# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/121 "2023-07-06T19:42:36Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > _Real Genius, Ghostbusters, Die Hard_ – the man just had a genius for playing self-important, antagonistic jerks. I respect him tremendously. I do too. And it’s funny but from all the stories about people who play jerks in films, he was probably the nicest guy in real life. That is usually how that works out. (Though that’s not a universal thing, the guy who played the obsessed [Principal Rooney](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Jones) from _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_ was [arrested and incarcerated](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-11433469) for child pornography and soliciting a minor, and is now a [registered sex offender](https://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/sops/flyer.jsf?personId=38561). Creepy!) ---
**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:** [July 6, 2023, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/122 "2023-07-06T19:54:44Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > (Though that’s not a universal thing, the guy who played the obsessed [Principal Rooney](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Jones) from _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_ was [arrested and incarcerated](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-11433469) for child pornography and soliciting a minor, and is now a [registered sex offender](https://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/sops/flyer.jsf?personId=38561). Creepy!) I did note that about him (Jeffrey Jones) two posts before yours. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/123 "2023-07-06T19:59:27Z")
Yeah, I missed that. I was making a greater point about bad guys usually being good guys IRL, and if I was paying attention I could have avoided the unnecessary tangent. It doesn’t help that I started to compose my reply then got called away (I am working from home today), I didn’t realize others had posted in the meantime. Meh! ---
**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:** [July 6, 2023, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/124 "2023-07-06T22:11:20Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > One of the really common things these kids almost certainly did was hack free long distance phone calls. That’s was going on all over the place in the 80s. But I can see something that realistic and not difficult as something the filmmakers probably avoided filming. I’m not sure how long in the 80s it lasted. Phone phreaking was made possible by the control signals going on the same route as the voice signals. When they were separated, it became more difficult to hack, and most of the theft of services by the '80s was stolen phone credit card numbers, not much fun to show. The Bell Labs Technical Journal issue which listed the control frequencies was the most checked out magazine in the MIT Engineering Library, and when I had a logic lab I was visited by some people with a blue box (which had buttons to generate the right frequencies) who used my scope to calibrate it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/125 "2023-07-06T22:13:51Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I’m not sure how long in the 80s it lasted. The movie _Hackers_ featured explicit instructions for pulling off this phone hack, but the film came out in '95, which I suspect was well past the point where you could easily find any pay phones where this trick still worked. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/126 "2023-07-07T04:47:52Z")
Different methods lasted into this century. Not the single tone phreak, though. I think that didn’t even last into the 80s. But there were a variety of other techniques that were employed. I mentioned Jobs and Woz above. They used a different method than the Cap’n Crunch whistle. Some kids at my high school (public but residential) became the subject of a federal investigation in the mid 90s due to phone shenanigans. Got hushed up but it led to the school having to agree to some draconian measures on their phone lines for a few years. So, not exactly an unrealistic scenario. From what some of those kids told me, the blue boxes would work on some exchanges and not others, depending on when they had been upgraded. Many hadn’t even well into the 90s. Considering they basically gave up on running phone lines to every community once cell coverage got widespread, it’s easy to believe it would take decades to upgrade everything. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/127 "2023-07-12T04:30:36Z")
It had been a few decades since I watched it, so I decided it would be my in flight entertainment today. _Real Genius_ has held up pretty well. It doesn’t pass the Bechtel test, but the women characters are confident, and seem to have agency. They are often treated as sex objects, but not nearly as heinously as most of the movie’s contemporaries. What’s with the French cars though? Kent’s DS? It’s a weird car, but too weird, and even too _cool_ weird for Kent. And Hawthorn’s Peugeot? I guess it’s sort of like he’s trying too hard to be sophisticated? The Japanese (judging by the name, in my probably racist estimation) Ikagami having a German bike was a nice twist, though. A UJM would have been period and country of origin correct, but also a bit of lazy car casting. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/128 "2023-07-12T04:52:41Z")
Okay, that settles it–I know what the next movie day with my grandkid is gonna be. He loved all the Monty Python movies and thoroughly enjoyed Bill and Ted. National Lampoon’s Vacation is on the list as well but think I’ll bump it lol. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/129 "2023-07-12T10:38:41Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > What’s with the French cars though? Kent’s DS? It’s a weird car, but too weird, and even too _cool_ weird for Kent. Martha Coolidge on the director’s commentary kind of says they wanted his car to stand out. If he just drove a beige shitbox Dodge it wouldn’t have been as memorable. Plus, it had that hydro-pneumatic suspension that made the prank work. ---
