Cheap Real Genius (DVD) (Val Kilmer) (Martha Coolidge) Price

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Customer Reviews of Real Genius

Genius of a comedy
I must say that this is probably my favorite movie ever. I am bias though to Val Kilmer. He was incredibly charming and funny in this, his second film. I rented it a few weeks ago, and I watched it four times in three days. I recommend this movie to any Val Kilmer fan or anyone interested in a good chuckle, lasting about 90 minutes. "Was it a dream where you see yourself standing in sort of sun god robes on a pyrimid with a thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at you?" "No." "Why am I the only person who has that dream?" - Chris Knight (Kilmer)

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Despite all the makeup
Great acting, excellent cinematography, punchy script (Pat Proft, Neal Israel, et al.). Wonderful cameo by Severn Darden. Great acting by a young cast, many of whom were only seen in movies 2-3 years before and after REAL GENIUS. Those who remained in the spotlight: Val Kilmer (of course), Jon Gries, William Atherton.

I wish they would release this with deleted scenes, montage scenes with instrumental music restored with original dialog, full aspect ratio, separate soundtrack and incidental music, on DVD. The incidental music and every pop song used in the soundtrack was perfect.

Aside from the excessive use of makeup, the occasional grammatical slip by an actor, and other minor gaffes this is a near perfect movie. There is a quality to this movie that certainly says, "80s"--the movie-in-a-movie at the beginning which used models in space, to the soundtrack, clothing, cars, thematics, etc.--but it is still enduring.

I wish Martha Coolidge would oversee the transfer of a print to DVD. She is a great director and this stellar example of her work should not go out of print!

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Lasing a stick of dynamite!
This is one of those movies that stays fun no matter how many times you see it year after year. Val Kilmer had made a couple of movies before this one, but this was his breakout role as the genius Chris Knight - a senior in college working on a project for his professor that he is largely indifferent to completing. Along comes the underage freshman, Mitch Taylor (wonderfully played by Gabriel Jarrett), who has been recruited to help finish the project.

The movie is really about Mitch finding his way in a high-pressure college situation. He endures Kent, the jerk that tortures him and who works in the same lab. Kent is not untalented, but not a genius like Chris or Mitch and resents the favoritism genius claims. Kent tries to get attention by sucking up to Prof. Hathaway (brilliantly played in all his corruption by William Atherton), but never gets what he is seeking.

As just one minor example of the riches in this movie is the scene when Mitch is going to a packed math class. Soon people start bringing small tape recorders to class and not attending. Mitch is one of the few actually listening to the prof. Finally, Mitch is the only one in the class, even the prof becomes a reel-to-reel tape player with a sign attached that says encourages the students to listen carefully. While changes in technology would make that scene impossible today, it is still wonderfully effective.

Mitch also meets Jordan, a girl who is so hyperactive she doesn't sleep, finds time to invent things as well as resurface the floor in her dorm room. Jordan is magnificently played by Michelle Myrink and is one of those characters you wish you knew in real life as a friend. Although, frankly, Jordan would be exhausting to know. But her intelligence, innocence and kindness would more than compensate for the energy you would have to expend keeping up with her.

The movie is populated with wonderful characters of all sorts. The plot is hung on a very 80s theme, but that's OK, the final scene draws it all together in spectacular and funny way.

A classic.