Weird Science (film)

''Weird Science'' is a 1985 American teen science fantasy comedy film written and directed by John Hughes and starring Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, and Kelly LeBrock. It is based on the 1951 pre- Comics Code comic "Made of the Future" by Al Feldstein, which appeared in the magazine of the same name. The title song was written and performed by American new wave band Oingo Boingo. The film is regarded as a cult classic.

Plot

Nerdy social outcast students Gary Wallace and Wyatt Donnelly of Shermer High School are humiliated by senior jocks Ian and Max for swooning over their cheerleader girlfriends Deb and Hilly. Humiliated and disappointed at their direction in life and wanting more, Gary convinces the uptight Wyatt that they need a boost in popularity in order to win their crushes away from Ian and Max. Alone for the weekend with Wyatt's parents gone, Gary is inspired by the 1931 film ''Frankenstein'' to create a virtual woman using Wyatt's computer, infusing her with everything they can conceive of to make the perfect dream woman.

After they hook electrodes to a doll and hack into a government computer system for more power, a power surge creates Lisa, a beautiful and intelligent woman with reality-warping powers. She promptly produces a pink 1959 Cadillac Eldorado convertible to take the boys to a blues dive bar in Chicago, using her powers to procure fake IDs for them.

They return home drunk, where Chet, Wyatt's mean older brother, extorts $175 from Wyatt in exchange for his silence. Lisa agrees to keep herself hidden from him, but she realizes that Gary and Wyatt, while sweet, are very uptight and need to unwind. After another humiliating experience at the mall when Max and Ian pour a slushie on Gary and Wyatt in front of a crowd, Lisa tells the bullies about a party at Wyatt's house, before driving off in a Porsche 928 she conjured for Gary.

Despite Wyatt's protests, Lisa insists that the party take place. She meets Gary's parents, Al and Lucy, who are shocked and dismayed at the things she says and her frank manner, to Gary's embarrassment. After she pulls a stainless .44 Magnum on them (later revealed to Gary to be a water pistol), she alters their memories so that Lucy forgets about the conflict; however, Al forgets that they have a son altogether.

At the Donnelly house, the party has spun out of control. Gary and Wyatt take refuge in the bathroom, where they resolve to have fun despite having embarrassed themselves in front of Deb and Hilly. In Wyatt's bedroom, Ian and Max convince Gary and Wyatt to recreate the events that created Lisa, but the process fails. Lisa chides them over their misuse of the process to impress their tormentors. She also explains that they forgot to connect the doll; thus, with the bare but live electrodes resting on a magazine page showing a Pershing II medium-range ballistic missile, a real missile emerges, erupting through the floor and ceiling of the house.

Meanwhile, Wyatt's grandparents arrive and confront Lisa about the party, but she places them in a frozen, catatonic state and hides them in a kitchen cupboard. Lisa realizes that the boys need a challenge to boost their confidence and has a gang of mutant bikers crash the party, causing chaos and terrorizing the guests.

When the bikers take Deb and Hilly hostage, Wyatt and Gary confront them, causing Deb and Hilly to fall in love with them. The bikers leave, and the next morning, Chet returns from duck hunting to discover the house in disarray, including a localized snowstorm in his room, and the missile. Lisa has the boys escort the girls home while she talks to Chet alone. Gary and Wyatt proclaim their feelings, and both girls reciprocate.

Returning to the house, the boys discover Chet, now transformed into a foul, talking toad-like creature. He apologizes to Wyatt for his behavior. Upstairs, Lisa assures them that Chet will soon return to normal, and, realizing that her purpose is complete, tearfully hugs both Gary and Wyatt before de-materializing. As she leaves, the house is "magically" cleaned and everything transformed back to normal, including Chet. Wyatt's parents return home, completely unaware that anything unusual has happened. Later, Lisa turns up as the new gym teacher at Shermer High School.

Cast

In addition, Hughes regular John Kapelos plays Dino, while ''Playboy'' Playmate Kym Malin ( May 1982) has a cameo as a girl playing piano.

Production

Model Kelly Emberg was initially cast as Lisa, but she left after two days due to creative differences. LeBrock was hired as her replacement.
Vernon Wells reprises his memorable biker character Wez from ''Mad Max 2'', but is credited in this movie as "Lord General". Filming was originally planned to begin on September 24, 1984, in Skokie, Illinois but was ultimately delayed to October 2, 1984, and the location changed to the Northbrook Court Shopping Mall in Northbrook, Illinois.

Most of the location shooting was filmed around neighborhoods outside of Chicago, Illinois, whereas the rest of production was filmed on sound stages and the backlot at Universal City Studios in Los Angeles, California. Production wrapped on December 21, 1984. The production was kept closed in order to keep the film's plot a secret.

