The Sure Thing (1985) review

At an unnamed college in the northeastern region of the United States, freshman Walter Gibson (John Cusack) is struggling with his English class so he asks his prim and proper classmate Alison Bradbury (Daphne Zuniga) to help him out even though their personalities clash; during winter break, Walter's friend Lance (Anthony Edwards) invites him out to California to hook up with a blonde beauty (Nicollette Sheridan) so Walter hops in a carpool (driven by Tim Robbins) heading out West only to find out Alison is also in the vehicle, as she's planning on visiting her boyfriend Jason (Boyd Gaines).  Screenwriters Steven L. Bloom and Jonathan Roberts thought it would be a good idea to recycle the screenplay from a certain classic 1934 Frank Capra movie and set it in the mid-1980's, except they forgot to add in wit, cleverness or memorable dialogue.  Cusack's character is irritating - although, to be fair, he was an actual teenager when Reiner cast him as the lead - but Zuniga's studious young lady is very charming and helps to balance out her co-star's immaturity.  The two of them predictably wind up together, yet it's difficult to imagine it'll last much longer than a semester: you have to work hard to justify partying hard.