View source for Real Genius

{{Short description|1985 film by Martha Coolidge}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Real Genius
| image          = real genius.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Martha Coolidge]]
| producer       = [[Brian Grazer]]
| screenplay     = {{ubl|[[Neal Israel]]|[[Pat Proft]]|[[PJ Torokvei]]}}
| story          = {{ubl|Neal Israel|Pat Proft}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Val Kilmer]]
* [[Gabriel Jarret|Gabe Jarret]]
* [[Michelle Meyrink]]
* [[William Atherton]]
}}
| music          = [[Thomas Newman]]
| cinematography = [[Vilmos Zsigmond]]
| editing        = Richard Chew
| studio         = Delphi III Productions
| distributor    = [[TriStar Pictures|Tri-Star Pictures]]
| released       = {{Film date|1985|8|7}}
| runtime        = 106 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $8 million<ref>{{Cite web |title=Real Genius (1985) |url=http://catalog.afi.com/Film/58330-REAL-GENIUS |work=AFI Catalog of Feature Films |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=25 May 2009}}</ref>
| gross          = $13 million (North America)<ref name="boxoffice">{{Cite web |title=''Real Genius'' |publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]] |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=realgenius.htm |access-date=25 May 2009}}</ref>
}}
'''''Real Genius''''' is a 1985 American [[science fiction comedy]] film directed by [[Martha Coolidge]], written by [[Neal Israel]], [[Pat Proft]], and [[PJ Torokvei]], and starring [[Val Kilmer]] and [[Gabriel Jarret]]. The film, set on the campus of Pacific Tech, a science and engineering university similar to [[Caltech]], follows Chris Knight (Kilmer), a genius in his senior year, who is paired with a new student on campus, Mitch Taylor (Jarret), to work on a [[chemical laser]], only to learn it will be used for dangerous purposes. The film received positive [[Film reviews|reviews]] from [[Film criticism|critics]], and grossed $13 million at the [[North America (box office territory)|North American box office]].<ref name="boxoffice"/>

==Plot==
The [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] has covertly hired Professor Jerry Hathaway at Pacific Tech University to develop the power source for "Crossbow", a [[laser weapon]] precise enough to commit illegal political assassinations from outer space. Hathaway uses his position to recruit brilliant students to do the work for him, diverting the CIA's funding into building his enormous house.

Hathaway recruits high school student Mitch Taylor, a budding genius in [[laser physics]].  Mitch is roomed with Chris Knight, a legend in the "National Physics Club" and one of Mitch's idols. Mitch's ideal of Chris is shattered, however, when Chris turns out to be more of a slacker than a hard-working student. Meanwhile, Hathaway hopes Mitch will encourage Chris to straighten up his act and that their two exceptional minds can develop a proper power source for "Crossbow". Mitch also befriends Jordan Cochran, a hyperactive insomniac student for whom he gradually develops romantic feelings.

Kent, Hathaway's [[graduate student]] (and [[toady]]), reports Mitch for attending a [[pool party]] with Chris instead of working on the laser.  Hathaway lambasts Mitch, who breaks down and tearfully calls his parents. Kent secretly records the call and uses the recording to humiliate Mitch. As Mitch begins packing to leave, Chris explains the pressures of school and burdens of being highly intelligent by relating the history of genius and former Pacific Tech student Lazlo Hollyfeld. Hollyfeld suffered a [[nervous breakdown]] when he discovered his creations were being used to kill, and he now lives hidden in the university's tunnels, accessed from beneath Chris and Mitch's closet. Chris, fearing the same could happen to him, learned to lighten up and enjoy life. Mitch agrees to stay, and they exact revenge on Kent by disassembling his car, a 1972 [[Citroën DS]], and reassembling it in his [[dorm room]].

Hathaway, angry about the still-incomplete project and Chris's attitude, informs Chris that he intends to prevent him from earning a degree, [[blackballing|blackball]] him, and give a coveted job, originally promised to Chris, to Kent instead. Chris is disheartened and Mitch must use Chris's same argument to convince him to stay. The two create a new laser, but Kent sabotages it, causing it to explode. Though initially despondent, the incident inspires Chris to design and build a six-megawatt [[excimer]] laser, which burns a hole through the campus when it is test-fired.  Hathaway reverses his position, giving Chris a degree and the job. As Chris and Mitch celebrate, Hollyfeld arrives and informs them that, with certain modifications, their laser could be used as a weapon. A panicked Chris returns to the lab to find the laser gone, as well as Kent's projects: a mirror and a tracking system which together can weaponize Chris's laser.

