# Real Genius (1985) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [June 29, 2023, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270 "2023-06-29T03:28:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/1 "2023-06-29T03:28:06Z")
I recorded _Real Genius_, and am watching it now. I loved it when it came out. Michelle Meyrink was _so freakin’ cute!_ Even at the time, I don’t know if I could have been in a relationship with her character, since she was so… scattered. But ‘Jordan’ was pretty and smart. I also liked her in _Nice Girls Don’t Explode_. Val Kilmer? _What a kid!_ He was so cool back in the '80s. I did see him in _Top Gun: Maverick_ (2022), but the last thing before that that I remember seeing him in before that was _Tombstone_ (1993). I’m really bummed about his throat cancer. Back in the '80s, I could only wish I was as cool as his characters. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/2 "2023-06-29T03:36:27Z")
I love this movie to this day. Though it lied to me about how fun the honors dorms would be. A lot. “But ‘Jordan’ was pretty and smart” Yeah, I didn’t catch it as a kid, but I think she’s a meth head. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/3 "2023-06-29T03:44:44Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > but I think she’s a meth head. Nonsense! ADHD, but not a user. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/4 "2023-06-29T03:47:52Z")
Disagree. She was _very_ focused. And never slept. And not adverse to using very loud equipment in the middle of the night. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/5 "2023-06-29T03:49:20Z")
_ **Mitch:** You know, um, something strange happened to me this morning…_ _ **Chris Knight:** Was it a dream where you see yourself standing in sort of sun-god robes on a pyramid with a thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at you?_ _ **Mitch:** No…_ _ **Chris Knight:** Why am I the only one who has that dream?_ ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/6 "2023-06-29T04:02:14Z")
This movie gave me a vastly distorted image of what college was going to be like. Not once in four years of undergrad did ski down the dorm stairs or blow up a house with popcorn. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/7 "2023-06-29T04:32:48Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > This movie gave me a vastly distorted image of what college was going to be like. Not once in four years of undergrad did ski down the dorm stairs or blow up a house with popcorn But the part about the government developing a high tech system for remote assassinations turned out to be startlingly prescient. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/8 "2023-06-29T04:41:53Z")
An absolute favorite of mine. Mitch: This is coherent light. Mitch’s dad: Oh, so it talks? I wasn’t a child genius, but I have a degree of sympathy for Mitch’s relationship with his parents… ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/9 "2023-06-29T04:47:47Z")
Loved that movie. And Lazlo was in Beverly Hills Cop. “Kent, you know you’re not supposed to park on campus” “‘Rue the day’? Who talks like that?” Hell, the titles with “You took advantage of me” music over graphics from Vitruvian Man through all the ages of science was delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/10 "2023-06-29T05:55:58Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > This movie gave me a vastly distorted image of what college was going to be like. Not once in four years of undergrad did ski down the dorm stairs or blow up a house with popcorn. I know this was set in CalTech, but it reminded me quite a bit of my stay at MIT. Freezing the dorm for the party was much like the hack that took place in the bathroom near my room, the year before I got there. It was cold. One Sunday some people let some snow in, and decided to call a local TV station saying that they were at MIT and had created snow. The TV people called a professor, who groggily told them it was possible, so they ran the story. So you went to the wrong college. 😛 My favorite line was when Jordan asked Mitch why he didn’t take her to meet his parents. “Are you ashamed of me\>” “No, of them.” I should watch it again, but I might have to turn on my VCR to do it. ETA: Another thing I liked was that to hack the board they had to go and get physical access to the system. No impossible logging into a weapon to do it. Very few movies of this type get it right. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/11 "2023-06-29T06:49:37Z")
I remember the scene where Chris is lounging in a chair suspended in midair by balloons, which they used for the promos but didn’t, for whatever reason, decide to actually include in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/12 "2023-06-29T07:20:57Z")
It’s still one of my all-time favorite movies. The characters are great, and the dialogue is solidly funny throughout. I manage to catch it on late-night cable TV a couple of times a year, and a few months ago, I finally got it on DVD, so I can watch it more often. I, too, have a long-standing crush on Jordan: she’s pretty tightly-wound, but she’s adorable. “So, if there’s anything I can do for you - or, more to the point, _to_ you - just let me know.” “Can you hammer a six-inch spike through a board with your penis?” “Not right now.” “A girl’s gotta have her standards.” ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/13 "2023-06-29T09:05:27Z")
I heard that “Jordan” was “inspired” by a real student, and apparently _Slate_ thinks so, too: > **[It’s the 30th Anniversary of One of the Best Nerd Movies Ever Made](https://slate.com/technology/2015/08/real-genius-30th-anniversary-how-i-helped-inspire-the-lead-female-character.html)** > > In 1984 two male classmates and I were invited to dinner in Pasadena, California, to talk with the producers and director of a movie that was going to... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/14 "2023-06-29T12:30:03Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I know this was set in CalTech, but it reminded me quite a bit of my stay at MIT. Freezing the dorm for the party was much like the hack that took place in the bathroom near my room, the year before I got there. It was cold. One Sunday some people let some snow in, and decided to call a local TV station saying that they were at MIT and had created snow. The TV people called a professor, who groggily told them it was possible, so they ran the story. > So you went to the wrong college. 😛 I’ll agree. I saw the movie in my second grad school, after spending my undergrad years at MIT, and it had a nostalgic feel about it. Nobody pulled a hack about filling part of a dorm with snow, but there WERE plenty of almost unbelievable hacks. And when Val Kilmer’s ,character slices off a disc of frozen stuff to use as a coin in the vending machine, my immediate thought was “that wouldn’t work – the density’s all wrong.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/15 "2023-06-29T12:36:22Z")
Yeah, it’s exaggerated for comic effect, of course, but it’s exaggerated in the right direction. Very few movies (TV shows, etc.) get nerds right. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/16 "2023-06-29T12:41:05Z")
I feel sorry for the Great Dane that wants to be friendly with Atherton and gets shooed away every time. Except at the end. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/17 "2023-06-29T12:47:05Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > And when Val Kilmer’s ,character slices off a disc of frozen stuff to use as a coin in the vending machine, my immediate thought was “that wouldn’t work – the density’s all wrong.” Density? I thought conductivity was the issue, which is why your slugs should be sliced from frozen salt water. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/18 "2023-06-29T12:58:24Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > I heard that “Jordan” was “inspired” by a real student, and apparently _Slate_ thinks so, too: Jordan, in turn, was the inspiration for the personality of Disney’s [Gadget Hackwrench.](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Gadget_Hackwrench) Source: [Real Genius 30th Anniversary: 9 Things You Didn't Know](https://people.com/movies/real-genius-30th-anniversary-9-things-you-didnt-know/) (#7). ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/19 "2023-06-29T13:01:13Z")
It has definitely aged better than Revenge of the Nerds. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/20 "2023-06-29T13:03:22Z")
It aged better than _Weird Science_ too. (Not that _Weird Science_ aged poorly.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270.md?page=2)