Comedies from the 1980's, written by no less than four people and about something as peculiarly American and of-the-time as 'nerdism' and college insanity rarely fair well when you look back on them through mature eyes. Revenge of the Nerds, a title which does little to inspire confidence, would handily fall into that category populated by such failures as Porkies, Animal House (regardless of what anyone else says) and such like, if it wasn't for the strange but fascinating list of actors who populate it. Whereas most other teen comedies tend to feature unknowns who stay precisely that, Revenge of the Nerds boasts not one, not two, not even three, but six top quality actors who have gone on to either make a starring name for themselves, such as John Goodman, Anthony Edwards and James Cromwell (incidentally my favourite actor), or become serious heavies in the world of supporting turns, as Ted McGinley, Robert Carradine and Timothy Busfield have.
Anyway, the film deals with two utter losers, Gilbert (Edwards) and Louis (Carradine), who upon enrolling in Adams College (doing computing no less) have their shiny inner personas ripped asunder when it is revealed in no uncertain terms to them that they are bona fide, grade-A, full on nerds. Thrown out of their first-year dorm by the rampaging Alpha Beta fraternity they kip in the gym, get turned down by every other fraternity on block and are humiliated by the inner clique time and time again. Banding together with some other fantastically realised nerds, the gay black dancer, the 8 year old whizkid, the Japanese exchange student, they rent a run down house and in no time have renovated it to a high standard. It's amazing what some paint and a duster can do. Now it's payback time, as the title unsurprisingly suggests.
Some of the set-piece jokes are funny, and the nerds themselves are so blatently obvious you can't help but laugh, albeit nervously for a near-nerd such as myself. We have all the typical jock stunts and beer guzzling, and the eye-for-an-eye vengeance expertly wrecked upon the aggressors. A healthy dose of nudity also helps matters somewhat, though whether or not women actually walk around in frilly bathrobes and undress in front of open, lit windows is debatable. It's probably worth a study too, if anyone wants to give me �100,000 and a big hedge to hide in. Oh, the film's alright by the way. |
