Review of Real Genius (1985) by Al M — 03 Jan 2010

I'm probably biased towards Real Genius because it was a film that I loved and watched endlessly as a child, but I still think it is a clever and hilarious film that critiques academia by demonstrating its inherent ties to the corporate/military-industrial complex.

While the critique is of course not really the main point of the film, it does underlie it in a slightly subversive way. But most of all, Real Genius is a film that celebrates genius while also deflating it, that simultaneously edifies education while urging us to not take life so seriously.

Val Kilmer is absolutely brilliant as the genius who has decided that he no longer needs the rigor of the school system; indeed, in many ways, Real Genius is a film that might urge us towards a more autodidactic form of learning, perhaps in a manner akin to Rousseau's views of education.

Ultimately, however, Real Genius is just a great 80s comedy that will make you feel happy while watching it and leave you with lines to quote throughout the remainder of your life.