Jordan and fellow project member "Ick" Ikagami surreptitiously implant a [[radio transmitter]] in Kent's [[Dental braces|braces]], which Mitch uses to convince him he is speaking to [[Jesus]]. Kent divulges the date of the test, and the group tails Hathaway to learn the location of the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]] base the CIA is using. Chris and Mitch sneak onto the [[B-1 Lancer]] [[bomber]] where their equipment has been installed and assist Hollyfeld in reprogramming the laser.

Outside Hathaway's home, Chris, Mitch, Jordan, and Ick meet [[Dean (education)|Dean]] Meredith and a [[Congressman]], to whom they had reported Hathaway's plan. Kent arrives unexpectedly and goes inside the house. The laser test begins and, instead of firing on the target, the laser fires on Hathaway's house, activating a gigantic [[popcorn popper]]. Kent is launched out the front door on a popcorn wave. Hollyfeld arrives in an RV—which he has won using mathematics to rig a [[sweepstake]]s—to tell them he is leaving. Hathaway, who hates popcorn, arrives afterwards to find his house destroyed by popcorn.

==Cast==
{{castlist|
* [[Val Kilmer]] as Chris Knight
* [[Gabriel Jarret]] as Mitch Taylor
* [[Michelle Meyrink]] as Jordan Cochran
* [[William Atherton]] as Professor Jerry Hathaway
* [[Robert Prescott (actor)|Robert Prescott]] as Kent
* [[Jon Gries]] as Lazlo Hollyfeld
* Mark Kamiyama as "Ick" Ikagami
* [[Ed Lauter]] as David Decker
* [[Louis Giambalvo]] as Major Don Carnagle
* [[Patti D'Arbanville]] as Sherry Nugil
* [[Severn Darden]] as Dr. Meredith
* [[Beau Billingslea]] as George
* [[Joanne Baron]] as Mrs. Taylor
* [[Sandy Martin (actress)|Sandy Martin]] as Mrs. Meredith
* [[Dean Devlin]] as Milton
* [[Yuji Okumoto]] as Fenton
* [[Deborah Foreman]] as Susan Decker
* [[Stacy Peralta]] as Shuttle Pilot
}}

== Production ==
To prepare for ''Real Genius'', Martha Coolidge spent months researching laser technology and the policies of the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], and interviewed dozens of students at [[California Institute of Technology|Caltech]].<ref>{{cite news | last=Attanasio | first=Paul | title=The Road to Hollywood: Director Martha Coolidge's Long Trek to ''Real Genius'' | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=August 7, 1985 }}</ref> The [[screenplay]] was extensively rewritten, first by [[Lowell Ganz]] and [[Babaloo Mandel]], later by Coolidge and PJ Torokvei.<ref>{{cite news | last=Attanasio | first=Paul | title=Fun With the Whiz Kids | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=August 7, 1985 }}</ref>

[[Film producer|Producer]] [[Brian Grazer]] remembers that when Val Kilmer came in to [[audition]] for the role of Chris Knight, he brought candy bars and performed tricks. Kilmer remembered it differently. "The character wasn't polite, so when I shook Grazer's hand and he said, 'Hi, I'm the producer,' I said, 'I'm sorry. You look like you're 12 years old. I like to work with men.'"<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Ascher-Walsh | first=Rebecca | title=Cool Hero: Val Kilmer | magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] | date=June 30, 1995 | url=http://www.ew.com/article/1995/06/30/val-kilmer-latest-batman | access-date=September 2, 2009}}</ref>

To achieve the house filled with popcorn for the film's [[Climax (narrative)|climax]], the production team popped popcorn continuously for three months. The popcorn was treated with [[fire retardant]] so it would not [[Combustion|combust]] and covered so that it would not be eaten by birds and possibly poison them. The popcorn was then shipped to a [[Subdivision (land)|subdivision]] under construction in [[Canyon Country, Santa Clarita, California|Canyon Country]], northwest of [[Los Angeles]], and placed in the house.<ref>{{cite news | last=Ryan | first=Kyle | title=Random Roles: William Atherton | work=The Onion A.V. Club | date=April 21, 2010 | url=https://www.avclub.com/william-atherton-1798219915 | access-date=April 21, 2010}}</ref>

To [[Film promotion|promote]] the film, the studio held what it billed as "the world's first computer press conference", with Coolidge and Grazer answering journalists' questions via [[computer terminal]]s and relayed over the [[CompuServe]] [[Online service provider|online service]].<ref>{{cite news | last=Deans | first=Laurie | title=Howard, Keaton hope to make a splash | work=[[The Globe and Mail]] | date=August 2, 1985 }}</ref>

