Real Genius

Rating:
Summary: Genius of a comedy
Review: I must say that this is probably my favorite movie ever. I am bias though to Val Kilmer. He was incredibly charming and funny in this, his second film. I rented it a few weeks ago, and I watched it four times in three days. I recommend this movie to any Val Kilmer fan or anyone interested in a good chuckle, lasting about 90 minutes. "Was it a dream where you see yourself standing in sort of sun god robes on a pyrimid with a thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at you?" "No." "Why am I the only person who has that dream?" - Chris Knight (Kilmer)

Rating:
Summary: The best of everything!
Review: I LOVED this movie! it is my favorite movie and everytime I watch, I end up rolling on the floor laughing!!! This movie has everything - plenty of humor, science, politics and a heart-warming plot. Popcorn fan? Then you'll LOVE the ending!!! Val Kilmer is hilarious and a GOD in my opinion! This movie has SOOOO many memorable quotes... "Was it a dream, where you're standing...." "Your mother put lisence plates in your underware? how do you sit?" "This is Jesus, Kent!" " Are you okay? No, not emotionaly. Physically, yes. But not emotionaly. It should have gone much farther, much faster. But that's okay, I can fix that now. I can fix that here." "Do you have a bed? Yes. Okay, good. I was going to make you one if you didn't, but you do. Okay." "What's this? This? This is ice. This is what happens to water when it too cold. This? This is Kent. This is what happens to you when you get too sexually frustrated." So, if it's comedy you're after, then this is the perfect place to find it!!!

Rating:
Summary: college should be like this
Review: Real Genius is definitely a great film. I don't know that I would say it is Kilmer's best, but it does show off his considerable comic talent, and I consider it one of his best.

It is a delightful college romp with geeks aplenty, and the humor is a lot classier than Animal House, which is another good college flick. It is full of subtle and not so subtle satire on society, such as the botched saying ("like shooting ducks in a barrel") in the slick video boardroom presentation for the weapon concept, and the remark from one general after hearing about having a working weapon system by June - "Don't ask me, I haven't had a working weapon system since Korea."

I can't add anything about the Cal Tech trivia, but it did seem to me that the limo used for the weapon test looked an awful lot like JFK's ill-fated Dallas limo. Veiled commentary about the Military-Industrial Complex?

There is, of course, lots of geek/college humor, but nothing really gross. The sexual humor and references are pretty light, well handled, and fit in with the story. The humor covers the social commentary well, and the film makes its statements without preaching. It is a film I recommend to all students entering college. It is also one of those films that I watch regularly to boost my spirits and have a good time. It reminds one not to take onself too seriously. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Real Classic
Review: Like many of the other reviewers, I'm amazed how few people have actually seen this movie. Even my wife hadn't before she met me (swiftly remedied!). Even funnier than the funniest of 80s movies (e.g. Airplane, Fletch, Heathers, the Monty Python films etc.), the story is secondary to the non-stop snappy dialogue, great acting, and visual humor. Without a doubt this is Val Kilmer's best role, and if he hadn't left comedy to pursue his terrible action-flick-leading-man career, he might still be making movies like this one.

My favorite scenes:
Girl: "Are you here for the meeting?"
Chris: "What meeting?"
Girl: "I don't know."
Chris: "Oookaay..."

Mitch: "What are you doing?"
Chris: "Self-realization. I was reflecting on the immortal words of Socrates, who said, 'I drank what?' "

Chris: "Put that down! Don't you know that eating cheeseburgers can give you extremely large breasts?!?!" "My God... I'm too late!"

Those who have attended Caltech will especially enjoy the film, as it was filmed there and has a few in-jokes for ex-Beavers.

