Psycho's Movie Reviews #163: Weird Science (1985)

Weird Science is a 1985 American teen science fiction comedy film written and directed by John Hughes and starring Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, and Kelly LeBrock. The title is taken from a pre-Comics Code Authority 1950s EC Comics magazine of the same name, the rights to which were acquired by the film's producer Joel Silver. The title song was written and performed by American new wave band Oingo Boingo.

Plot

Nerdy social outcasts Gary Wallace and Wyatt Donnelly are humiliated by senior jocks Ian and Max for swooning over their cheerleader girlfriends Deb and Hilly. Rejected and disappointed at their direction in life and wanting more, Gary convinces the uptight Wyatt that they need a boost of popularity in order to get their crushes away from Ian and Max. Alone for the weekend with Wyatt's parents gone, Gary is inspired by the 1931 classic Frankenstein to create a virtual woman using Wyatt's computer, infusing her with everything they can conceive to make the perfect dream woman.

After hooking electrodes to a doll and hacking into a government computer system for more power, a power surge creates Lisa, a beautiful and intelligent woman with unlimited magical powers. Promptly, she conjures up a Cadillac to take the boys to a dive bar in Chicago, using her powers to manipulate people into believing Gary and Wyatt are of age.

They return home drunk and happen upon Chet, Wyatt's mean older brother, who extorts money from him to buy his silence. Lisa agrees to keep herself hidden from him, but she realizes that Gary and Wyatt, while extremely sweet, are very uptight and need to unwind. After another humiliating experience at the mall when Max and Ian pour an Icee on Gary and Wyatt in front of a crowd, Lisa tells the bullies about a party at Wyatt's house, of which Wyatt had no prior knowledge, before driving off in a Porsche 928 she conjured for Gary.

Despite Wyatt's protests, Lisa insists that the party happen anyway in order to loosen the boys up. She goes to meet Gary's parents, Al and Lucy, who, to Gary's embarrassment, are shocked and dismayed at the things she says and her frank manner. After she pulls a gun on them (later revealed to Gary to be a water pistol), she alters their memories so that Lucy forgets about the conflict; however, Al forgets that they had a son altogether.

At the Donnelly house, the party has spun out of control while Gary and Wyatt take refuge in the bathroom, where they resolve to have a good time, despite having embarrassed themselves in front of Deb and Hilly. In Wyatt's bedroom, Ian and Max convince Gary and Wyatt to recreate the events that created Lisa, but it fails. Lisa chides them over their misuse of the magic to impress their tormentors. She also explains that they forgot to connect the doll; thus, with the bare but live electrodes resting on a magazine page showing a Pershing II medium-range ballistic missile, a real missile appears, crashing through the house.

Meanwhile, Wyatt's grandparents arrive and confront Lisa about the party, but she freezes them and hides them in a cupboard. Lisa realizes that the boys need a challenge to boost their confidence and has a gang of mutant bikers invade the party, causing chaos and sending the boys running.

When the bikers take Deb and Hilly hostage, Wyatt and Gary decide to confront the bikers, causing Deb and Hilly to fall in love with them. The bikers leave, and the next morning, Chet discovers the house in disarray, including a localized snowstorm in his room, and the missile. Lisa tells the boys to escort the girls home while she talks to Chet alone. Gary and Wyatt proclaim their feelings, and both girls reciprocate their feelings to the boys.

Returning to the house, the boys discover Chet, now transformed into a talking mutant blob. He apologizes to Wyatt for his behaviour. Upstairs, Lisa assures them that Chet will soon return to normal, and, realizing that her purpose is complete, hugs both Gary and Wyatt before de-materializing. As she leaves, the house is magically cleaned and everything transformed back to normal, including Chet. Wyatt's parents return home, completely unaware that anything odd has happened.

Later at Gary and Wyatt's high school, Lisa turns up as the new gym teacher, thus continuing her mission to look out for the two boys.

Reception/Box Office

Roger Ebert called LeBrock "wonderful" in her role and thought that as a result the film was "funnier, and a little deeper, than the predictable story it might have been." Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that "Mr. Hughes shows that he can share the kind of dumb joke that only a 14-year old boy could love. There are enough moviegoing 14-year old boys to make a hit out of Weird Science, of course, but for the rest of the population, its pandering is strenuous enough to be cause for alarm."

