Review of Real Genius (1985) by Dave Kehr for Chicago Reader — 29 May 2007

The humor is relentlessly cruel, smug, and disconnected from any sense of how human beings might behave in similar situations. But though she's hardly able to dominate the project, director Martha Coolidge does manage to insert some of the sweetly eccentric characterization that distinguished her Valley Girl: one of the heroes, played by Gabe Jarret, is actually believable and sympathetic as a socially insecure adolescent, and a few of the minor figures are brought to life with deft, simple strokes.

Though ultimately obnoxious, the film lingers in the mind for a few moments of genuine charm.