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Title: Real Genius (1985)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Val Kilmer | ... | ||
| Gabriel Jarret | ... |
Mitch Taylor
(as Gabe Jarret)
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| Michelle Meyrink | ... | ||
| William Atherton | ... | ||
| Jon Gries | ... |
Lazlo Hollyfeld
(as Jonathan Gries)
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| Patti D'Arbanville | ... | ||
| Stacy Peralta | ... |
Shuttle Pilot
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Daniel Ades | ... |
Laser Ray Victim
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Andres Aybar | ... |
Bartender
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| Louis Giambalvo | ... | ||
| Ed Lauter | ... | ||
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Charles Shull | ... |
Air Force General
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| Beau Billingslea | ... |
George
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Charles Parks | ... |
Larry
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| Sean Frye | ... |
Boy at Science Fair
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Mitch Taylor is one of the youngest students ever accepted to a university known for its programs for geniuses. He partners up with his roommate, science club legend Chris Knight, on a project to develop a high-powered laser. Together with their hyperkinetic friends, they employ their intellects in the pursuit of bigger blasts, practical jokes, and a deeper understanding of what real genius means. When they find out that their professor intends to turn their work over to the military for use as a weapon, they decide to get even. Written by Lordship <[email protected]>
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As a child of the 80s, I have a soft spot in my heart for creatively-executed movies from this period. At their worst, 80s movies become dated more quickly than films from nearly any other period in film history. At their best, 80s movies reflect the cultural undertones of an exciting time where humor and optimism were rampant in films despite the specter of cold war, the advent of AIDS and a rocky economy.
Real Genius takes the happy, go-lucky optimism of the 80s and superimposes it on the grim topics of military research, cold war espionage and assassination. The movie is set in a west-coast college (see Caltech, Berkeley, Stanford) and makes full use of the hyper-intelligent, eccentric dialog you might expect in elite California academia. The sound track from Thomas Newman (Less than Zero, American Beauty and many others) is technically complex and involving and fits the movie perfectly. At times, the movie suffers from the usual poor depiction of science (see lame computer applications and some bad blue screen work on aircraft) and unbelievable scenarios (see water slide in lecture hall and ice sledding in dormitory). Despite these forgivable breaches, the Neal Israel's unique dialog is truly brilliant, the situational comedy is eccentric, and the humor is uplifting. Val Kilmer is outstanding in his portrayal of Chris Knight and I lament his departure from this odd and extremely intelligent form of comedy (See Top Secret) - Though Kilmer has been involved with "better" movies since, I don't think he has ever been more genuinely entertaining.
I think this movie is a must-watch for anyone who enjoys science, comedy and the 80s genre, or for anyone who is planning on attending a technology school on the West coast. This movie may not depict reality, but it communicates a hopeful spirit we could all use more of in today's world of harsh reality.