If you’re looking for that vibrant and delightfully nostalgic eighties teen comedy, you’ve just found it! Weird Science stands out in a sea of similar movies with its creativity, charm, and positive atmosphere. It’s directed by John Hughes, the undisputed king of eighties comedies. He not only directed The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Planes, Trains & Automobiles but also wrote a lot of other hits. Hits like Home Alone and Christmas Vacation. He really let loose in this one, based on a strange comic book from the fifties.
Weird Science follows two best high school buddies who create a perfect girl using a computer. It also captures the spirit of the eighties perfectly offering a healthy dose of escapism. And if you want to continue in the same mood, do check out Zapped. That movie also successfully blends science fiction and comedy. Some might find all of this a bit corny but I fucking love it. The smell of vinyl, shoulder pads, weird cars, and an impeccable sense of fashion. And don’t get me started on the eighties leg warmers and swimsuits.
When it comes to the story, apart from the main plot, this movie doesn’t offer much. Weird Science is a collection of loosely connected scenes all ending with some sort of a punchline. This makes it very easy to watch and follow. You just turn off your brain and allow yourself to be engulfed by the bizarreness of the eighties. All we’re missing is some cocaine but since this is a teen comedy, I’m willing to let it slide. I also want to mention that this is a PG-13 movie so there will be no nudity.
Gary and Wyatt are best friends who go to Shermer High School. Smart but a bit clumsy, they’re social outcasts who just can’t get any girls. So, they hatch a plan to create their own girl out of thin air. Well, not out of thin air but using a computer and hacking into a governmental system. Not even they believed that this could work. However, soon after they hit the enter key, she appears before them in all her glory. They decide to call her Lisa.
I wonder what’s your raunchy teen comedy? Before Weird Science, we had American Graffiti and after it, American Pie and Superbad and lots of movies in between. I myself am an American Pie guy just to be clear. Moving on, as you can see the plot of this movie is completely absurd. At least it culminates in one hell of a party that’s probably the best part of the movie.
Weird Science belongs to a series of eighties movies revolving around these newly-discovered contraptions called computers. Movies like War Games and The Last Starfighter. That’s just one part of the equation and on the other confidently sits bodacious Kelly LeBrock who plays Lisa. I can only imagine how many teenage boys dreamed of being in this movie. I was well in my twenties when I first saw this movie and I still remember those blue panties. And to make things even more surreal, yes, she’s the women in red from Gene Wilder’s The Woman in Red!
It would appear that I have a thing with panties as we already concluded by my obsession with Alien. This reminds me that apart from her, we’ll also have the opportunity to see Bill game over, man, game over Paxton and very young Robert Downey Jr. Our two main leads, Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith did a solid job. Apart from them, the cast of Weird Science also features a lot of cool cameos I will leave for you to discover.
Director: John Hughes
Writers: John Hughes, Al Feldstein, William M. Gaines
Cast: Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Kelly LeBrock, Bill Paxton, Robert Downey Jr.
Fun Facts: John Hughes wrote the script in only two days.
Rating:
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090305/
