My Boyfriend's Back (film)
My Boyfriend's Back is a 1993 American zombie horror comedy film directed by Bob Balaban which tells the story of Johnny Dingle, a teenage boy who returns from the dead as a zombie to meet Missy McCloud, the girl he's in love with, for a date. The film received negative reviews.
The film's title is a reference to the 1963 song of the same name by The Angels. The original title of the film, Johnny Zombie, was changed shortly before the film's theatrical release. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Matthew McConaughey, and Matthew Fox appear in small roles in the film.
Plot
Johnny Dingle has been in love with Missy McCloud since they were kids. In his senior year of high school, he decides to fake a robbery at Missy's job with his best friend, Eddie. He hopes that by stopping the "robbery" he will impress her and she will go to the prom with him.During the "robbery" a real robber holds Johnny and Missy at gunpoint. Thinking that the robber is Eddie, Johnny dies taking a bullet meant for Missy. After the funeral, Johnny rises from the grave. He is greeted by Murray the gravedigger, who warns him that he can't leave the cemetery. Johnny ignores him and goes back to his home.
Missy is hesitant to be around Johnny, but changes her mind when her boyfriend Buck and his dim-witted friend Chuck discriminate against him for being a Zombie. They go on a date, which goes well until Missy accidentally rips Johnny's ear off.
Johnny goes to the town doctor, Dr. Bronson, who refers him to a woman named Maggie, the widow of a zombie. She tells Johnny that he needs to eat the flesh of the living to stop decaying.
Johnny and Missy meet up at the library, where he's attacked by Buck and Chuck. Chuck accidentally hits himself in the head with an ax and dies. Johnny eats Chuck's body, invoking the wrath of Chuck's father, Big Chuck.
Missy's father, the town sheriff, tells Johnny to leave town for his own safety. Johnny doesn't listen and returns to Missy at night, but leaves when he bites her arm. He's captured by Dr. Bronson, who attempts to dissect Johnny and create a youth formula from his zombie cells. Johnny escapes when Big Chuck leads a mob to kill him, with Missy and Eddie helping him. He flees to the cemetery, where Murray, his parents, Eddie, and Missy defend him, earning him the town and the sheriff's acceptance. Johnny and Missy dance, but Johnny begins to decay and dies.
In Heaven, he's told by the gatekeeper that he was not meant to die in the robbery, and he is sent back to the moment before the robber entered. The events replay but Johnny survives this time due to the bullet hitting Missy's locket. Johnny and Missy go to the prom as a couple, with Johnny's voiceover explaining that the only thing he would have changed about the whole experience was that he would have eaten Buck.
Cast
- Andrew Lowery as Johnny Dingle
- Traci Lind as Missy McCloud
- Danny Zorn as Eddie
- Bob Dishy as Murray the Gravedigger
- Paul Dooley as Big Chuck
- Edward Herrmann as Mr. Dingle
- Mary Beth Hurt as Mrs. Dingle
- Cloris Leachman as Maggie the Zombie Expert
- Austin Pendleton as Dr. Bronson
- Jay O. Sanders as Sheriff McCloud
- Paxton Whitehead as Judge in Heaven
- Matthew Fox as Buck Van Patten
- Philip Hoffman as Chuck Bronski
- Libby Villari as Camille McCloud
- Matthew McConaughey as Guy #2
- Renée Zellweger
Production
Principal photography commenced on November 2, 1992, in the Hill Country region of central Texas, encompassing locations such as Austin, the Georgetown town square, and the C. D. Fulkes Middle School in Round Rock. The eight-week shoot used a budget of less than $10 million. Shortly before its theatrical release, the title was altered to My Boyfriend’s Back, contributing to a trend of recent films adopting titles from popular songs.