The dorm in the film is based on [[House System at the California Institute of Technology#Dabney House|Dabney House]] at Caltech, and Caltech students served as [[consultant]]s and played [[Extra (acting)|extras]] in the film.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2012-10-31|title=Erich Schneider|url=http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~erich/|access-date=2020-08-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031223648/http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~erich/|archive-date=2012-10-31}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Box office===
''Real Genius'' was released on August 9, 1985, in 990 theaters, grossing $2.5 million in its first weekend. It went on to make $12,952,019 in North America.<ref name="boxoffice"/>

===Critical response===
On [[review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 77% based on 35 reviews with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "It follows college tropes, but ''Real Genius'' has an optimistic streak that puts you on Val Kilmer's side all the way."<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/real_genius | title= ''Real Genius'' (1985) | website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]] | access-date= 2 December 2022 }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film received a score of 71 based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.metacritic.com/movie/real-genius | title= ''Real Genius'' (1985) | website= [[Metacritic]] | access-date= 29 July 2022 }}</ref>

[[Colin Greenland]] reviewed the film for ''[[White Dwarf (magazine)|White Dwarf]]'' #85, and stated that it was "yet another celebration of the anxious wonder of growing up white, middle-class and heterosexual in America. The lovable weirdos squabble in the lab, play hi-tech pranks in the dorm and party in the lecture theater. Nerds just wanna have fun. Nerds have feelings too. Hug a Nerd today."<ref name="WD85">{{cite journal  | last =Greenland | first =Colin | authorlink =Colin Greenland | title =2020 Vision  | journal =[[White Dwarf (magazine)|White Dwarf]]  | issue = 85  | pages =6  | publisher =[[Games Workshop]]  | date = December 1987  }}</ref>

In her review for ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Janet Maslin]] wrote, "the film is best when it takes [the students] seriously, though it does so only intermittently."<ref>{{cite news | last=Maslin | first=Janet | title=''Real Genius'' | url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9A05E3DD1138F934A3575BC0A963948260& | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=August 7, 1985 | access-date=January 3, 2017}}</ref> [[David Ansen]] wrote in his review for ''[[Newsweek]]'', "When it's good, the dormitory high jinks feel like the genuine release of teen-age tensions and cruelty. Too bad the story isn't as smart as the kids in it."<ref>{{cite news | last=Ansen | first=David | title=Hollywood's Silly Season | work=[[Newsweek]] | date=August 26, 1985}}</ref> In her review for ''[[The Washington Post]]'', Rita Kempley wrote, "Many of the scenes, already badly written, fail to fulfill their screwball potential... [D]espite its enthusiastic young cast and its many good intentions, it doesn't quite succeed. I guess there's a leak in the think tank."<ref>{{cite news | last=Kempley | first=Rita | title=''Real Genius'' Reels, Falls | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=August 9, 1985}}</ref>

''[[Chicago Sun Times]]'' film critic [[Roger Ebert]] awarded the film three and a half stars out of four, saying that it "contains many pleasures, but one of the best is its conviction that the American campus contains life as we know it."<ref>{{cite news | last=Ebert | first=Roger | title=''Real Genius'' | url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/real-genius-1985 | work=RogerEbert.com | publisher=Ebert Digital LLC | date=August 7, 1985 | access-date=January 3, 2017}}</ref> In his review for ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', Salem Alaton wrote, "Producer Brian Grazer craved a feel-good picture, and she [Martha Coolidge] turned in the summer's best, and she didn't cheat to do it. There's heart in the kookiness. ''Real Genius'' has real people, real comedy and real fun."<ref name="Alaton">{{cite news | last=Alaton | first=Salem | title=This time the teen antics are funny ''Real Genius'' is a real gem | work=[[The Globe and Mail]] | date=August 12, 1985}}</ref> [[Richard Schickel]] of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' praised the film for being "a smart, no-nonsense movie that may actually teach its prime audience a valuable lesson: the best retort to an intolerable situation is not necessarily a food fight. Better results, and more fun, come from rubbing a few brains briskly together."<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Schickel | first=Richard | title=Guess Who Flunked the IQ Test? | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=August 12, 1985 | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1050506,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080328065543/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1050506,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 28, 2008 | access-date=January 3, 2017}}</ref>

