Review of Real Genius (1985) by Jesse O — 14 Jul 2018

You know, 80s movies are kind of an anomaly. At least major 80s teen comedies. What I mean by that is even if most of these movies are incredibly shallow (I said most, not all mind you, before you get your pitchforks), they do a better job at cheering you up than, say, a lot of movies in this day and age.

Whether it's the fashion, the music, the verbiage, there's just something very charming about 80s teen comedies that, honestly, I enjoy watching even if the movie might not necessarily be what I'd call good.

That's, really, why I decided to watch this. I'm not that familiar with this movie, so I was expecting a silly, shallow movie that wasn't any good, but would find a way to cheer me up regardless with its 80sness.

Color me surprised when I find out that, actually, this is a legitimately funny and clever movie that, because of comedy being the way it is today, holds up surprisingly well. I don't know how this film was regarded at the time, in relation to its humor, but dare I say that it was ahead of its time, perhaps? Maybe that's not really fair to say, because just because it shares similarities to some modern comedies does not mean that they had a great revelation that this was the way comedy was gonna move forward into the future.

Regardless, I genuinely enjoyed this movie quite a bit. I suppose I need to go more in-depth, so here we go. The narrative starts with 15-year-old genius, Mitch, being sent to a science and engineering university in order to work on this chemical laser that the person who recruited him, Professor Hathaway, is working on trying to perfect.

Hathaway, however, does not tell Mitch, or any of the other students working on the project, that they're actually working on a lethal weapon for the military. A weapon that can beam a laser at any target they want and kill them instantly within 15-seconds.

Most of the movie, of course, however, is Mitch Taylor adjusting to campus life while being roomed with campus legend, Chris Knight, who's also a genius. Chris, however, is a clown. In fact, actually, when assessing Val Kilmer's performance in this movie, I was reminded of Ryan Reynolds.

It's the same type of similar sarcastic, sardonic comedic performance that Reynolds has perfected. In fact, Ryan Reynolds in Van Wilder is, essentially, Val Kilmer in this movie. It's almost scary the similarities between the two.

Not saying that Ryan ripped Val Kilmer off or something, but you can see that there was definitely a lot of inspiration drawn from Kilmer's performance. And, honestly, I can't say that I blame the guy, because Val Kilmer is great in this movie.

I really do mean it. Kilmer has always been one of those guys that, very obviously, has a lot of talent, but, for some reason or another, he's never really clicked for one reason or another. I don't know if he had a reputation, which I have heard rumors of, or whatever.

But he, while certainly having a very successful career, can't say to have reached the same heights as his...partner in Top Gun, Tom Cruise. And that's despite the fact that, objectively speaking, Val Kilmer is more naturally talented.

But, in all honesty, Kilmer (when he's motivated, of course) he can knock it out of the park. This movie is proof of that, as is Top Secret and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. I guess that's about enough of Val Kilmer's greatness in this movie.

As mentioned, the movie sees Mitch adjusting to campus lifestyle and his, general, disappointment with Chris being a complete goof and somehow who, really, doesn't work as hard as his intelligence suggests he might.

We also have to deal with Hathaway being an asshole and rushing Chris and Mitch to finish the laser by a deadline, which is being forced on him by the military. One of the things that surprised me the most is how well-written this movie is.

Perhaps not in terms of character development or narrative, I just mean the dialogue is quite good and there's plenty of jokes to be had here. For some reason, though, I don't feel that this is anything more than just a good movie.

I think there's some moments between the second and third act when the film slows down. This happens to a lot of comedies before they pick it up again in the third act. There's also some silliness in the third act, like Mitch and Chris sneaking onto a military air base once they find out what Hathaway wants to use their work for.

But, to me, everything else worked. You root for the heroes and you want Hathaway to get his comeuppance. It's all simple, but it works in execution. The cast itself is very strong all around. The music is, well, of the 80s and, therefore, it's good in setting the tone.

And, most important of all, the movie is just quite entertaining. This review isn't as good as the movie is, but that should be expected. Having said all of that, and this one is shorter than normal, that's about it for this review.

This is a fun movie and I would gladly recommend it. Of course, however, don't come in expecting The Godfather. It's a silly 80s comedies, adjust your standards accordingly.