Thoughts on Real Genius

 

via IMDB

"You didn't touch anything, did you?"

"No."

"Good. Because all of my filth is arranged in alphabetical order. This, for instance, is under 'H' for 'toy.'"

"What is that?"

"It's a penis stretcher. Do you want to try it?"

"No!"

"I'm kidding. It's yet another in a long series of diversions in an attempt to avoid responsibility."

Revenge, as they say, is sweet. But like all indulgences, it has to be done just right. It's like having dessert. Do you want a Pixy Stix or would you prefer cheesecake? Real Genius, starring Val Kilmer and Gabriel Jarret*, is a movie that benefits from its ingredients and its execution. How sweet it is.

*Yet another actor who made a splash in a 1985 movie, then immediately cooled things off.

Mitch Taylor (Jarret) is a teenager chosen by smarmy celebrity professor/embezzler of government funding Jerry Hathaway (William Atherton) to work with college students on a laser project. From the get-go, the audience knows Hathaway's misdeeds are connected to the "immoral and unethical" Crossbow Project, intended to kill American enemies from space**. While we wait for the characters to catch on, Mitch has a first semester not much different than anyone else's. He meets new people, including the jealous Kent, almost-always-talking Jordan (Michelle Meyrink) and mysterious Hollyfeld (Jon Gries).

**SPOILER: Since Mitch poses as Jesus to fool Kent (Robert Prescott), meaning the screenwriters had a passing familiarity with Christianity, I'm surprised Genius didn't go all in and call it the Smite Project.

Genius is, at heart, an opposites attract movie. You could call it the first "snobs vs. even bigger snobs" comedy. The point is, it's a matter of time before Chris wins over roommate Mitch. Helping matters immensely is that director Martha Coolidge and the actors know just how to depict and play moments like Mitch being humiliated by Hathaway (who pulls the disappointed adult routine) and later, Kent (who does something that would have gotten him kicked off a college today, playing a recording of Mitch's emotional phone call home to a packed lunchtime audience), followed by Chris sharing Hollyfeld's story while bonding with Mitch. In those moments, this isn't just a movie about kids being used by evil adults. It's a movie about kids who are hurt.

" ... You see, he was totally unprepared for the real world. He had no philosophy. He though science was the answer for everything."

"Am I gonna wind up in a steam tunnel?"

"Yes, you are, metaphorically speaking. Unless you see that the same thing that has made your life miserable can make it great; your brain. When you're smart, people need you, and you can learn how to work that for fun and profit."

"You had an arrangement going with Hathaway, don't you? That's why you don't have to study."

"Hey, I don't carry a briefcase. ... You're a nice kid. If you leave, I'll miss you."

"If I stay, what should I do, I mean ...?"

"Well, the first thing you have to do is get even with Kent. It's a moral imperative."

Three writers are credited to Genius: Neal Israel & Pat Proft (Police Academy, Bachelor Party), who also received story credit, and P.J. Torokvei (WKRP in Cincinnati, Back to School). In his Washington Post review, Paul Attanasio claimed that Torokvei was one of several script doctors including Coolidge and Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel (Night Shift, Splash). 

Longtime readers know I'm generally not a fan of movies created by committee and there are elements of Genius that either needed to be sharpened, reworked or dropped. In the opening scene, Decker (Ed Lauter) orders a killing to keep the Crossbow Project a secret. After that, there's no hint that anyone, not even Hathaway, is in any danger. The character of Sherry (Patty D'Arbanville) gets a big appears in service of a weak gag. She's not after Chris, but Hollyfeld.

In the end, though, Genius passes with charisma and an unashamed pride in its characters. The result is tasty indeed, like chocolate-coated popcorn.

"Do you think it's getting weird around here?"

"Absolutely."

"I didn't notice."

"I like it."

Recommended.

Thoughts:

-- "Are you going to take me home to meet your parents?" "No." "Why? Are you ashamed of me?" "No, them." "Oh."

-- Box Office: Grossing nearly $13 million on an $8 million budget, this opened at No. 7 and came in at No. 66 for 1985.

-- Critic's Corner, Then: "What the film needs ... is a cleverness and eccentricity to match that of its characters," Janet Maslin wrote. "(Coolidge) gives her characters the freedom to be themselves ... (the movie) contains many pleasures, but one of the best is its conviction that the American campus contains life as we know it," according to Roger Ebert. "(It) should be applauded as a higher class of passage movie," Rita Kempley wrote. "But despite its enthusiastic young cast and its many good intentions, it doesn't quite succeed." While he wasn't especially impressed with the story structure, Attanasio liked the overall result. "Fabulously acted and written with zing and zong, it's one of the few enjoyable movies of the summer." 

-- Critic's Corner, Then and Now: Scott Tobias wrote about this twice for The A.V. Club. Amusingly enough, both times include a diss toward Revenge of the Nerds (which I totally forgot Meyrink was in). He also used the adjective "whimsical" twice. Anyway, 2002: "Endures ... for its underlying sweetness and generosity ... when the film's silly prankishness finally joins forces with its peacenik idealism, the payoff is unexpectedly joyous." 2011: "Mostly, though, (the leads are) trying to break out of their intellectual cocoons and bring some balance and fun to their lives. That doesn't mean abandoning nerd life for jock life -- quite the contrary, the film has more respect for applied braininess than any other in the genre -- but figuring out how to let a little spontaneity and chaos into a routine as orderly as a pocket protector."

-- The Foresight Saga: "Val Kilmer ... has the kind of inventiveness and energy that Michael Keaton showed in his first few movies," wrote (wait for it) David Denby.

-- "Don't eat that! ... Don't you know that eating that stuff can give you very large breasts? ... Oh, my God! I'm too late!"

-- Fanservice Junction: Kilmer was handsome back in the day, and Deborah Foreman (as Decker's daughter) has her charms, but I gotta give this one to Lynda Wiesmeier as "Chris' Girl at Party."

-- Hey, It's ...!: JoAnn Willette, Monte Landis (what a pleasant surprise that was, seeing Mario from Pee-wee's Big Adventure in another movie immediately after) and Second City legend Severn Darden.

-- Awards Watch: This went zero for two at the Young Artist Awards, losing Best Family Motion Picture -- Comedy or Musical to The Heavenly Kid and Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor -- Motion Picture (Jarrett) to Explorers (River Phoenix).

-- Memorable Music: The score is 36-27, yet again favoring songs written for movies. I'm giving the point to established song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," which plays over the end credits. Genius actually came out after "World" had completed its run topping the Billboard Hot 100. By August 1985, Tears for Fears' hit song was "Shout." The soundtrack also features two other established songs that I'm not giving points to, "One Night Love Affair" by Bryan Adams and "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" by Don Henley. Both played during the Tanning Invitational, but didn't add anything to the scene. I'm giving demerits to "I'm Falling" by The Comsat Angels, which plays during the montage of Mitch's burnout and "Number One," by Chaz Jankel, which plays during the montage of Mitch's renewal.

-- "Math on tape is hard to follow, so please listen carefully."

-- Next: Summer Rental and Volunteers (Mega-Post). On deck: Year of the Dragon and Teen Wolf. Coming Soon: Better Off Dead and Compromising Positions.