Revenge of the Nerds

One of the most bipolar comedies of the 1980s, Revenge of the Nerds duplicitously champions the underdog by celebrating how those who have been unfairly maligned and bullied can achieve status and acceptance by behaving even worse than their adversaries. That message resonated like crazy in 1984 but rightly seems abhorrent to the generations born after drastic cultural changes turned society upside down and flipped power dynamics into the control of those who were once negatively classified as "nerds."

The movie was rolled out with a terrific teaser featuring a voiceover from Orson Welles announcing this as the latest 20th Century Fox release about "fighting back against the odds” in the grand tradition of Star Wars, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The Sound of Music. Revenge of the Nerds previewed like gangbusters during July sneaks and grossed $40M when released in August. It belongs firmly in the streak of raunchy teen comedies inspired by Animal House and Porky's, except, this time out, the slobs vs. snobs formula was spun to pit Nerds and other teen outcasts against the popular jocks, cheerleaders, and beautiful people of the fictional Adams College.

This movie features horrendous examples of all the tropes of the genre that were starting to change by this point—teenagers played by actors well into their twenties and thirties, disreputable behavior presented as hilarious antics, and shamelessly racist and misogynistic jokes and characterizations. Somehow, the film still manages to tap into universal feelings every audience has had at some point in their lives of being an outcast. This is mainly due to the ability of leads Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards to pull off some semblance of sincerity out of a rather ludicrous premise and screenplay. 

The two play childhood best friends who head to college to study computer science and quickly discover that they're what is commonly known as "nerds." When the football fraternity, the Alpha Betas, accidentally burns down its frat house, a whole group of nerds are forced to relocate to temporary quarters, eventually find a house off campus, and pursue legitimacy by joining a fraternity. They attempt to achieve this new high status by engaging in the type of shenanigans typified by on-screen frat culture since Animal House. More than that, these underdogs elevate their status by indulging in many mean-spirited and ugly behaviors that are often far worse than anything the villainous Alphas do. The film suffers horrendously from thematic schizophrenia in that it is ultimately a story about acceptance and inclusion that goes about making its point in a way that frequently runs counter to that theme.

The ensemble consists of Timothy Busfield as computer geek Poindexter, Larry B. Scott as the limpwristed Lamar, Brian Tochi as walking Asian stereotype Takashi, Andrew Cassese as horny child prodigy Wormser, and Curtis Armstrong as the slovenly "Booger." Despite the two-dimensional ways their characters are drawn, the actors do a solid job of making them sympathetic. This is especially true of Scott, whose character's joyful acceptance of himself is something the other outcasts eventually learn from. There are some funny adult performances as well, including a brief turn by James Cromwell as Carradine's dad, John Goodman as the sadistic football coach, and Bernie Casey as the alumni head of the all-Black fraternity the nerds attempt to join. Ted McGinley and Donald Gibb are also quite funny as the evil heads of the Alpha Beta fraternity. When one of them utters a line that was laughably dismissible in '84, "These nerds are a threat to our way of life. Soon, we will be up to our necks in nerd shit!" today, that line lands entirely differently. 1984 really was the turning point for Nerd Culture, when this disrespected and bullied class of people began to morph into the socially dominant force they are today.

The movie was inspired by a Los Angeles magazine article titled "Revenge of the Nerds," which chronicled the rise of computer programmers' social and economic status in Silicon Valley. It was an all to accurate glimpse into the future. Indeed, a remake of this film was attempted in 2007 but was canceled when Fox executives realized that the movie's premise no longer made sense. By all possible measurements, the Nerds now dictate the rules of society. Nerds no longer need revenge; the world we currently live in is their revenge. The fact that we exist in a culture controlled by guys like Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk makes a Revenge of the Nerds reboot ridiculous and unappealing. Similarly, with the onset of Gamer-gate, toxic fan culture, revenge porn, the incel movement, and MAGA, the sweet, funny, endearing aspects of the original film now seem buried under a sea of cruel misogyny and the violent othering expressed by those who use their personal feelings of victimization and oppression to justify actual attacks and oppression of those they feel threatened by.

None of this amounts to a hearty endorsement for reliving this silly little picture about a group of goofballs who triumph over a bunch of meanies. But if you can get past all the objectionable material interspersed within this good-natured story of finding strength in community, camaraderie, and self-acceptance, there is still plenty to enjoy in the original Revenge of the Nerds. It builds to a rousing climax that sends you out of the theater (or the screening room) on an unshakably high note, making it a prime example of how critical a strong ending is to a movie's success. The picture's climax and conclusion are so satisfying it's not surprising the film was as big a hit as it was.