I grew up watching Weird Science and watched the movie dozens of times as a kid. My mind had totally stashed away the memories until this week when the movie was on TV. WOW! If you haven't seen the movie recently, it's worth seeing again.
The plot (for those who can't remember it) centers around these two nerds (gary and Wyatt) who decide to create a virtual woman on their computer during a weekend sleepover. The plan goes awry when a real woman (Lisa) pops out of their computer. She not only looks like a goddess but has super powers. In scenes inspired by classic shows such as "I dream of Jeanie" and "bewitched", the guys spend the entire weekend doing damage control for the crazy things that she causes to happen. in the midst of it all, there is a coming of age for the boys, who must face bullies and unpopularity in their quest for girlfriends and acceptance among their peers.
Lisa does everything to make these guys the epitome of 80's cool. Big hair, skinny ties, suits with shoulder pads, a Ferrari and 911 Porsche, the classic pink Cadillac, etc. The soundtrack is distinctly 80's, with songs by the General Public and Oingo Boingo as some of the stand outs.
A pleasant surprise about this movie is how well it has held up over the years. The scene when dorky Wyatt and Gary end up in an all black bar with Lisa still works. Un-pc as it is, the scene where Gary gets drunk and tries to talk like a black man is still hilarious.
This movie has several elements I really dig as an adult that were beyond me as a kid. First, Kelly Lebrock's powers and sensuality are both great analogies for the explosive sexuality of a woman and the insecurity of what it is to be a teenage boy. Much like "Bewitched" and "I dream of Jeanie" an incredibly sensual woman uses her "powers" and these dorks spend all their time begging her not to use them. Despite the fact that she is supposed to do whatever Gary and Wyatt ask of her, she is still totally intimidating to them.
In one discussion of why the movie "Elektra" failed, the critic mentioned that while teenage boys find older women really sexy, they also find them scary. To keep it's appeal to the under 18 set, the movie constantly plays on how intimidated regular guys would be if a real woman were to just pop into their lives.
With the old school modem and graphics, the movie also gives a peek into how the world viewed computers not even 20 years ago. There was clearly a belief that someday, computers would be able to do anything, even create life. Author William Gibson envisioned an internet where people would literally plug themselves into their computers. In this movie, the computer has the power of creation. Time has proved that these things are possible, just not quite as sci fi types envisioned them. We do have an internet, but we don't plug our bodies into the computer. And while games like "Sims" and "GTA: San Andreas" make it possible to have a "virtual girlfriend", it's not quite what this movie envisioned.
The clutch of this movie is of course the girl herself. Kelly Lebrock sizzles in this movie. She has an understated sexy confidence about her that has not been replicated by anyone other than Angelina Jolie, and her sense of comedic timing is spot on. It's a shame that she more or less disappeared after this movie was made, because she is very memorable in this film. The scene where she picks up Gary at his parents house is the best take on "meet the parents" EVER.
Finally, this movie served as a great launching pad for a lot of careers. Anthony Michael Hall would have probably become a star if only his next movies had been good (instead of the silly "Out of Bounds" and the pathetic "Johnny Be Good"), but Bill Paxton (who's role as Gary's older brother alone is worth the price of a rental) went on to become a well known a-lister and this early role is classic Paxton (I'd argue that his role as "Hudson" in the 1986 movie "Aliens" is probably Paxton at his best).
So, for the soundtrack, the old school science fiction, the bikini-concept of women's sexuality as something dangerous, and the launch of some great stars, this is a movie well worth revisiting.
The plot (for those who can't remember it) centers around these two nerds (gary and Wyatt) who decide to create a virtual woman on their computer during a weekend sleepover. The plan goes awry when a real woman (Lisa) pops out of their computer. She not only looks like a goddess but has super powers. In scenes inspired by classic shows such as "I dream of Jeanie" and "bewitched", the guys spend the entire weekend doing damage control for the crazy things that she causes to happen. in the midst of it all, there is a coming of age for the boys, who must face bullies and unpopularity in their quest for girlfriends and acceptance among their peers.
Lisa does everything to make these guys the epitome of 80's cool. Big hair, skinny ties, suits with shoulder pads, a Ferrari and 911 Porsche, the classic pink Cadillac, etc. The soundtrack is distinctly 80's, with songs by the General Public and Oingo Boingo as some of the stand outs.
A pleasant surprise about this movie is how well it has held up over the years. The scene when dorky Wyatt and Gary end up in an all black bar with Lisa still works. Un-pc as it is, the scene where Gary gets drunk and tries to talk like a black man is still hilarious.
This movie has several elements I really dig as an adult that were beyond me as a kid. First, Kelly Lebrock's powers and sensuality are both great analogies for the explosive sexuality of a woman and the insecurity of what it is to be a teenage boy. Much like "Bewitched" and "I dream of Jeanie" an incredibly sensual woman uses her "powers" and these dorks spend all their time begging her not to use them. Despite the fact that she is supposed to do whatever Gary and Wyatt ask of her, she is still totally intimidating to them.
In one discussion of why the movie "Elektra" failed, the critic mentioned that while teenage boys find older women really sexy, they also find them scary. To keep it's appeal to the under 18 set, the movie constantly plays on how intimidated regular guys would be if a real woman were to just pop into their lives.
With the old school modem and graphics, the movie also gives a peek into how the world viewed computers not even 20 years ago. There was clearly a belief that someday, computers would be able to do anything, even create life. Author William Gibson envisioned an internet where people would literally plug themselves into their computers. In this movie, the computer has the power of creation. Time has proved that these things are possible, just not quite as sci fi types envisioned them. We do have an internet, but we don't plug our bodies into the computer. And while games like "Sims" and "GTA: San Andreas" make it possible to have a "virtual girlfriend", it's not quite what this movie envisioned.
The clutch of this movie is of course the girl herself. Kelly Lebrock sizzles in this movie. She has an understated sexy confidence about her that has not been replicated by anyone other than Angelina Jolie, and her sense of comedic timing is spot on. It's a shame that she more or less disappeared after this movie was made, because she is very memorable in this film. The scene where she picks up Gary at his parents house is the best take on "meet the parents" EVER.
Finally, this movie served as a great launching pad for a lot of careers. Anthony Michael Hall would have probably become a star if only his next movies had been good (instead of the silly "Out of Bounds" and the pathetic "Johnny Be Good"), but Bill Paxton (who's role as Gary's older brother alone is worth the price of a rental) went on to become a well known a-lister and this early role is classic Paxton (I'd argue that his role as "Hudson" in the 1986 movie "Aliens" is probably Paxton at his best).
So, for the soundtrack, the old school science fiction, the bikini-concept of women's sexuality as something dangerous, and the launch of some great stars, this is a movie well worth revisiting.