Review of Revenge of the Nerds (1984) by Kevin G — 26 Aug 2011

I honestly enjoyed this for the ridiculously goofy experience this is. It revels in outrageous campy dialogue and giant stereotypes, but it doesn't try to be anything it's not. In fact compared to a lot of movies of it's ilk, it's really lovable and charming.

The idea of misfits getting revenge on jocks has probably turned into a bit of a cliche, but at least here it presents a scenario where the jock characters relentlessly ask for it and are mercilessly cruel, like most over-the-top, blonde 80's villains are.

In doing this, you can really root for the nerds without feeling too guilty about some of the ridiculous stereotypes being portrayed. Though it would be cool to see a scenario like this with more nuance, there's really no room for subtlety here, as first and foremost it's pretty in the fashion of a routine exploitative 80's sex comedy/concept movie.

It's really not bad for its genre and has a significantly higher amount of heart and respect for its characters than the concept generally might have had. The crazy, synthesized 80's rock band performance and the overall creepy nerd mayhem in this are the standouts that make this so much fun.