'Better Off Dead' -- The Stars' Oral History of Their 1985 Cult Comedy
....25 Years Old!!!!!!!!!

BASED ON A TRUE STORY
Believe it or not, much of the film is autobiographical. Like Lane Meyer, Holland also had a real high school girlfriend who broke his heart, and he even went so far as to stand on a plastic garbage can in his garage with a rope around his neck that hung from an overhead pipe. Realizing it was a terrible idea, he tried to step down, but as he did so, the lid cracked under his weight. He collapsed into the can and the pipe broke. With water pouring on top of him, as he flailed in the garbage can, his mother entered the garage and got upset -- because of the mess he had made.