Revenge Of The Nerds
Call it luck, call it what you will, but sometimes on the unlikeliest of projects everything comes together to produce a modern classic that never outlives its popularity. With it’s near seamless ensemble, crackerjack writing and gags (which grow mostly out of the characters and their development), and semi-cool soundtrack of geeky 80s rock, this is the film that for me, barely surpasses Animal House as the greatest comedy about college life ever made. As I said, much of the acting in the emsemble is superb, with the franchise actors creating roles that basically defined their careers, but it’s really Carradine and Curtis Armstrong that shine the most, as Lewis Skolnick and Booger continue to stand tall as two of the funniest turns ever. You have to love Lewis with his (mostly false) confidence towards women (notice the smooth way he embraces and kisses Gilbert’s mother in the opening scene), while Booger is easily the closest rival to Bluto among the great movie slobs of all time (“Hey guys! Wonderjoints!”). What really keeps the movie great is the good writing and acting for the villains, a rarity in these types of films. Donald Gibb of course became an iconic figure in his own right as Ogre, but let’s not forget Ted McGinley as Stan Gable (his mournful look of defeat at the end is almost enough to evoke sympathy), or John Goodman as the bombastic coach (his locker room speech just about steals the film). And of course the ending manages to evoke a touching level of pathos unheard of in the genre (We Are The Champions clinches it). All in all, an untouchable comedic masterpiece that remake-minded Hollywood had better NEVER deface…
10/10