tek's rating:

Weird Science (PG-13)
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This came out in 1985. I'm sure I wanted to see it for several years before I ever got the chance... I'm writing this review in 2016, after watching it on DVD. Before that, I kind of thought I had seen it sometime in the early 90s, but watching it now, nothing about the movie was familiar enough (or unfamiliar enough) for me to be sure whether I'd seen it before or not. Either way, it's not important. I should also mention that there was a 1994-98 TV series based on this movie, which I must have had some vague interest in, but I'm pretty sure I never saw any of that. (Though the DVD had the pilot as a bonus feature, so now I've seen at least one episode. And I do think it'd be fun to see more of the show, if I ever get the chance.) Anyway, the movie was based on a story that appeared in one issue of the 1950s comic book series "Weird Science," which I've never read. And of course, the movie's theme song was done by Oingo Boingo, so that's cool. And I also want to say that before I watched the DVD, I wasn't sure if I'd put my review in the science fiction category, or comedy, or maybe even B-movies. But after watching it, I think "weird" is the best fit, which is kind of appropriate, considering the title. And, man, is this movie weird.

So, there are these two teenage outcasts, Gary Wallace (Anthony Michael Hall) and Wyatt Donnelly. This being a 1980s teen comedy, of course their most prominent character trait is that they want to get girls. At first it kind of seems like any girl would do, but it quickly becomes clear that they're most interested in a couple of girls named Deb and Hilly, who are currently dating a couple of jerks named Ian (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Max. One weekend, Wyatt's parents are going out of town, and Gary is sleeping over at Wyatt's place. And Wyatt's older brother, Chet (Bill Paxton), comes home from military school or whatever, so he's supposed to look after them for the weekend. But he's a complete asshole. Anyway, Gary and Wyatt are watching "Frankenstein" on TV, when Gary gets the idea to "make a girl," using Wyatt's computer. I think the idea was just to make a virtual girl, like just an image on the computer with a personality, so they could ask it how to get girls. But the way they feed information into the computer is pretty ridiculous, and then they do a bit of ridiculous hacking of some government computer system to get "more power," for some ridiculous reason. And then, somehow this all leads to a bunch of bizarre stuff happening all around town, like they've unwittingly unleashed some sort of reality-bending supernatural force, or something. But that concludes with a real woman appearing in Wyatt's room. (She's played by 80s sex symbol Kelly Le Brock. But other than this movie, I don't think I've seen her in anything except Pantene commercials.)

Anyway, because Gary and Wyatt created her, she's completely devoted to them. She also has seemingly magical powers, to create all sorts of stuff, like clothes or cars or whatever (though only for a limited time). And she's obviously a lot smarter than her creators, and rather snarky. And um... the guys decide to name her Lisa. She does all she can to help Gary and Wyatt win the affection of Deb and Hilly. But aside from that, I have no idea what to tell you about the plot. Just, a ton of redonkulous, impossible stuff happens. And it's all really funny and crazy and fun. Pure chaos. Awesome.


weird index
teen comedy index