**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:** [July 12, 2023, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/130 "2023-07-12T11:50:47Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Okay, that settles it–I know what the next movie day with my grandkid is gonna be. He loved all the Monty Python movies and thoroughly enjoyed Bill and Ted. National Lampoon’s Vacation is on the list as well but think I’ll bump it lol. Neither my wife nor I cared for _National Lampoon’s Vacation_. Our daughter and her boyfriend watched it last week as part of an 80’s movie bucket list, along with _The Terminator_. They didn’t care for Vacation, either. (though they liked Terminator). ---
**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:** [July 12, 2023, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/131 "2023-07-12T13:57:54Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > It doesn’t pass the Bechtel test Nitpick: **Bechdel Test**. (Or Bechdel-Wallace Test). ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/132 "2023-07-12T17:42:47Z")
We’ll see how it goes–I have a soft spot for _Vacation,_ having first read the story in the National Lampoon magazine and it was possibly one of the funniest things I’ve ever read, along with _The Utterly Mind Roasting Summer of OC and Stiggs_ which ended up as a Robert Altman movie that I think nobody liked but me. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/133 "2023-07-12T17:50:24Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > _Real Genius_ has held up pretty well. It doesn’t pass the Bechtel test, but the women characters are confident, and seem to have agency. They are often treated as sex objects, but not nearly as heinously as most of the movie’s contemporaries. The director, Martha Coolidge, may be responsible for the better treatment of the women characters in this film. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/134 "2023-07-12T18:03:50Z")
That part was also somewhat true to life. University enrollments in general were slanted towards men in the 80s and STEM courses and majors especially at the big engineering/tech schools were even worse. If anything, the treatment of women in the movie is probably better than their real-life counterparts experienced at the time. It’s gotten better but we’re still working on it. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/135 "2023-07-12T18:45:11Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > it had that hydro-pneumatic suspension that made the prank work Yes, I wonder how many people watching realized that the bouncing was a standard feature of the car. A bit of artistic license taken though, because it isn’t quite that fast to raise and lower. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Bechdel Test Yes, thank you. Auto correct wanted the bechamel test, which raises the question, is there a Bechdel sauce? > [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > University enrollments in general were slanted towards men in the 80s and STEM courses and majors especially at the big engineering/tech schools were even worse. > > If anything, the treatment of women in the movie is probably better than their real-life counterparts experienced at the time. It’s gotten better but we’re still working on it. Indeed. Real life would have been the guys questioning Jordan’s right to be there, and making her feel unwelcome until she left (and then wondering why they have so much trouble meeting girls). Quite a few of them would have been doubly upset, because she was more competent and capable than them. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/136 "2023-07-12T18:49:17Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Yes, I wonder how many people watching realized that the bouncing was a standard feature of the car. I totally had no idea. I assumed it was something Chris and Mitch had done to the car when they rebuilt it. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/137 "2023-07-12T21:58:29Z")
Me too! Ignorance fought ---
**Author:** ![Win\_Place\_Show](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/win_place_show/32/13469_2.png) [@Win\_Place\_Show](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Win_Place_Show)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/138 "2023-07-13T01:52:44Z")
For some reason I had it in my head that Michelle Meyrink had a bigger career than she actually did (maybe it was my repeated viewings of Real Genius, Revenge of the Nerds, and the episode of Family Ties where she ends up in a “love triangle” with Alex and Skippy). Interesting to find out that she started her own acting school, where she serves on the Board. > **[Meet Us - Actorium](https://actorium.ca/meet-us/#instructorsandstaff)** > > Our mission is to promote inclusivity and artistry in the training of acting. Whether this is your profession or your hobby, you are welcome. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/139 "2023-07-13T02:41:01Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The director, Martha Coolidge, may be responsible for the better treatment of the women characters in this film. > [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > University enrollments in general were slanted towards men in the 80s and STEM courses and majors especially at the big engineering/tech schools were even worse. Again from the director’s commentary track, Coolidge mentions she tried to accurately reflect in the film the fact that there were few female students at places like Caltech, but also that there were lots of foreign students. She also sort of obliquely mentions that she added more African American students than there would have been in reality, and in particular she added Carter, the third member of the research team with Kent and Bodie. ---
**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:** [July 14, 2023, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270/140 "2023-07-14T23:30:01Z")
Is Val Kilmer’s T-shirt ‘from’ anything? Or was it made for the film? [![](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-bamcrxgk9l/images/stencil/2048x2048/products/1374/2091/mockup-b526eeaa__36841.1537814445.png) ](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-bamcrxgk9l/images/stencil/2048x2048/products/1374/2091/mockup-b526eeaa__36841.1537814445.png) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-genius-1985/986270.md?page=8)