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Immediately following The Breakfast Club, writer/director John Hughes pulls a 180 with Weird Science, a cartoonish teenage fantasy about two nerdy high-schoolers named Gary and Wyatt (Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith) who use a computer to manifest the woman of their dreams (Kelly LeBrock). At first, their perfect woman is like a genie granting wishes and boosting their social status. But LeBrock’s character, Lisa, has an ulterior motive — to give the boys enough courage and confidence to find real girlfriends.
Weird Science is a defiantly weird and over-the-top movie that moves like lightning and keeps the laughs coming. Hall and Mitchell-Smith have a sweet, goofy chemistry together and LeBrock is as funny and charismatic as she is beautiful. Many of the film’s highlights come when Lisa uses her supernatural powers — whether to summon post-apocalyptic warriors to crash the boys’ house party, or turning Wyatt’s nasty older brother (Bill Paxton in an early role) into a literal pile of talking shit. Hughes styles the film with edgy ’80s wardrobe and a compelling soundtrack of pop tunes, including a lively title song performed by Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo. If you’re willing to run with its wild premise, Weird Science is a consistently fun, tightly edited, colorful, comedic cream puff of a movie.
With Robert Downey Jr and Robert Rusler as school bullies; and Suzanne Snyder and Judie Aronson as Gary and Wyatt’s new girlfriends. Look for the recognizable Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes) and Vernon Wells (The Road Warrior) in that post-apocalyptic party crash scene.