Review: Revenge of the Nerds

Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards are best friends and college freshmen Lewis and Gilbert, who have arrived at Adams College full of hope and endless possibilities. That optimism is quickly put in place when, after accidentally burning their own quarters down, the Alpha-Beta fraternity jocks throw them and pretty much every other non-jock out of their dorms and take them for themselves. It appears that Lewis and Gilbert are ‘nerds’, and nerds are apparently unwelcome at Adams. Lewis, Gilbert, and several other ‘nerds’ decide to form their own fraternity and look for their own living quarters, as the designated gymnasium is hardly a permanent solution. Still, there’s only so much bullying and derision these guys can take before striking back in their own unique way. Among the nerds are boorish sex maniac Booger (Curtis Armstrong), Japanese immigrant Takashi (Brian Tochi), the self-explanatory Poindexter (Timothy Busfield), gay African-American Lamar (Larry B. Scott), and super-brainy pre-teen Wormser (Andrew Cassese, who changed dramatically between this and the next film). Julie Montgomery plays Betty Childs, a popular cheerleader who Lewis takes a liking to, with a perfectly smug Ted McGinley as her arsehole Alpha-Beta boyfriend and quarterback Stan Gable. Donald Gibb is a riot as the appropriately named Ogre, a big dumb lug and chief nerd-hating bully. Michelle Meyrink plays a lady geek whom Gilbert befriends (think Bernadette from “The Big Bang Theory” minus the jugs and helium voice), James Cromwell is Lewis’ dorky dad, Bernie Casey plays the head of the Lambda Lambda Lambda fraternity who sponsor the nerds, whilst John Goodman plays the bullying football coach.

 

The 80s sex comedy craze produced, in my opinion, two really worthwhile entries and no, “Animal House” isn’t one of them. On one hand you had the disarmingly affecting but frequently funny “Last American Virgin”, which managed to overcome some seriously rough edges (It’s a Cannon film, for crying out loud). Then there was this 1984 underdog comedy from director Jeff Kanew (“Eddie Macon’s Run”, “Tough Guys”), which is one of my favourite films of all-time, let alone the 80s, let alone the subgenre of comedy it rests in. Scripted by Jeff Buhai (“Last Resort”, “Eddie”) and Steve Zacharias (“Last Resort”, “Eddie”) it may deal in crude stereotypes, but just as with the popular geeky TV show “The Big Bang Theory” (a show many seem to miss the damn point of, I might add), the characters are nonetheless extremely likeable for the most part. Yeah, it makes fun of them and stereotypes them, but the nerds are the heroes here and that means something to those of us who have always felt like outsiders. That and some seriously funny and iconic moments make this one of the standout films of its type. Fuck it, it’s the standout film of its type. Every generation has films that although not well-respected critically, are nonetheless iconic for that generation. For the generation before me, “Animal House” comes to mind. For my generation there appears to be quite a few: “The Breakfast Club”, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, “The Goonies”, “Big Trouble in Little China”, “Vacation”, and this film. With this film though, there’s an added reason why people in my generation remember this film: It’s a rite of passage for young men in particular to experience this film. For a lot of us heterosexual males in particular, who are now in our mid-to-late 30s and early 40s, it was one of our earliest experiences viewing the female form on screen.

 

Key to the film’s success at overcoming the rather schtick-y stereotyped characters are the performances by Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards as Lewis and Gilbert. Yes, Lewis’ iconic nerdy laugh is very much comedic schtick, but it’s not hard to look beyond that and see that these are really sweet, well-meaning, if hopelessly naïve guys. They’re immediately likeable, and far more memorable than most sex comedy characters. In a mere cameo, Jamie (now James) Cromwell also scores well as Lewis’ likeable nerdy father. Apparently it’s Cromwell who came up with the signature nerd laugh, not Carradine who simply imitated him. Yeah, the token Japanese guy Takashi (Brian Tochi) is there to laugh at his pronunciation of things, and yes there’s a limp-wristed gay guy (and African-American to boot) played by Larry B. Scott. I can’t deny that the film pokes fun at them from time to time. However, what other film from the early 80s (of any genre) had a gay guy as one of the heroes? This one does, and that means something, if you ask me. It’s also fucking funny, so it gets away with it in my book. It’s a film from a far less politically correct time, and whilst I’m usually one to defend political correctness these days (it gets taken too far, but it really serves a purpose I believe), I won’t deny I laughed at a lot of the more politically incorrect scenes. The ‘Frush’ conversation between Takashi and Curtis Armstrong’s ‘nose-picking pervert’ (to quote Bradley Whitford in the first sequel) is hilarious, PC or not and improvised to boot. Also, Brian Tochi is Asian-American, so who gives a fuck, right? This was pre-PC, and for the most part I don’t think that makes it terribly difficult to digest in the way that say, “Birth of a Nation”, “Song of the South” (notice Disney never talk about it or release it on DVD?) and several other extremely outdated and frankly offensive movies would be today.

