When he gets mad, he doesn't get even… he gets creative.
When teenage geniuses Mitch Taylor and Chris Knight, working on an advanced laser project, learn that the military wants to use it as a weapon, they decide to thwart the plan.
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Character
Classical in form, resolved, comic and warm.
- classical in formformally daring
- resolvedopen-ended
- gravecomic
- warmbleak
- effortlessdemanding
Who loves it, who doesn't
20 profiled raters. Loved most by The Sinceres; disliked most by The Formalists.
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“Is Val Kilmer the best thing in Real Genius?”
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“Is it funnier than it is smart?”
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“Would Real Genius hit harder if it came out today rather than in 1985?”
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A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- Wuchakon TMDB · Apr 20186/10
The Big Bang guys when they were in college (not really, but sort of) RELEASED IN 1985 and directed by Martha Coolidge, "Real Genius" is a college dramedy about a 15 year-old genius in laser technology (Gabe Jarret) who’s recruited by physics Professor Jerry Hathaway (William Atherton), who has ulterior motives for having the kid work in his personal lab. The newbie’s roommate turns out to be the most brilliant freshman in history, who’s now a senior and seemingly clouded by college-age mischief (Val Kilmer). Michelle Meyrink plays a kinetic student interested in Mitch (Jarret) while Jonathan Gries appears as a curious wraith-like individual. Robert Prescott is on hand as a brown-nosing foil. To give you an idea of the filmmaking style, the director also made 1983’s “Valley Girl.” “Real Genius” is generally on par with that more popular movie, but different due to the setting being college rather than high school, not to mention that it involves genius types. I found the witty nonchalance of Kilmer’s character to be trying after a while and there’s a pervading sense of un-reality about the proceedings with the peripheral characters unconvincingly over-the-top, like during the pool
Read the whole review on TMDB - Filipe Manuel Netoon TMDB · Mar 2024
**After all, it is possible to make a film for teenagers without barracks humor or sexual obsessions.** During the 80s, there was an explosion of films aimed at young audiences, and this is, perhaps, one of the most interesting, although it is as forgettable as almost all of them. Of course, it fits into the young thinking of the time: rebellion, revolt against institutions and parents, incapable of understanding their children, but it combines humor, youthful boldness and a certain education that does not give space to slang or obscene situations. After all, it is possible to make a funny youth film without barracks or sorority jokes, and without a permanent obsession about sex. The story is set in a university (or pre-university) institute, where young people with great mental capacity and ingenuity are recruited for advanced scientific projects. It turns out that one of them is, actually, a secret super weapon that the US Army plans to have, something that not even these teens know about. In the midst of that, the usual conflicts and friendly interactions between them, the rebellion of one of them towards the institution itself and its rules, clandestine parties and other jokes
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Cast
- Val KilmerChris Knight
- Gabriel JarretMitch Taylor
- Michelle MeyrinkJordan
- William AthertonProfessor Hathaway
- Robert PrescottKent
- Louis GiambalvoMajor Carnagle
- Jon GriesLazlo Hollyfeld
- Ed LauterCIA Man Decker
- Stacy PeraltaShuttle Pilot
- Daniel AdesLaser Ray Victim
Crew
- Martha CoolidgeDirector
- Neal IsraelScreenplay
- Pat ProftScreenplay
- PJ TorokveiScreenplay
- Vilmos ZsigmondDirector of Photography
- Thomas NewmanOriginal Music Composer
- Richard ChewEditor
- Brian GrazerProducer
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