Reception

Roger Ebert, who gave the film three out of four stars, called LeBrock "wonderful" in her role and thought that as a result the film was "funnier, and a little deeper, than the predictable story it might have been". Janet Maslin of ''The New York Times'' wrote that "Mr. Hughes shows that he can share the kind of dumb joke that only a 14-year old boy could love. There are enough moviegoing 14-year old boys to make a hit out of ''Weird Science'', of course, but for the rest of the population, its pandering is strenuous enough to be cause for alarm."

'' Variety'' wrote, "''Weird Science'' is not nearly as weird as it should have been and, in fact, is a rather conventional kids-in-heat film, and a chaste one at that. Director-writer John Hughes squanders the opportunity to comment on the power struggle between the sexes for a few easy laughs." Gene Siskel of the ''Chicago Tribune'' gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "What a disappointment ''Weird Science'' is! A wonderful writer-director has taken a cute idea about two teenage Dr. Frankensteins creating a perfect woman by computer and turned it into a vulgar, mindless, special-effects-cluttered wasteland."

Sheila Benson of the ''Los Angeles Times'' described LeBrock as "triumphant" and the "film's greatest asset", but thought the film's appeal was limited to audiences of 15-year-old boys and "''maybe'' the 16-year olds, if they aren't yet too fussy". Rita Kempley of ''The Washington Post'' wrote, "Unbelievably, John Hughes, the maker of '' Sixteen Candles'' and '' The Breakfast Club'', writes and directs this snickering, sordid, special effects fantasy, with Kelly LeBrock in a demeaning role as love slave to a pair of 15-year olds."

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 60% based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Hardly in the same league as John Hughes' other teen movies, the resolutely goofy ''Weird Science'' nonetheless gets some laughs via its ridiculous premise and enjoyable performances."

Box office

It grossed $23,834,048 in North America and $15.1 million in other territories, totaling $38,934,048 worldwide.

Soundtrack

The film's theme song, " Weird Science", was performed by Oingo Boingo and written by the band's frontman, Danny Elfman. The soundtrack album was released on MCA Records.

Side one
# " Weird Science" – Oingo Boingo – 3:48
# " Private Joy" – Cheyne – 4:17
# "The Circle" – Max Carl – 3:46
# "Turn It On" – Kim Wilde – 4:40
# "Deep in the Jungle" – Wall of Voodoo – 3:48

Side two
# "Do Not Disturb (Knock Knock)" – The Broken Homes – 3:42
# "Forever" – Taxxi – 3:53
# "Why Don't Pretty Girls Look at Me" – The Wild Men of Wonga – 3:30
# "Method to My Madness" – The Lords of the New Church – 3:17
# " Eighties" – Killing Joke – 3:50
# "Weird Romance" – Ira and the Geeks – 2:10

Legacy

Television series

A television series based on the film ran for 88 episodes, from 1994 to 1998. Following the same basic plot as the film, the series stars Vanessa Angel as Lisa, Michael Manasseri as Wyatt, John Mallory Asher as Gary, and Lee Tergesen as Chet.

Remake and sequel

, Universal Studios was planning a ''Weird Science'' remake with original producer Joel Silver returning, and Michael Bacall writing the film. The film was set to attempt to distinguish itself from the original ''Weird Science'' by being an edgier comedy, in line with '' 21 Jump Street'' and ''The Hangover'', which were R-rated; the studio stated the rating for this ''Weird Science'' remake was not certain at that stage of the movie's development. However, as of mid-2024, nothing of the remake had materialized. In 2017, Ilan Mitchell-Smith talked about a sequel to ''Weird Science'' starring Channing Tatum.

References

External links

*
*
*
*
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weird Science (Film)

1985 films
1985 comedy films
1985 fantasy films
1985 science fiction films
1980s American films
1980s buddy comedy films
1980s coming-of-age comedy films
1980s English-language films
1980s fantasy comedy films
1980s science fiction comedy films
1980s sex comedy films
1980s teen comedy films
1980s teen fantasy films
American buddy comedy films
American coming-of-age comedy films
American fantasy comedy films
American science fantasy films
American science fiction comedy films
American sex comedy films
American teen comedy films
English-language fantasy comedy films
English-language science fantasy films
English-language science fiction comedy films
English-language sex comedy films
Films about artificial intelligence
Films about bullying
Films about computing
Films about parties
Films adapted into television shows
Films based on American comics
Films directed by John Hughes (filmmaker)
Films produced by Joel Silver
Films scored by Ira Newborn
Films set in Illinois
Films shot in Chicago
Films with screenplays by John Hughes (filmmaker)
Nerd culture
Puppet films
Silver Pictures films
Teen buddy films
Teen science fiction films
Teen sex comedy films
Universal Pictures films
English-language buddy comedy films