Variety wrote, "Weird Science is not nearly as weird as it should have been and, in fact, is a rather conventional kids-in-heat film, and a chaste one at that. Director-writer John Hughes squanders the opportunity to comment on the power struggle between the sexes for a few easy laughs." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "What a disappointment Weird Science is! A wonderful writer-director has taken a cute idea about two teenage Dr. Frankensteins creating a perfect woman by computer and turned it into a vulgar, mindless, special-effects-cluttered wasteland."

Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times described LeBrock as "triumphant" and the "film's greatest asset", but thought the film's appeal was limited to audiences of 15-year-old boys and "maybe the 16-year olds, if they aren't yet too fussy." Rita Kempley of The Washington Post wrote, "Unbelievably, John Hughes, the maker of Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, writes and directs this snickering, sordid, special effects fantasy, with Kelly LeBrock in a demeaning role as love slave to a pair of 15-year olds."

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 59% based on 37 reviews, and an average rating of 5.7/10. The consensus states: "Hardly in the same league as John Hughes' other teen movies, the resolutely goofy Weird Science nonetheless gets some laughs via its ridiculous premise and enjoyable performances." The film is now regarded as a cult classic.

The film grossed $23,834,048 in North America and $15.1 million in other territories, totalling $38,934,048 worldwide

Budget $7.5 million

Box office $38.9 million

My Review

WEIRD SCIENCE is a celebration of the incredible sexiness of Kelly LeBrock and the fact that director-writer John Hughes FINALLY gave Anthony Michael Hall the starring role he had sure deserved. The usual high school hi-jinx are on display with plenty of teen sex jokes, except unlike past John Hughes comedies, this has elements of science-fiction and the supernatural. I think the movie works so well because of the marvellous chemistry between Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith(..as Hall's nerdy pal, Wyatt)and LeBrock. The Frankenstein idea of how Michael Hall and Mitchell-Smith is merely playing on our teenage fantasies... I know when I was a youth that LeBrock was certainly a fixture in my pleasant dreams during puberty! LeBrock was in her element, positively a knock-out, with a confidence(..and figure)and swagger that I'm sure had many a gal jealous. She's ideally cast as the fantasy babe, but Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith compliment her very well as our dorky heroes. Bill Paxton steals his scenes as Mitchell-Smith's goofy, crude, bullying brother, Chet.

This film stretches the PG-13 rating to the limit and features pretty coarse dialogue and situations for a movie aimed at teens. After all is said and done, the movie's message is similar to other stories penned by the late John Hughes... thanks in part to (im)proper guidance, the nerdy boys find guts to stand up for themselves while wooing lovely girls (Suzanne Snyder and Judie Aronson) in the process. Robert Rusler and Robert Downey Jr (..two years before hitting paydirt with LESS THAN ZERO) are the two popular high schoolers who pick on Michael Hall and Mitchell-Smith and desire to get a shot at LeBrock. Vernon Wells and Michael Berryman are among these fictional Mad Max type bikers who interrupt our heroes' big party(..created by LeBrock as a means for Mitchell-Smith and Michael Hall to prove themselves in front of their peers).

Memorable scenes include Michael Hall and Mitchell-Smith's shower with a naked LeBrock, the trio's trip to a juke joint, LeBrock's "freezing" Mitchell-Smith's grandparents, LeBrock's confrontation with Michael Hall's parents, and LeBrock's smooch with Mitchell-Smith (..this left an indelible mark on me as I, like other males in our teens, put myself in his shoes). LeBrock wears some wild costumes and has big hair at times, but is she a stunner.

I do not think Weird Science is John Hughes' best film, but it is a decent enough film that did entertain me. It is too short however, and the humour occasionally is rather crass. However, I loved the concept, it was original and I think it worked rather well. The film looks good too, the scenery and cinematography are typical Hughes which is a good thing in itself, while the soundtrack is cool. While the humour is crass, there are some funny moments and some inspired wit in the script, while the pacing and direction are fine. The acting is good enough as well. Anthony Michael Hall Ilan Mitchell-Smith are likable leads, while Bill Paxton gives the best performance and Kelly LeBrock is smouldering. Also look out for Robert Downey Jnr in this. Overall, not bad, not amazing but it entertains. 7.5/10

{That and the theme by Oingo Boingo - a boss name btw - is quickly becoming one of new favourite 80s songs}