Real Genius (1985)

Directed by: Martha Coolidge | 108 minutes | comedy, romance | Actors: Val Kilmer, Gabriel Jarret, Michelle Meyrink, William Atherton, Jon Gries, Robert Prescott, Patti D’Arbanville, Stacy Peralta, Mark Kamiyama, Tommy Swerdlow, John Shepherd Reid, Yuji Okumoto, Dean Devlin, Louis Giamalvo, Ed Lauter, Beau Billingslea, Charles Parks, Paul Tulley, Joanne Baron, Monte Landis, Sandy Martin

‘Real Genius’ is about fifteen-year-old Mitch Taylor (Gabriel Jarret). He is a brilliant scientist who cannot really develop his qualities in high school. Fortunately, his talents in the field of laser technology do not go unnoticed: University professor and TV personality Hathaway (William Atherton) ensures that the boy is admitted early to university. His roommate is the older Chris Knight (Val Kilmer), who in turn also left all his peers far behind; he became the youngest student at age 12 and is now taking his exams, although he seems more into having fun. However, both boys are working on the same project, led by Hathaway, who, however, has a different agenda.

The opening scene is responsible for the fact that we already know what that is. Hathaway turns out to be a smooth talker, secretly helping the government provide the technology for a superweapon that can kill a man from space with millimeter precision. “Real Genius” was way ahead of its time in 1985, given the possibilities that drone warfare currently creates. However, the students are not yet aware of the exact purpose of their project.

Mitch works hard, but actually he is a bit too young for student life. It is also not made easy for him by the terrible bully Kent (Robert Prescott), who does give the poor boy a very dirty trick. Fortunately, there’s Jordan Cochran (a disarming Michelle Meyrink), the hyperkinetic college student who never sleeps and with whom Mitch develops an endearing friendship—and maybe more.

Despite the fact that Mitch is the real protagonist of ‘Real Genius’, and Jarret is very convincing as a shy, naive, but intelligent teenager, Val Kilmer (this is one of his first roles) steals every scene in which he appears. Just because of the t-shirts he’s wearing. His one-liners are very funny and there are a lot of them. His growing relationship with Mitch is also nice to see and the boys actually have something in common. And watch Jon Gries as Lazlo Hollyfeld, who has a hilarious role as the man who keeps disappearing in Mitch and Chris’ wardrobe.

‘Real Genius’ fits effortlessly into the ranks of ‘WarGames’ and ‘Weird Science’; Eighties comedy classics that don’t use flat or condescending humor à la ‘Porky’s’ or ‘Revenge of the Nerds’ but where cleverly written dialogue, believable characters and funny situations are the main priority. Sure, the finale is by no means believable, but wonderfully over the top bizarre and satisfying. ‘Real Genius’ may be less well-known than other contemporaries, but it has certainly survived the test of time, thanks to its charming cast and timeless humor.