There are a lot of riffs on Frankenstein, but none more extra than the 1985 cult classic, Weird Science. A wish-fulfillment film filled to the brim with hormones, Weird Science might, at first glance, seem like one of those ‘80s movies that haven’t aged well, or worse, is straight-up offensive by today’s standards. When two teenage boys try to create the perfect woman on their computer, what could go wrong?
While there is a certain datedness to the film, Weird Science remains a very funny cautionary tale and a sweet antidote for what we now call toxic masculinity. It’s also, in small ways, predictive of where geek culture would go in the decades after it was released. Here’s why Weird Science isn’t all that weird, and why the film’s basic kindness makes it a sci-fi classic for the ages.
You’ve probably seen the trailers, and you’ve certainly heard that famous song, composed by none other than Danny Elfman, while he was with the band Oingo Boingo. The premise is simple: Two dorks in high school, Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith ) and Gary (Anthony Michael Hall), decide, instead of trying to date actual women, they’ll create a super model out of computers, lightning, and luck. In the 21st-century landscape of blow-up dolls and AI girlfriends, it's tempting to say that Weird Science was head of its time in a creepy way. But the thing is, Wyatt and Gary aren’t jerky incels, nor are they insane perverts. Instead, they’re basically just repressed teenagers who wouldn’t know what to do with an experienced woman if given the chance.
The brilliance of Weird Science is that once the dream woman Lisa (Kelly LeBrock) is brought to life, Gary and Wyatt are utterly helpless. Their biggest fantasy — taking a shower with her — actually happens, but with both still wearing undershorts. The sexed-up vibe of Weird Science may have been titillating for actual teenagers in the 1980s, but the content of the film is fairly vanilla by today’s standards. (Again, at the start of the film, we’re told their biggest fantasy is showering with a girl and then going out for a night on the town!)
Instead of being regressive or gross, the narrative of the film is quite wholesome. Lisa isn’t a slave to Gary and Wyatt, and isn’t even an all-powerful AI. She’s more like a magical genie, conceived by the midichlorians to make everyone in the world lighten up. (See what I did there?) Memorably, at one point, Lisa pulls a fully loaded pistol on Gary’s parents, berating them for taking their basically good son for granted. “You ever compliment him on anything?” Later, we learn the pistol was a toy, and Lisa has erased the memories of Gary’s parents of the moment. In short, she does him a favor and keeps him safe. Lisa doesn’t become an object of desire for Gary and Wyatt; she’s the champion of down-and-out outsiders who feel underappreciated.
To call the premise implausible and pandering would be missing the point. Instead of having Lisa beat up or maim Gary and Wyatt’s school bullies, she humiliates them. Instead of sleeping with the guys, she builds up their confidence. The story of Weird Science isn’t about a retreat from reality because of an obsession with pornographic fantasies, but instead about figuring out how to live in the real world and have real relationships, thanks to the help of a fairy godmother who happens to look like a supermodel.
But, let’s talk about those bullies for a second. Ian and Max give Gary and Wyatt a hard time throughout the movie, and are played by Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Rusler, respectively. Because this movie is directed by John Hughes and has both Hall and Downey Jr. in it, technically this is part of the “Brat Pack” canon.
And, sci-fi fans will probably find it equally amusing that Iron Man is playing second fiddle to Rusler, who would later star as fighter pilot Keffer in Babylon 5. Rounding out the ‘80s/’90s sci-fi connections are supporting roles from Bill Paxton as Chet, Wyatt’s jerky older brother, and, hilariously, Vernon Wells as “Lord General,” a character that is essentially the same as Wells’ character Wez from Mad Max 2. Did I mention that the last act of the movie devolves into a kind of reality breakdown in which mutant bikers invade? Yeah, that happens, too.
For certain science fiction fans, Weird Science is full of too many tropes to fully embrace. Those complaints would be fair. But, it’s also fair to remember that Weird Science existed in a time before memes, before sci-fi tropes had Wikipedia entries, and before fanboys could produce, or want, something like Ready Player One. This movie wasn’t prescient about AI or about pornography addiction. It was about two idiots coming of age and figuring out how to live with their own foibles and inadequacies. For all its faults, Weird Science remains an analog film, a relic of silly, and ironically, more civilized age.
