Real Genius – 1985 – Comedy
Directed by: Martha Coolidge
Written by: Neal Israel; Pat Proft; PJ Torokvei
Main Players: Val Kilmer; Gabriel Jarret; William Atherton; Jon Gries; Michelle Meyrink
Super intelligent high school geek Mitch Taylor (Jarret) is selected by project specialist Professor Jerry Hathaway (Atherton) to join his high-grade laser project experiment which propels the young prodigy onto a college campus. Mitch winds up in the mix with other young “genius’” including the super-eccentric brainiac superstar Chris Knight (Kilmer) and many more like the on-the-spectrum Jordan Cochran (Meyrink) and reserved underground living Lazlo Hollyfeld (Gries).
Real Genius is a pretty fun time featuring some clever lines and a good group of bonkers characters. The 80s vibes hit in full force, but the movie plays well today. The fish out of water style of Mitch’s character works well on multiple levels as he deals with college-aged type antics as well as mental anguish revolving around tough scientific work.
This movie is more comedy and philosophy than coming of age, but does feature a bit of that theme as well. There are wacky hijinks and a bit of over-the-top behavior as with all comedies, but this movie remains grounded as well due to its main characters which feel mostly authentic.
The background Government plot is both funny and realistic as well, adding some satire to the well-crafted comedy.
See This If You Liked:
Better Off Dead; Booksmart; Weird Science; Animal House; Top Secret!; Van Wilder; Old School; Slackers; Road Trip; Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; Superbad; Adventureland; Revenge of the Nerds; Animal House
Score:
7.0