Two high school nerds use a computer program to literally create the perfect woman, but she turns their lives upside down.
I used to rent “Weird Science” all the time when I was a teenager in my hometown of Dublin, Ireland in the mid-’80s. My friends and I would rent it out on a Friday or Saturday night and sometimes we’d watch it twice in a row, we liked it so much. A story about two high school nerds who create a beautiful woman using only their home computer, was a big deal back then because that was when computers started to hit the home market. Granted, they were nothing like what we have today and we had no internet back then, rather, they were systems, like the one I had, the Commodore 64, which were aimed primarily at teenagers who wanted to play video games and for those select few who were literate in computer programming. They were fun for a while but because they had none of the features PCs and laptops have today, you could get bored pretty quickly and then you’d hook up your Atari 2600 instead.
In “Weird Science,” director John Hughes cast his regular go-to guy Anthony Michael Hall (“Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club”) as Gary Wallace, and newcomer, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, as Wyatt Donnelly, two high school nerds who constantly strike out trying to make new friends, let alone girlfriends. One weekend while Wyatt’s parents are out of town, the two boys are watching the 1931 classic “Frankenstein” and it is this movie that gives Gary the idea of creating a girl. Naturally, Wyatt has visions of them digging up a corpse in a dark, creepy graveyard but Gary suggests that they use Wyatt’s computer. They hook up a doll and imbue the computer with as much information as possible, magazine cuttings of beautiful models and Einstein equations so that their “dream girl” will not only be gorgeous but smart as well. Wyatt hacks into a government computer system so his PC will have more power and when all is said and done, they create Lisa (Kelly LeBrock), a stunning woman with Einstein’s IQ and a British accent to boot.
While Lisa boosts the two nerds’ popularity around town and at their school by inviting everyone to a party she is throwing at Wyatt’s house, their two arch enemies, Ian (Robert Downey Jr.) and Max (Robert Rusler), try to befriend Gary and Wyatt with the intention of giving them their girlfriends in exchange for Lisa. She states that she belongs to Gary and Wyatt because they are her creators and when the two nerds finally reveal their secret for constructing her, they try to recreate the exact same procedure for Ian and Max so that they will have their own “dream girl” but things don’t go according to plan and a slew of post-apocalyptic mutant bikers turn up, threatening everyone at the party. Now Gary and Wyatt must prove to everyone whether they are up to the challenge, or not.
“Weird Science” felt oddly out of place for John Hughes after the success of his previous two movies, “Sixteen Candles” and “The Breakfast Club,” and while those two films were grounded very much in reality, especially “The Breakfast Club,” “Weird Science” was entrenched completely in science fiction and teenage fantasy. After all, what 16-year-old boy wouldn’t want Kelly LeBrock to suddenly appear in their bedroom and be at their beck and call? But Hughes always had a way of taking scenarios you thought were going to go one way and then completely turn them around. The first interaction both Gary and Wyatt have with her is in the shower. Granted, you never see any nudity but you get the impression that Lisa is naked and the two boys, who at this point in their lives have zero confidence but dream about being popular all the time, are standing behind her in the shower, wearing their underwear, socks, and sneakers. Over time, with Lisa’s help and words of wisdom and encouragement, the two boys gradually come into their own and develop a sense of maturity not even they dreamed they would ever possess.
The late Bill Paxton appears as Wyatt’s older bully of a brother, Chet, and he pretty much steals every scene he appears in. He made “Weird Science” a year before his breakout film, “Aliens,” but he managed to keep some of Chet’s character traits for James Cameron and the movie was better because of it. Iron Man, aka Robert Downey Jr., appears in one of his earliest starring roles as the detestable Ian, ready to dump his girlfriend for a chance with Lisa. Both he and Robert Rusler play exceptionally well off each other and even though they are both obnoxious, you can’t help but smirk at their small-minded, disreputable degenerates. Director John Hughes infused the movie with some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments and watching it for the first time in many years, brought back a slew of happy memories of my own teenage years and for that Mr. Hughes, I thank you.
All in all, “Weird Science” is a movie you will either “get” or you won’t. I don’t know, maybe because I was a teenage boy at the time of its release in 1985, it spoke to me, and countless other teenage boys but even as a man in my mid-’40s, I can still sit back and laugh at some of the film’s absurdity and ridiculousness, knowing full-well it would never happen in real life but relishing in the thought that in Hughes’ universe, anything was possible.
The Special Edition Blu-ray includes:
- New restoration by Arrow Films from a 4K scan of the original negative
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the Original Theatrical Version of the film (94 mins), plus seamlessly-branched exclusive Extended Version (97 mins), featuring two additional scenes newly remastered in high-definition
- Original lossless stereo audio, plus 5.1 DTS-HD MA surround option (theatrical version only)
- Original English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Edited-for-TV version of the film (SD only, 95 mins), plus comparison featurette highlighting the alternate dubs and takes
- Option to watch additional scenes from the Extended Version separately
- Newly-filmed interview with special makeup creator Craig Reardon
- Newly-filmed interview with editor Chris Lebenzon
- Newly-filmed interview with composer Ira Newborn
- Newly-filmed interview with supporting actor John Kapelos
- All-new interview with casting director Jackie Burch
- It’s Alive: Resurrecting Weird Science, an archive documentary featuring interviews with cast, crew, and admirers, including star Anthony Michael Hall
- Theatrical trailers and TV spots
- Image gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tracie Ching
- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors booklet featuring new writing on the film by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Amanda Reyes
Available in a Special Edition Blu-ray from Arrow Video July 23rd
