Revenge Of The Nerds (1984)

A 1980s comedy viewed as a bit of a classic from the decade, for what it aims to do, Revenge Of The Nerds holds up quite well nowadays if you can overlook some of the more problematic elements. Be warned, however, that at least one of the problematic elements is quite difficult to just shrug off, but I still think it is worth trying to compartmentalise the issues away from the essence of the plot and comedy.

Gilbert (Anthony Edwards) and Lewis (Robert Carradine) are the main nerds here, off to Adam’s College to continue their studies. Once there, it’s not long until awful alpha male types see them as another target. Because it is tradition to mock and abuse the nerds. Losing their main residence, which is given over to “the jocks”, and being pushed to, and beyond, breaking point, the nerds come up with a plan to try fighting back. They will compete against the jocks in a variety of disciplines, and hope that their smarts outweigh the muscles.

Written by Steve Zacharias and Jeff Buhai, this is chock full of stereotypes and situations that we’ve now seen in hundreds of other movies. But this was one of the earliest to do it all in a film focusing on “the losers”, and that is worth remembering. The characters are generally a fun mix, the challenges are enjoyable, and the third act is a fun up and down journey to a finale that could go either way.

It is a good job that Edwards and Carradine are just about likeable enough, although the former is more likeable than the latter, but they are helped by the fact that they are battling against some major assholes. Both of the leads really play up every potential ounce of nerdiness, probably advised to do so for the sake of the comedy. Curtis Hanson is fun as “Booger”, Ted McGinley is a suitably loathsome villain, Donald Gibb is hilariously overrun by his testosterone, Julie Montgomery and Michelle Meyrink are two very different young women who get involved with our leads (although that wording is far too polite to the way in which Montgomery is treated), and there’s a wonderful turn from John Goodman as a typical coach who will think there is nothing wrong with the “antics” of the young men who are part of his team. 

Director Jeff Kanew doesn’t have to do anything fancy here, therefore he doesn’t. It’s all a case of simply setting up the main premise and introducing more characters who can be used in various set-pieces on the way to the final act, with another highlight being Bernie Casey as U. N. Jefferson, leader of an all-black fraternity that finds itself gradually supporting the nerds. 

If you caught this back in the 1980s then you will probably still be a fan. Discovering it nowadays is a very different experience, but you can still enjoy the jokes that works, enjoy a lot of the characters, and spend time in the company of the entertaining clichés and stereotypes while cringing at the casual racism, casual sexual assault, and casual approach to anything that can be used as the butt of a joke.

7/10

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Christmas With A Capital C (2011)

There are times when I'm watching a movie that I start to wonder if I should continue watching it right through to the end. I always do. I'm a completist when it comes to movies. Even the worst films end up becoming some kind of endurance test. Yet a film like Christmas With A Capital C ends up being one of the more challenging viewings for me. Because I'm so far removed from the target audience. Should I even bother giving my opinion on it? Will my opinion be worth anything? Well, as conceited and arrogant as I have to be to keep writing nonsense like this daily, I tend to believe that I can always come at something from an angle which makes it worthwhile. In this case, I have to be upfront about why I realised I wasn't the target audience.

Christmas With A Capital C is a movie that could almost be summed up thus - one man (Daniel Baldwin) returns to his home town, intent on taking Christ out of Christmas. Locals, led by their mayor (Ted McGinley) fight back against him. Meanwhile, kids act sweet, adults are all warm and neighbourly to one another, and a little digging around unearths the fact that this troublemaker may have issues with something other than Christmas. Maybe he just needs shown the right path.

I am, and have been for many years, a happy atheist. That doesn't mean that I disparage, and dismiss, any personal beliefs. It just means that, yes, I start to feel irked when those beliefs are either thrust upon myself, or society as a whole. Many people will know what I'm talking about, I'm not going to use this review as an excuse to take a major sideroad. And that's why I wasn't sure about what to say about this movie. Because it's clearly very pro-religion. The title, and main driving factor of the plot, is derived from a song by Go Fish (a contemporary Christian band who tend nowadays to aim a lot of their music towards kids).

Yet, and I'm as surprised as anyone else by what I'm about to say, it's not actually THAT bad. And there are two reasons for that. First of all, the moments that show characters unable to repress their urge to shout out about Christmas having a capital C are settled among other moments that deliver some standard, pleasant family moments. Second, the scenes that show how the law can be used to keep religious activity/paraphernalia separate from government business are quite interesting. Whether they are based on truth or not, I have no idea. But I hope so, simply because I like to believe in that separation of church and state, as it were.

There is actually also a third reason for this film not being as bad as it could have been, and that's the cast. McGinley is very likable, even when he's being a bit self-assured and pious. Baldwin is appropriately unwavering in his attempt to keep the town a relatively Christianity-free zone, Nancy Stafford is fine as the wife of McGinley's character, and Cooper Peltz and Francesca Derosa play the two main kids, with the former being a teenage lad and the latter a young girl who just wants to be a singing angel at this time of year. They both do fine. In fact, they're better than Brad Stine, who is saddled with playing the kind of guy who assumes that kids will be entertained by short plays that comedically reinterpret the story of Christmas (and, in this film, they ARE).

The script by Andrea Gyertson Nasfell is pretty horrible at times, and director Helmut Schleppi seems content to stick scenes together with no fluidity or thought of context, so it's amazing that this doesn't sink right to the bottom of the barrel. It's preachy during many moments, of course, but it's aiming to preach to the converted, literally, in a way that feels just as positive and schmaltzy as many other festive outings.

4/10

http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Capital-Blu-ray-Ted-McGinley/dp/B005BRX8RY/ref=sr_1_1_twi_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1417728676&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+with+a+capital+c

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