Continuing my revisit of 80s films (mostly ‘85 so far), with Weird Science… which I’ve not seen before. Gary (Anthony Micheal Hall) and Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) are geeks, before geeks were cool. They’re in high school… I think everyone was in the 80s and they’re desperate to talk to girls, mostly just desperate. After watching Frankenstein, they decide they’re going to make their own… not a monster… a girl. With the use of a crap PC. Inputing their requirements by feeding magazines into a scanner whilst red mist and lightening forms above the house, they create Lisa (Kelly LeBrock). Who turns up in her knickers and a cropped jumper. “So, what would you little maniacs like to do first?”. Shower apparently, because this is really just a comic vehicle for teenage fantasies. Nothing makes sense. Nothing needs to. Lisa can conjure anything she wants and sets about helping Gary and Wyatt learn to socialise… which they are very bad at. It’s all very awkward. Fair play to Hall especially, he really goes for it. It’s ridiculous, but everything is. Including Wyatt’s big brother Chet’s (Bill Paxton) haircut. Okay, everyone’s haircut. I’m looking at you Robert Downey Jr. To boost their popularity Lisa throws a party. Again a staple of any 80s film. In Wyatt’s house, with people dancing badly to bad music and of course trashing the house. Along with help of some Mad Max style bikers, a ballistic missile and a blonde girl getting striped nearly naked. Typical Hughes. It’s weird, but hey it’s in the title. Hughes was making this alongside The Breakfast Club. Do this and we’ll fund the next one kind of deal. So this has that in its favour… and Hall probably did quite well too. There’s not much else to say. Gary and Wyatt don’t exactly learn anything, but everything works out well. Aside for Chet who justifiably gets turned into a slimy blob. It’s heavy on the weird, light on the science, but it’s not that bad and I’m sure I’d have loved it if I’d seen it as a kid.
6/10
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