Rating:
Summary: "Pacific Tech presents...smart people on ice!"
Review: Real Genius is one of my favorite comedies. It's just fun, silly and very clever. Val Kilmer is a riot as Chris Knight, a real genius at Pacific Tech who, along with other real geniuses, are making a weapon for the government. They think it's a class project. They have no idea it is a weapon. But when they realize they have been duped into making a weapon the fun really begins! Other cool characters are, Mitch...boy genius. Only 15 and the youngest person to ever attend this college. Kent...the kind of guy who used to remind the teacher they forgot to give homework at 2:55pm on a Friday! Jordan...an extremely hyperactive young lady. Lazlo...a "burnt out" genius who lives in Chris and Mitch's closet. I knew Val was going to go on to be a star when I saw him in this. I figured, if anyone can be this uninhibitedly hysterical, he can do anything. (He proved that when he played Jim Morrison in "The Doors") Sometimes it's hard to tell who's the real star of this film, Val, or the witty dialogue. My favorite lines:

STUDENT:Kent's Mom puts his name on his underwear. MITCH:My Mom did that with license plates. CHRIS:Your mom sews license plates into your underwear...how do you sit?

CHRIS:This...this is ice. It's what happens to water when it gets frozen. This...this is Kent. This is what happens to people when they get too sexually frustrated.

MAN:Are you Chris Knight? CHRIS:I hope so...I'm wearing his underwear. MAN:Why are you wearing that toy on your head? CHRIS:Because if I wear it anyplace else...it chafes.

That is just a small sample of the unrelenting humor in the movie. My daughter and I have seen it so many times, we recite the entire movie as we watch it. Needless to say, anyone watching it with us is less than amused...by us, not the movie! So, sit down with a big bowl of POPCORN and enjoy Real Genius!

Rating:
Summary: Movie Great, DVD blows
Review: The movie itself is great. Cheesy, but a true 80s classic. Unfortunately, this DVD version is horrible. If you already own the VHS, don't bother with the DVD. There is nothing extra on the DVD at all. No commentary, no notes, no trivia, no cast info, no original trailers, nothing. Totally slapped together. I'm sick of McDVDs like this. Personally, I'm waiting for the Special Edition that you *just know* they will crank out once the market is saturated with this version.

Rating:
Summary: The 80's best kept secret.
Review:
"Smart people on ice!"

Missing geniuses found living in student's closets

Apples that spontaneously combust on the teacher's desk

These are but some of the classic moments from "Real Genius", a rare overlooked gem of 80's flicks. If you have not seen this movie, you are truly missing some of the best comic writing and acting college humor has to offer.

For the nostalgic children of the 80's, this is a must-have.

Rating:
Summary: A must have for every college geek!
Review: Every college student should own the movie "Animal House". But every college geek should own "Real Genius" as well. It's really just a crazy story about college students who are way to smart for their own good. Sure, they have a subplot regarding the ethical use of technologies the world's great minds come up with, but it's really all about the oddities. We've got a number one math genius living in a dorm closet. A whacky, slacker genius wrecking havoc on his fellow students (very amusingly played by Val Kilmer), lasers, and popcorn!

You can't go wrong with that. Now can you?

Rating:
Summary: 'it's a moral imperative'
Review: Like "the manhattan project" and "wargames", this is a smart, funny, and endearing 80s movie with an important message about the responsibility that comes with intelligence and privelege. In all three movies, we forgive the bright but naive high school kids for their actions (building a military laser, building a nucler weapon, hacking into military computers) because they are ethical human beings who try to do right. Their morality puts into sharp relief the profound immoralities of authoritarian institutions and the cowardice or fear that causes people to participate in them.

Rating:
Summary: a hacker's classic
Review: While this movie is loads of fun, to really understand it, you need to be immersed in the MIT-style hacker culture. All the elements are there: A tough institute of technology, the zany mixture of brilliance and adolescence, the MIT-style pranks, the semi-controlled anarchy that let hackers do their thing, and do it in style, all the while theses were written, patents issued, fat grants obtained, and the army and air force got their new toys.

The movie centers on the controvertial symbiosis between the academia (a place were technological and scientific breakthroughs are made) and the military-government-industrial establishment that finances this "pure science". While the movie is cast in an 80's setting with the area of research being physics, the story seems to parallel the sixties and seventies, when the army and air force financed much of the research at what became the MIT AI lab -- research in robotics, vision, artificial intelligence, programming langauges -- with an abundance of military applications.

A great book to read either before or after the watching the movie is "Hackers" by Steven Levy. The parallels to this movie are astounding.