==Scientific accuracy==
In the ''[[MythBusters]]'' episode "Car vs. Rain", first broadcast on June 17, 2009, the ''MythBusters'' team tried to determine whether the final scene in the film, the destruction of Dr Hathaway's house with laser-popped popcorn, is actually possible. First they used a ten-watt laser to pop a single [[Popcorn kernel|kernel]] wrapped in aluminum foil, showing that popping corn is possible with a laser. Then they tested a scaled-down model of a house. The popcorn was popped through [[induction heating]] because a sufficiently large laser was not available. The result was that the popcorn was unable to expand sufficiently to break glass, much less break open a door or move the house off its [[Building foundation|foundation]]. Instead, it ceased to expand and then simply [[Char (chemistry)|charred]].<ref name="mythbusters">{{Cite episode |title=Car vs. Rain |url=http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/episode/episode-tab-02.html |access-date=December 24, 2010 |series=MythBusters |series-link=MythBusters |network=[[Discovery Channel]] |airdate=June 17, 2009 |season=2009 |number=11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100307210633/http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/episode/episode-tab-02.html |archive-date=March 7, 2010 }}</ref>

It was also specifically stated in the program that a five-megawatt laser still did not exist, even in military applications, and that the most powerful military laser they knew of was 100 [[kilowatts]].<ref name="mythbusters" />

In January 2011, it was further demonstrated on video<ref>{{Citation |last=Stevenson|first=Scott|title=Arctic Lasers Pop Popcorn - Pocket Blue Lasers Popping Popcorn|date=13 January 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii9A0ZJ5BbU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/ii9A0ZJ5BbU| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> in a home setting that a kernel of corn directly exposed to laser light from accessible consumer level lasers could be popped as reported by [[TechCrunch]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Burns|first=Matt|title=Popping Popcorn With Lasers Is Awesome And Healthy|date=Jan 14, 2011|url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/01/14/popping-popcorn-with-lasers-is-awesome-and-healthy/}}</ref>

The solid [[xenon chloride laser|xenon-halogen laser]] proposed and built by Chris in the latter half of the film, though in the realm of science fiction, was based on a theory of the time. ''Real Genius'', through consultant Martin A. Gundersen, who played the math professor, was later cited in an academic publication that detailed the scientific basis behind the laser.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Fajardo |first1=Mario E. |last2=Apkarian |first2=V. A. |title=Simulated Radiative Dissociation and Gain Measurements of Xe2Cl in Solid Xenon |journal=Chemical Physics Letters |volume=134 |page=51 |date=1987-02-13 |issue=1 |publisher=chem.ps.uci.edu |url=http://chem.ps.uci.edu/~aapkaria/manuscripts/14.pdf |doi=10.1016/0009-2614(87)80012-x|bibcode=1987CPL...134...51F }} — Citation number 7 on p. 54 in the paper (on p. 4 in PDF).</ref>

==Television series==
Reports surfaced in September 2014 that a potential television series was in the works.<ref>{{cite web|author=Michael Kennedy |url=https://screenrant.com/real-genius-nbc-tv-show-remake/ |title='Real Genius' TV Series in Development)|date=25 September 2014 |publisher=Screenrant |access-date=2015-03-09}}</ref> [[NBC]] was set to produce the comedy series with [[Sony TV]], [[Happy Madison]] and [[3 Arts Entertainment]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Andreeva|first1=Nellie|title='Real Genius' Movie Reboot Set As NBC Comedy Series With Happy Madison & Sony TV|url=https://deadline.com/2014/09/real-genius-movie-reboot-nbc-comedy-series-happy-madison-sony-839902/|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=24 September 2014|access-date=3 December 2015}}</ref>  {{As of|December 2017}} there were no updates on the production.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0089886}}
* {{TCMDb title|19587}}
* {{AFI film|58330}}
* [https://www.mixcloud.com/acidowl/real-genius-soundtrack/ Real Genius Soundtrack]

{{Martha Coolidge}}
{{Brian Grazer}}
{{California Institute of Technology}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1985 films]]
[[Category:1980s science fiction comedy films]]
[[Category:1980s teen comedy films]]
[[Category:American science fiction comedy films]]
[[Category:American teen comedy films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:American films about revenge]]
[[Category:Films about pranks]]
[[Category:Films directed by Martha Coolidge]]
[[Category:Films produced by Brian Grazer]]
[[Category:Films scored by Thomas Newman]]
[[Category:Films set in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Films set in universities and colleges]]
[[Category:Films shot in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:TriStar Pictures films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Pat Proft]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Neal Israel]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by PJ Torokvei]]
[[Category:1985 comedy films]]
[[Category:California Institute of Technology in fiction]]
[[Category:1980s American films]]
[[Category:English-language science fiction comedy films]]
[[Category:1985 science fiction films]]