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[PhoncipleBone]

As a kid growing up in the 80s, and a brainy/nerdy kid at that, Real Genius was a film that I always found funny and appreciated. But, as I got older and watched it more, I started picking up on many things the film's jokes and characterizations that were wonderful.
Each year I watch it, I pick up on more stuff.

This article from Tor.com is a great (spoiler filled) summary of many of the things that made the film great.

It's interesting to me that Revenge of the Nerds, while still full up of the nostalgia that the 80s lends us, is lately being repositioned in the zeitgeist. What was viewed for many years as a bit of harmless fun that waved the banner for nerds everywhere is finally being called out for exactly what it is; an Us vs Them revenge fest that never lets go of racism or misogyny, and damages the image of geek culture more than it applauds for it. That shouldn't be surprising—RotN was always just a frat house comedy with a thin nerdy gloss applied to it. And that's fine with me, because that was never my go-to movie for feeling the geeky solidarity.

No, my friends. That movie was Real Genius.

For one, the movie is better at portraying geeks in ways that don't just melt down to old tropes of pocket protectors and bow ties and awkwardness. It communicates that having an outrageous IQ can be isolating, but doesn't make all smart people out to be socially undeveloped shut-ins. It also shows us how being driven toward answers can blind even the most optimistic, well-meaning folks into making terrible mistakes. And it communicates what it's like to study for finals more realistically than any film I've ever seen, which is an accomplishment and a half.

The film doesn't showcase as many women as we might hope for (and the Pacific Tech campus is also blindingly white overall, though Chris' friend Ikagami is present and happily avoids most of your average Asian stereotypes aside from smartness), but the way it treats the majority of those women is impressive, particularly for this era in filmmaking... no doubt largely due to the movie's female director, Martha Coolidge. There are few instances of pure objectification just for the sake of it in Real Genius; even though the co-ed party shows plenty of girls in swimsuits, the shots that reveal them are often at a distance, never lingering. While Knight is blunt in his sexual overtures to women, the ones he encounters are more than capable of tackling his advances and throwing them back in his face when he's not up to snuff. His directness gives him no power, which is extremely important because it indicates that not every woman is automatically going to swoon over that kind of come-on. (Which, in turn, suggests that women are real, unique individuals with different preferences.) And when they aren't interested, Chris is never entitled or angry about it—he simply moves on.

I really can't talk about women in this film without focusing up on Jordan Cochran. While she does occupy a typically female place in the plot (Mitch's love interest), her portrayal by Michelle Meyrink is nothing short of revelatory when it comes to broadening the variety of women that we should expect in fiction. To start, Jordan is not a conventionally attractive girl, certainly not in a California/feature film sense. She has a weird haircut and a child-like cadence to her voice, and she's not particularly fashionable. It's also entirely possible for this character to read somewhere on the autistic spectrum, though by way of a Hollywoodified lens; she is uncertain of common boundaries (visiting Mitch in the bathroom and being perturbed by his inability to pee in front of her), she has severe insomnia (it's suggested that she drove her roommate to a nervous breakdown by never ever sleeping), she misunderstands the social cues of others (she frequently assumes the ends of Mitch's sentences incorrectly), and her idea of what constitutes an everyday activity would hardly pass for your average citizen (Mitch finds her sanding her dorm room floor late one night and she uses the beautician party as an excuse to test a rebreather she designed herself). It's not the fact that she might be on the spectrum itself that's remarkable, but the fact that the film never suggests that Jordan should be viewed differently because of it. It doesn't make her ”special" in a manic pixie dream way, but it doesn't make her pitiable either. She's simply who she is, and that person is still portrayed as desirable and engaging and brilliant

There is a lot more in the article about why the movie still holds up as a film about geeks and nerds, but also one of the more honest portrayals of college life with finals and social life.

Top it all off with Val Kilmer in his most lovable smart ass role, and you have one of my favorite films.

