One of my favorite movies of the past quarter century is the brainy comedy Real Genius (1985).  It’s mix of comic genius ranges from silly to sublime and it contains enough clever, hilarious dialogue to cover several routine coming-of-age teen flicks.  It’s manic, relentlessly cheerful in the face of utter chaos and also boasts a killer song soundtrack, which, to my chagrin, has never been made available on CD.

Gabe Jarret is terrific as the shy young teen recruited to a prestigious tech university (modeled on the California Institute of Technology; many of the movie’s gags were actually put into practice at Caltech) and groomed to push burned-out Val Kilmer to fulfill his high potential.  William Atherton is flat-out great as the calculating, ambitious professor trying to coax the best out of Kilmer and his other charges; his character’s future is tied directly to their results — though they don’t know it.

I’ve always liked comedies that are smart — and this one is smart in spades.  Sure, it’s childish, yet its humor is based on character, and the characters in this movie are brilliant.  These students are just like everyone else, only nerdier.  They like to play with liquid nitrogen, antigravity devices and laser beams.  Director Martha Coolidge hits exactly the right tone of mania mixed with mischief.

Considering that this was made in the mid-eighties, it also carries a healthy anti-authoritarian stance, manifested in the final act.  And while the movie loses some steam due to the plot technicalities, it ends with a bang and features one of the best slow-motion conclusions ever:  kids playing in mounds of popcorn, accompanied by the song “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”  I love the ending, and I love this movie.  My rating:  ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2.  (10:2).