 

One of those films that I rewound scenes over and over again, this is full of memorable quotes right from the ‘Fireball…fireball…Ohhhhh shit!’ scene onwards. A young and rather svelte John Goodman as the boorish football coach is the source of a lot of those quotes. It’s something about the way he pronounces the word ‘whipped’ in his epic dressing-down of the Alpha Betas football team that I loved, I dunno I’m weird. The film has for me the greatest college fraternity hazing/initiation scene in cinematic history (Full disclosure: Hazing is juvenile, cruel, and bullying. I hate it outside the confines of fictional entertainment). When one of the nerds asks ‘Rubbers? What do we need rubbers for?’ Believe me, you don’t wanna know. I also loved the bit where the nerds are forced to go seek alternative accommodations after the Alpha-Beta’s throw them out of their dorms (One hostile household owner: ‘No room! Fuck off!’, which always gets a laugh out of me). Timothy Busfield, now somewhat of a respected actor creates an underrated comic character in the seriously myopic and seriously allergic Poindexter. I love the bit where he gets cornered by his own robot (Personally I think he’s even funnier in the subsequent “Nerds in Paradise” where he mistakes a cardboard cut-out for a girl). As for Andrew Cassese, his Wormser is like a cross between Howard Wolowitz and Sheldon Cooper (I know I’m referencing it a lot, but “The Big Bang Theory” really did spring to mind re-watching this film), and he gets one of the film’s biggest laughs simply by looking at the camera and smiling as he is wedged between two pairs of giant bazooms. The lucky little bastard. My favourite gag in the film however, is the guy who gets arrested for ‘Mopery’. If you don’t know what mopery is, I can’t tell you because it’d ruin the gag. Let’s just say it’s very sick and very random, but hilarious.

 

There are several classic scenes in the film but the two that most people will remember are the ‘panty raid’ and ‘carnival’ sequence which are both iconic. Laser hair removal means that younger generations probably won’t get the panty raid scene to be honest, but it’s their loss. As for the carnival and athletic competition, there’s several moments to cherish, with Ogre crying after narrowly winning an arm wrestling match being particularly priceless. The tactics the nerds use for the tug-of-war and javelin throw are also pretty damn clever. Although the subsequent “Nerds in Paradise” might have the edge, the patented belching contest scene here is still disgustingly funny. The nerds’ musical skit performance is the most 80s thing in the entire film. Their act seems to be a mixture of Devo, Thomas Dolby, Michael Jackson, The Village People, and an electric violin. If there’s one scene that frankly hasn’t aged well and is incredibly non-PC, it’s Lewis’ seduction of Betty. Let’s face it, likeable nerd or not, he pretty much rapes her, at least initially. Yeah, she ends up liking it but c’mon, it’s hard to let this one fly. It’s a bit rape-y. Special mention goes to the respected Bernie Casey whose usual bemused facial expression has graced many a respectable and schlocky film, so I don’t think one should assume he didn’t want to be in this. He’s bemused because the party the nerds throw is absolutely terrible. The party scene, by the way features two absolutely hilarious song choices: ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’ and The Gleaming Spires’ ‘Are You Ready for the Sex Girls?’. Oh yeah, that one’s a classic. The music score by the now respectable Thomas Newman (“American Beauty”, “The Green Mile”) is a bit too electronic for my tastes, but it’s certainly hard to get out of your head, as is the annoying title song by The Rubinoos. Any film with Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’, Talking Heads ‘Burning Down the House’, and Queen’s immortal sports anthem ‘We Are the Champions’ has to be worthwhile, in my opinion. In fact, as much as I’m a huge Queen fan, when I think of that song I don’t think of Queen or sports, I think of this film.

 

Although it’s not remotely politically correct, this is by far the best of the 80s teen sex comedies. The heroes are likeable, the villains are total arseholes, and the message of tolerance for all colours, creeds, sexual orientations and so forth is a truly important one that is probably dealt with here much better than you might expect. I think the reason why it has lasted longer in the public conscience than many of its ilk is because it speaks to so many people. Even if you’re a jock-type, well in today’s society that might just make you the ‘nerd’ and you might be the one now facing oppression, ridicule, or scorn. Best of all, it’s frequently very, very funny so long as you can appreciate crudity and nudity (see what I did there?). An all-time classic in my view, your mileage may be wrong.  

 

Rating: A+