The movie is up for free on Crackle right now as well, at least according to Google.

Also, there are so many wonderful bits of dialogue in this film.

"Have you ever seen a body like this before in your life!?"
"She happens to be my daughter."
"Well...then I guess you have."

"I noticed that you stopped stuttering."
"I've been giving myself electric shock treatments."
"Up the voltage."

"I hope you haven't tried to tidy the place up. All my filth is organized alphabetically. For instance, this is under "H" for "TOY.""
"What is it?"
"It's a penis stretcher? Want to try it?"
"NO!"

 

[Slayven]

 

[midramble]

Agreed. One of my favorites growing up. Still holds up. Love that movie.

 

[LookAtMeGo]

Yeah I love this movie.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

I loved it as a kid, but can't remember a damn shit about it since I haven't watched it since the 80s. I remember loving Lea Thompson and Kelly Preston in it, and wondering why they let Lamaar from Lambda Lambda Lambda in the program.

Agreed. One of my favorites growing up. Still holds up. Love that movie.

If anything, it gets better and better. Sherry having the fetish for super smart people completely flew over my head when I was younger, for obvious reasons.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

Just saw this for the first time the other week after someone lauded it on Kilmer's recent AMA, really liked it. Also took me a beat to realize the dude living in the closet was Uncle Rico.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

It was interesting to introduce my wife to this film years ago since she had worked with lasers for years while working on her PhD.

 

[anariel]

I always feel bad with how ridiculously eclipsed Mitch Taylor's role in the movie is compared to Kilmer's. It feels like at one point it was supposed to be about Mitch and then it shifted midway through production or something.

Still a great movie.

 

[weemadarthur]

One of my favorites.

And the hacking is accurate, too. Trying passwords like AXXXX until you get it right. Lovely.

 

[mm04]

One of my all-time favorites. And the use of Tears for Fears at the end was perfect.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

One of my favorites.

And the hacking is accurate, too. Trying passwords like AXXXX until you get it right. Lovely.

My wife talked about how much of what they were doing with lasers was accurate too, with the power levels being the exception. But their testing methods and the equipment was pretty spot on.

I do still question how well the liquid nitrogen quarters would work, and how accurately he could cut them to size. And wouldn't it just be cheaper to use actual quarters? Yes, I know it wouldn't be as cool, but still.

 

[New002]

Fantastic movie. I usually rewatch every few years. Just saw it again a few weeks ago.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

The film also has William Atherton in his trademark role: 80s asshole.

 

[Maximilian E.]

I love this movie (great soundtrack also)
Chris Knight has so many quotable comments.

Vastly underrated movie for sure.

 

[akira28]

My wife talked about how much of what they were doing with lasers was accurate too, with the power levels being the exception. But their testing methods and the equipment was pretty spot on.

I do still question how well the liquid nitrogen quarters would work, and how accurately he could cut them to size. And wouldn't it just be cheaper to use actual quarters? Yes, I know it wouldn't be as cool, but still.

they say the solid material was dry ice, and the liquid nitrogen was to super cool it. I guess dry ice is pretty cheap.

I thought coin vending machines operated on weight though, so I don't know that a dry ice coin would be the same, but maybe.

one of my favorite movies as a kid.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

they say the solid material was dry ice, and the liquid nitrogen was to super cool it. I guess dry ice is pretty cheap.

I thought coin vending machines operated on weight though, so I don't know that a dry ice coin would be the same, but maybe.

Hmmm. Don't know how I overlooked that. But still, if going by weight, he would have to get really good with that cutter. Of course, he could just be using department resources to make the tubes of dry ice to super cool.

Also, while Sherry finally found her #1 genius in Lazlo in the end, she never did sleep with Mitch, so her top 10 list is incomplete.

 

[Realyst]

One of my all-time favorite movies!

A GAFfer posted one of my favorite lines from the movie the other day, which reminded me it was time for my annual viewing: "In the immortal words of Socrates...'I drank what?'"

