Two best friends, Lewis and Gilbert, arrive at Adams College and are almost immediately kicked out of their dorm, along with a bunch of other “nerds”, to make room for some football players who partied so hard that they burned down their own fraternity house. The nerds join a different frat and from then on it’s just frat versus frat pranks and hijinks. Including such knee-slapping tomfoolery as sexual assault, illegally installing cameras in a female frat house and rape by deception. It’s a feel good adventure for the whole family!
Released in the summer of 1984, I was just a kid and I remember watching this movie a number of times. Mainly because it had a few tits in it, but it was also funny. Revisiting the film now for this review, it’s kind of shocking at just how caveman this movie is. That said, it does have it moments and, I guess, historically it is kind of important. At least as far as 1980’s pop culture goes.
Quick pace, solid cast that seem to be dedicated to their roles (I wish James Cromwell had a bigger role), dated humor, one clearly underage student partying with older students (and taking part in a "panty raid"), a goofy goose-like honk laugh, no teachers, zero strong female characters, zero gore, zero blood, not as much nudity as you would expect, an old woman in a night gown caressing a young boys face, vintage clothing fashions, a hook on a door frame that goes nowhere.
REVENGE OF THE NERDS is definitely dated and could (should) be seen as offensive to modern audiences, but hey, the 80's were all kinds of fucked up. If you're curious about it, then it's worth checking out.
[Update: This has absolutely nothing to do with the review, but while I was going through old newspapers looks for ads I noticed that on the weekend that Nerds debuted these movies were also showing (No wonder I spend so much time at the theater when I was a kid!)…GHOSTBUSTERS, GREMLINS, THE NEVERENDING STORY, THE KARATE KID, THE LAST STARFIGHTER, THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN, INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, CONAN THE DESTROYER, STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK and more. Plus, PURPLE RAIN came out the next week. Fuckin’ sick]
Part 2 - Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987)
Part 3 - Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation (1992)
Part 4 - Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love (1994)
