The movie gets stuck as a run-of-the-mill teen revenge comedy.
Real Genius (1985)
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Reviews Counted:23
Fresh:17
Rotten:6
Average Rating:6.5/10
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: When 15-year-old science genius Mitch Taylor (Gabe Jarrett) is recruited by the pompous Professor Hathaway (William Atherton) to be part of a special research team, he has no idea he will be... When 15-year-old science genius Mitch Taylor (Gabe Jarrett) is recruited by the pompous Professor Hathaway (William Atherton) to be part of a special research team, he has no idea he will be working on a top secret military weapon. Enrolling at Pacific Tech College, he meets his fellow whiz kid classmates, including infamous senior Chris Knight (Val Kilmer), whose intelligence and irreverent behavior are legendary; they become roommates, despite their different approaches to life. When Hathaway threatens to expel Chris for bad behavior, the two brains join forces to finish the special laser project before it is too late, in the process unveiling secrets about the project that inspire them to plot an elaborate revenge. [More]
Starring: Val Kilmer, Gabe Jarret, Michelle Meyrink, William Atherton
Starring: Val Kilmer, Gabe Jarret, Michelle Meyrink, William Atherton
Director: Martha Coolidge
Director: Martha Coolidge
Screenwriter: Neal Israel, Pat Proft, Peter Torokvei
Producer: Brian Grazer
Composer: Thomas Newman
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Reviews for Real Genius
This disappointing teen comedy from director Martha Coolidge is another entry in the rash of teens-goofing-with-science films.
The humor is relentlessly cruel, smug, and disconnected from any sense of how human beings might behave in similar situations.
What the film needs, instead of these familiar teen-movie trappings, is a cleverness and eccentricity to match that of its characters. For the most part, these are qualities that it lacks.
What lifts the production above the run-of-the-mill is swift direction by Martha Coolidge, who has a firm grasp over the manic material.
This picture remains blissfully aloft, borne by engaging actors and a warm heart.
It does make you wonder if the drive of the US education system is ultimately to develop better weapons of mass-destruction, though Coolidge's movie is too hazily good-natured to capitalise on the tougher aspects of the material.
great fun and full of 1980s relics, from the now-antiquated computers to the box of Donkey Kong cereal to a finale set to Tears for Fears...
Like Risky Business, this not only rose above the 1980s teen comedy genre, but stuck it to the Reagan administration as well.
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