 

[AgentOtaku]

inspired OP and yeah, I need to revisit this film

 

[GhaleonEB]

Remember that time when I found you naked with a bowl of jell-o?

I really can't talk about women in this film without focusing up on Jordan Cochran. While she does occupy a typically female place in the plot (Mitch's love interest), her portrayal by Michelle Meyrink is nothing short of revelatory when it comes to broadening the variety of women that we should expect in fiction. To start, Jordan is not a conventionally attractive girl, certainly not in a California/feature film sense. She has a weird haircut and a child-like cadence to her voice, and she's not particularly fashionable. It's also entirely possible for this character to read somewhere on the autistic spectrum, though by way of a Hollywoodified lens; she is uncertain of common boundaries (visiting Mitch in the bathroom and being perturbed by his inability to pee in front of her), she has severe insomnia (it's suggested that she drove her roommate to a nervous breakdown by never ever sleeping), she misunderstands the social cues of others (she frequently assumes the ends of Mitch's sentences incorrectly), and her idea of what constitutes an everyday activity would hardly pass for your average citizen (Mitch finds her sanding her dorm room floor late one night and she uses the beautician party as an excuse to test a rebreather she designed herself). It's not the fact that she might be on the spectrum itself that's remarkable, but the fact that the film never suggests that Jordan should be viewed differently because of it. It doesn't make her ”special" in a manic pixie dream way, but it doesn't make her pitiable either. She's simply who she is, and that person is still portrayed as desirable and engaging and brilliant

This is an astute series of observations. I'll read the full article later this week.

 

[Escape Goat]

I've never heard of this. I'll just keep watching Explorers.

 

[Northernlights]

One of my favorite movies of all time.Never gets old

 

[NullPointer]

Been meaning to give this one a rewatch soon.

That ending with the popcorn and Everybody Wants to Rule The World is a touchstone for pure joy in my memories. Every time I hear that song I imagine that ending and smile.

 

[Xero]

I've never heard of this. I'll just keep watching Explorers.

So long as you turn it off as soon as they go into space its a decent movie.

 

[Dead Man]

One of Kilmers best performances.

 

[Armoured Priest]

I concur. Real Genius is a pretty great movie and one I routinely rewatch.

 

[uncredited male]

I remember the casual spectators during the library freak out and the popcorn bomb.

 

[richiek]

Real Genius has one of the worst DVD covers ever:

 

[cr0w]

One of Kilmers best performances.

100%. This and Gay Perry are peak smart ass Kilmer. Some of his lines still kill me after all these years.

Mitch: You know, um, something strange happened to me this morning...

Chris Knight: Was it a dream where you see yourself standing in sort of sun-god robes on a pyramid with a thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at you?

Mitch: No...

Chris Knight: Why am I the only one who has that dream?

Mitch: What are you doing?

Chris Knight: Self-realization. I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "... I drank what?"

I've always wondered why Michelle Meyrink didn't do much after the movie. I've had a crush on her since the first time I saw it.

 

[Risible]

One of my all time faves.

"I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said "... I drank what?"

 

[Camwi]

Agreed, though the romance stuff is a little painful to watch.

 

[skybald]

Would watch every time it was on TV. In my top 20 easily.

 

[Risible]

I've never heard of this. I'll just keep watching Explorers.

I love Explorers, hell, I've got his poster hanging in my home office:

but seriously, Real Genius is leagues ahead of Explorers. Watch it.

 

[bionic77]

Agreed, though the romance stuff is a little painful to watch.

Between Mitch and Jordan?

I thought that was fine.

 

[cr0w]

Between Mitch and Jordan?

I thought that was fine.

It's also quite realistic.

The only thing missing is Mitch making a GAF post asking for and then completely ignoring advice.

 

[mm04]

I've always wondered why Michelle Meyrink didn't do much after the movie. I've had a crush on her since the first time I saw it.

