Weird Science probably isn’t on the short list of great John Hughes’ movies due to its audience being somewhat smaller in range than The Breakfast Club or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; the poor, oppressed teenage boys who get beaten up. A demographic that just isn’t well-represented in the cinema then nor now! Despite its offbeat direction and improbable ending, the movie has always resonated with me. I’m not exactly Gary nor Wyatt, more of a hybrid which most people are. I’m also grateful I didn’t grow up with an older sibling like Chet, I had a “cool-obsessed” younger brother. Weird did go on to be his only film to have a successful spinoff TV show if you consider being on USA for 88 episodes a success. Uncle Buck with Kevin Meaney and Ferris Bueller with an unknown Jennifer Aniston were on CBS and NBC respectively for about a season before they were cancelled. They copyright holders produced just seasons one and two on DVD sadly. I was skeptical when it debuted in 1994. The modified the premise a little, found a way to have continuing adventures with Lisa as a genie and I was won over. Seth Green even appeared as a classmate once.
The lessons it taught don’t mean much nowadays since “meek” nerds have become the new global bullies: Zuckerberg, Bezos, Musk and every other clown who has decided government doesn’t work; have joined forces with the traditional bullies. Seems the “Poverty Sucks” poster became a mantra.
No matter. As part of the Acceptance I have to learn in class, Weird remains close to my heart. It’s set in the Midwest. The main characters liked video games, Sci-Fi/Horror and their rooms had posters of bands Hughes liked; another sign of “not cool” in the Mid-Eighties. Gym class was often an excuse for reinforcing the social order, we all know what dodge ball is for. During my Senior year, gym ended up being a bummer because the class was small (nine people) and half the class smoked, so they were always in terrible shape, preventing any friendly games of anything. A few of us painted the logo on the Physics’ class windows for extra credit. I took a nice lady on a date to see this, then went back the following evening with my friends because we couldn’t stop laughing about it.
Today, the movie made its debut in theaters. I can’t remember why I didn’t manage to catch it while I was in Bloomington-Normal beyond being 17 and broke. Weird didn’t arrive in Hazen until October or whenever homecoming was there. It’s anniversary is why I chose to make the logo my header for August…and to demonstrate how I’ve learned how to make GIF animations in Photoshop. It’s amazing what you can do when you dig through the Help in an application!
Is Alamo doing a celebration? Yes. The sucky part is the two screenings are both way down at the Slaughter Lane location. But I’m dedicated and afterwards, I will show off my new shirt memorializing the way we remember Kelly LeBrock.
Mental Floss provided some extra details about the movie too.