1985
PG
TriStar Pictures
1 h 48 m

1985
PG
TriStar Pictures
1 h 48 m

Summary Lazlo Olliefeld in steam tunnels. No purchase necessary, enter as often as you want. Teen geniuses deal with their abilities while developing a high-powered laser for a university project. When their professor intends to make unsavory use of their creation, they get even more creative.

Directed By: Martha Coolidge

Written By: Neal Israel, Pat Proft, PJ Torokvei

1985
PG
TriStar Pictures
1 h 48 m

1985
PG
TriStar Pictures
1 h 48 m

Real Genius

Name: Real Genius
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Released: 1985-08-07
Duration: 1 min 48 s
Rating: 71
Cast: Val Kilmer, Stacy Peralta, Daniel Ades, Andres Aybar, Louis Giambalvo

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 15 Critic Reviews

User Score Generally Favorable Based on 10 User Ratings

7.2

My Score

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Where to Watch

Directed By: Martha Coolidge

Written By: Neal Israel, Pat Proft, PJ Torokvei

Where to Watch

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Generally Favorable Based on 15 Critic Reviews

53% Positive
8 Reviews

47% Mixed
7 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Generally Favorable Based on 15 Critic Reviews

53% Positive
8 Reviews

47% Mixed
7 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

100

The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Real Genius is great, the freshest, most insouciant Hollywood inspiration since Risky Business. Director Martha Coolidge was handed a fleet cast and a well- oiled screenplay and she plumb took off. The darn thing works so well it fairly sings. [12 Aug 1985]

FULL REVIEW

Los Angeles Times

It's a brisk, smart satirical comedy from the writers of "Police Academy" and the director of "Valley Girl," set in a Caltech-like institution for the whiz kids of the sciences. How refreshing it is to see young people depicted as having a capacity for thought as well as emotion.

By Kevin Thomas FULL REVIEW

Chicago Sun-Times

Real Genius contains many pleasures, but one of the best is its conviction that the American campus contains life as we know it.

By Roger Ebert FULL REVIEW

Variety

What lifts the production above the run-of-the-mill is swift direction by Martha Coolidge, who has a firm grasp over the manic material.

FULL REVIEW

Chicago Reader

The humor is relentlessly cruel, smug, and disconnected from any sense of how human beings might behave in similar situations. But though she's hardly able to dominate the project, director Martha Coolidge does manage to insert some of the sweetly eccentric characterization that distinguished her Valley Girl: one of the heroes, played by Gabe Jarret, is actually believable and sympathetic as a socially insecure adolescent, and a few of the minor figures are brought to life with deft, simple strokes. Though ultimately obnoxious, the film lingers in the mind for a few moments of genuine charm.

By Dave Kehr FULL REVIEW

Washington Post

Many of the scenes, already badly written, fail to fulfill their screwball potential. Real Genius should be applauded as a higher class of passage movie. But despite its enthusiastic young cast and its many good intentions, it doesn't quite succeed. I guess there's a leak in the think tank. [9 Aug 1985, p.19]

By Rita Kempley FULL REVIEW

TV Guide Magazine

While the characters are fairly offbeat and interesting, the film is weighed down by some tediously handled camp intrigue, political skullduggery, and $2 million worth of special effects.

FULL REVIEW

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User Score

Generally Favorable Based on 10 User Ratings

7.2

50% Positive
5 Ratings

50% Mixed
5 Ratings

0% Negative
0 Ratings

User Reviews

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User Score

Generally Favorable Based on 10 User Ratings

7.2

50% Positive
5 Ratings

50% Mixed
5 Ratings

0% Negative
0 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company Delphi III Productions

Release Date Aug 7, 1985

Duration 1 h 48 m

Rating PG

Genres

Tagline Who ELSE can turn lasers into light shows, aircraft into armchairs, and high-tech into hijinks?

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Awards

Paris Film Festival

• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations

Young Artist Awards

• 2 Nominations

Real Genius

Where to Watch

Where to Watch

Top Cast

Val Kilmer

Chris Knight

Stacy Peralta

Shuttle Pilot

Daniel Ades

Laser Ray Victim

Andres Aybar

Bartender

Louis Giambalvo

Major Carnagle

Ed Lauter

David Decker

Charles Shull

Air Force General

Beau Billingslea

George

Charles Parks

Larry

William Atherton

Professor Jerry Hathaway

Sean Frye

Boy at Science Fair

JoAnn Willette

Girl at Science Fair

Ina Gould

Old Lady

Nadine Vix

Student at Science Fair

Gabriel Jarret

Mitch Taylor

Paul Tulley

Mr. Taylor

Joanne Baron

Mrs. Taylor

Harry Johnson

Darlington Recruiter

Patti D'Arbanville

Sherry Nugil

Monte Landis

Dr. Dodd

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

Details

Details

Awards

Awards

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