Ditto on that. I just realized she was on The Outsiders too!

 

[bionic77]

I've always wondered why Michelle Meyrink didn't do much after the movie. I've had a crush on her since the first time I saw it.

As a teenager I think we all had a crush on Jordan and Val Kilmer in this movie.

 

[Armoured Priest]

Agreed, though the romance stuff is a little painful to watch.

It is a bit cringy.

However,

Between Mitch and Jordan?

I thought that was fine.

It's also quite realistic.

The only thing missing is Mitch making a GAF post asking for and then completely ignoring advice.

That's why it works.

 

[Skellig Gra]

Yeah I loved that flick growing up. The guy living in the closet was a real oddball storyline. It takes a twisted mind to come up with something like that.

 

[GhaleonEB]

I wish Val Kilmore got to do more comedy. His timing on this and Top Secret! is just incredible. All the lines we're quoting are much funnier because he just nails the delivery.

And for all the humor in the film, it hits a lot of serious topics right on the head. The cause of Lazlo's meltdown ("all science, no philosophy") in particular.

 

[vatstep]

I always get this movie mixed up with Weird Science. I just looked them both up and it turns out they came out within days of each other.

 

[cr0w]

I wish Val Kilmore got to do more comedy. His timing on this and Top Secret! is just incredible. All the lines we're quoting are much funnier because he just nails the delivery.

And for all the humor in the film, it hits a lot of serious topics right on the head. The cause of Lazlo's meltdown ("all science, no philosophy") in particular.

I love the kid having the meltdown in the library and the other students' complete lack of reactions as if it's the most common thing in the world.

 

[mm04]

I love the kid having the meltdown in the library and the other students' complete lack of reactions as if it's the most common thing in the world.

And one of the students immediately taking the newly vacated seat with a tired look on his face.

 

[Nokagi]

This is one of those movies that I had completely forgotten about but now that I see this picture I kinda sorta remember seeing and liking it.

 

[Sheppard]

Oh, we were going to make you Queen of the winter carnival.

This movie has so many amazing lines in it.

Mitch: Why does he keep going into our closet?
Chris Knight: Why do you keep going into our closet?
Mitch: To get my clothes - but that's not why he goes in there.
Chris Knight: Of course not, he's twice your size - your clothes would never fit him.
Mitch: Yeah...
Chris Knight: Think before you ask these questions, Mitch. Twenty points higher than me? Thinks a big guy like that can wear his clothes?

Also, some are sleeping on this soundtrack.

Number One

I'm Falling

 

[Camwi]

Between Mitch and Jordan?

I thought that was fine.

Yep. Even by 80s standards, still too much for me.

I wish Val Kilmore got to do more comedy. His timing on this and Top Secret! is just incredible. All the lines we're quoting are much funnier because he just nails the delivery.

And for all the humor in the film, it hits a lot of serious topics right on the head. The cause of Lazlo's meltdown ("all science, no philosophy") in particular.

He was really funny in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, too.

 

[Armoured Priest]

This is one of those movies that I had completely forgotten about but now that I see this picture I kinda sorta remember seeing and liking it.

Between Space Camp and Back to the Future, I continue to harbor a massive crush on Lea Thompson to this day.

 

[cr0w]

Leaf Phoenix looks like he time-traveled into the future and saw what happened to Joaquin after I'm Still Here.

 

[Shoeless]

Between Space Camp and Back to the Future, I continue to harbor a massive crush on Lea Thompson to this day.

Lea Thompson and Kelly LeBrock typified a certain kind of 80s dream girl in very different ways.

 

[Gusy]

This movie introduced me to Everybody Wants To Rule The World.

This was the first movie I saw that had smart characters portrayed in a non-nerdy way...

Will always be grateful for that. One of my favorite ever...

 

[Xero]

Just rewatched it and I never noticed that the main bad guy from karate kid 2 is in this. He most prominently shows up at the student beautician pool party.