little romance in the Smith household. An adult who should know better encouraging underage teens to be inappropriately romantic? Sounds like the apple didn’t fall far from the fictional tree.
It doesn’t take long for Ricky to take Mom’s hint. Teen Movie Hell describes Schneider’s character as the movie’s “most repulsive,” a “Very Special Boy who forever tries to force his affections on Monique.”
Monique can’t stand it, complaining to Cusack’s Lane that Ricky is “an unleashed sex fiend! He will not leave me alone. He thinks because I stay here, I am his love goddess, his prostate.”
Lane gently suggests that she means “prostitute.”
Sure, whatever. The bigger point is that Monique won’t “speak Mrs. Smith's international language of love with this reptilian son.”
Unwanted touching? Disrespect for women? What is this, a behind-the-scenes feature on iCarly? The only thing that could be worse is if real-life Schneider expressed similar affection for the actress who played Monique, Diane Franklin. (Yes, of course he did.)
While it’s hard to think of a role more loathsome than Ricky, Schneider wore the part like a badge of honor. “When (fans of a certain age) find out I was Ricky in Better Off Dead, they look at me like I’m The Beatles,” he told AV Club. “To this day, I hear about Better Off Dead at least every month. People freak out. … When they know I was Ricky in Better Off Dead, they’re like “Holy crap, man! You were Ricky.” They go crazy.”
Later in that same interview, Schneider bragged about his Nick career. “You can’t find a teenager who doesn’t know Drake & Josh. You can’t find someone in their 20s who hasn’t heard of All That and Kenan & Kel. And you certainly can’t find a kid today who hasn't heard of iCarly and Victorious.” These days, of course, people of all ages are getting acquainted with these shows. Unfortunately, it’s for all the wrong reasons.
