Blast from the Past, 11-17-05

Real Genius at 20!

By 1985, college comedies were all Animal House ripoffs. The characters were drunken sex maniacs who never went to class. The kids in Real Genius go to class, to drop off their tape recorders and leave. Set at a college that may or may not be Cal Tech, the plot of Real Genius involves a young teen prodigy named Mitch (Gabe Jarret) who enrolls at the school. His roommate is the eccentric Chris Knight, another young genius, played by Val Kilmer in his last role before his ego got too big.
They live in a dorm where the students spend more time studying and doing experiments than relaxing. Even when they relax, they do it all in the name of science, by turning the first floor of the dorm into a blanket of ice that will evaporate when it freezes.
Mitch is the type of kid who is hated at his high school because he is too smart. When he gets to college, he expects it to be different. It worse, because the college kids hate him because he is smarter than them. Chris is smart but not as uptight as Mitch and the whole movie is about Mitch coming out of his shell, thanks to his roommate and his very neurotic and smart girlfriend, Jordan (Michelle Meyrink) who rambles on like she just got through drinking a case of Jolt Cola. Jordan and Mitch are probably one of the best on-screen duo ever, because they are just complete nerds. Jordan knits Mitch a sweater and gives it to him while he is bashfully trying to use the bathroom. There is nothing funnier when Jordan asks him nonchalantly, "Are you peeing?"
But there is something more sinister going on in Real Genius. One of the professors Dr. Jerry Hathaway (William Atherton) has a contract with the Department of Defense to develop a laser that can incinerate people from space. Remember Reagan's Star Wars plan?
But Dr. Hathaway is getting his students to do the work, while he takes the money and remodels his picturesque home. This leads to an original climax that is literally electrifying and popping with proper comeupponce.
Real Genius was directed by Martha Cooleridge of Valley Girl fame and written by Neal Isreal, who wrote Bachelor Party, Pat Proft who wrote Police Academy and Peter Torokvei, who wrote Back to School. This is a departure for them because it has little foul language and no sexual innuedo. Meyrink had previously appeared in Revenge of the Nerds. Robert Prescott, who plays the college bully and weiner, Kent Torokvei, was in Bachelor Party. So, this was like the first college movie since the early 1970's that was fun for the whole family to watch.
Also, the movie's musical soundtrack is pure 80's. It includes Tears for Fears "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and Don Henley's "All She Wants to do is Dance" as well as many others but still hasn't been released on album.