Short Circuit

There have been many films that claim they can entertain audiences of all ages. Indeed, this seems to be the most profitable kind of film to make, with the family-oriented often translating to the lowest common denominator. There is a rare kind of film in this oversaturated market, however. Namely, the film that claims it can entertain an audience in almost any age bracket, and really can deliver on this promise. I know how this sounds, so bear with me a moment.

Short Circuit is, at heart, a comedy about what happens when a robot designed to replace a special forces soldier is struck by lightning, and starts to believe he is a living entity. Much of the rest of the film revolves around either Number 5's attempts to evade capture by the people who made him, or his attempts to convince the people he meets of the truly wonderful thing that has happened to him. Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg provide an excellent support cast that does a first rate job of interacting with the character. This was one of the first films to show human actors engaging in conversation with what was essentially a full-scale puppet, and it remains one of the best. With brilliant voice acting by Tim Blaney, Number 5 seems more human than some of the other actors in the film, especially G.W. Bailey. They must have had a special on Police Academy alumni that year.

Speaking of Police Academy, the "let's rip the front seats out and sit in the back" joke gets a couple of references here. In fact, a few old classics get a good reference in this effort. Interestingly enough, the Three Stooges short that is shown and imitated in a couple of sequences is called Woman Haters. Go figure. The one weakness of the film is that it seems primarily constructed around a few puppeteering or special effects sequences. The use of the laser beams here seems very dated by modern standards, and the computers would look unbelievable if I hadn't personally seen the computers that were available to the public and business around this year.

Sadly, they do not make films like this anymore. In this day and age, where every film has to be made as expensively as possible, and even films aimed at children seem segmented, nobody seems willing to consider that the adults in the audience might need to be entertained, too. Which is a real pity. Films like Short Circuit have the ability to appeal to this viewer even more now that he is twenty-something years old than was the case when he was eight years old. I doubt that anyone who turns twenty-six in 2020 is going to same the same about the Pokemon or other such mind-numbing single-digit-age-only crap that is being churned out.

I gave Short Circuit an eight out of ten. It is starting to show its age, but as a relic of the mid-1980s, it also shows that there were people asking questions about the advancement of technology. Indeed, on the basis of films like Short Circuit, I am almost willing to regard the 1980s as the last bastion of creativity in the mainstream film industry. Give it a look expecting a film about more than money, and you may be pleasantly surprised.

I haven't seen Short Circuit for some time now, but it is such a huge milestone in my childhood that I have to say something about it. Maturer audiences will have a hard time overlooking some of the childish nuances of the movie, but it is such a fun and entertaining family film that all of those things can be easily forgiven. It reminds me of other wonderful family films like Flight of the Navigator and The Goonies, that I used to watch over and over when I was a kid. I feel like I've lost something when I can't think of a single movie now that I love so much that I will watch it a few times a week. Maybe I just am more aware of the time involved in watching the same movie over and over today than I used to be.

Johnny 5 is a robot designed for military use until one day it's struck by lightning and, apparently, comes to life. This is a pretty tired formula, something man-made suddenly displaying life-like qualities and wanting to be recognized as a real boy, but it's accompanied by some clever messages about the advancement of technology, particularly technology designed to replace humans, which has always been seen as a bit of a dangerous idea, criticized brilliantly by everyone from Charlie Chaplin to James Cameron.

Johnny 5's adventures involve his efforts to avoid capture by the people who made him ("NOVA! No!!"), while at the same time trying to prove to the world that he's a living entity now. They could not make a movie like this today. Sadly, CGI has forever replaced the need to create a physical robot like the one that plays Johnny 5 in this movie, so any Short Circuit that was made today would just be some soul-less digital effect cavorting across the screen, instantly forgettable. But here, he's really there, and he's heavy and clumsy and metallic, but so memorable as a movie character that I've recently read that the actual robot prop was sold for something like $500,000. Now THAT is a fan!

Steve Guttenberg and Ally Sheedy have a cute chemistry on screen that is satisfactorily simple. They are both cookie-cutter caricatures, Sheedy the lonely Stephanie, who drives an ice-cream truck for a living, and Guttenberg plays a scientist named Newton, who works for the evil NOVA but who only needs a cute ice-cream lady and a charming robot to change his evil ways.

Sound like fun? No? Well, it is, trust me. The film has definitely dated, but I'll take special effects that look dated 20 years later over expensive CGI that never looked real in the first place any day. A lot of films claim to be fun for all ages, but Short Circuit is one of the few that really is. It's too bad that movies like this seem to be gone forever now….

Short Circuit is a rare case when a robot character makes a film and outshines the rest of the cast in the film.

A military organization that builds weapons known as Nova creates five robots. One of the robots, Number Five, is hit by lightning and as a result is able to become "alive". He escapes from Nova and befriends a woman named Stephanie and begins to gain a lot of "input" and learns a lot. Nova plans on capturing him, but Number Five realizes that he must not get captured in order to remain alive.

First off I have to say that this film is a comedy and much of it should not be taken seriously. By that I mean that the depiction of the military group of Nova constantly bickering and having lame discussions is something that film intended on doing.

The acting and human characters are pretty odd in this film. I can see why Steve Guttenberg is constantly criticized by viewers. He is just a boring not funny guy who makes robots in this film. Ally Sheed plays Stephanie, a really naive and not that intelligent veterinarian. Also the character of Ben being a Caucasian who speaks like an Indian Person is something that I think is pretty funny, if not a bit racist as well. But for the most part the human characters are not special at all and completely overshadowed.

They attempt to make a love story with Guttenberg and Sheed's character. However it comes off as rushed and horrible and I did not buy it. If anything the romance with Number five and Stephanie is much more convincable.

The reason for this film being good is Number Five. Number Five is one of the greatest robot characters ever in a film. Hilarious, intelligent, and highly entertaining. He can do anything. It is quite interesting seeing him gain input and learn a lot about the world. It is not common for a robot to steal the show and make a movie good just by itself, but this is one case where that happens and the film is good because of it.

Quite an interesting film. Lame acting and human characters. However a great character in Number Five. I recommend this film to viewers because of Number Five.

I think anyone any age can appreciate this film, and some might even find it funny. Not terribly funny, but just good. The plot involves a robot (#5) who after getting electricuted, becomes malfunctioned, in a good way (the robot thinks it's alive). And some light hearted comedy (and some messages about life) ensues. Nice to watch on a weekend day. A-

I'm sorry, I can't see why this film has been given such a low rating. This film is wonderfully life-affirming through the character of robot Jonny 5 (the scene where he realises what it means to be alive through crushing a grass hopper is beautifully portrayed), Ally Sheedy brings a bucket load of positive energy to the character of the naive but loving Stephanie, and to top it all there is a subtle but powerful comment on American militarism. There is a real emphasis on quality screen writing here which only comes through on a small ratio of films. The characters could easily have become 2 dimensional stereotypes, but instead given some interesting dialogue and motives (science, military etc). Yes it is cheesy, and I think many people label it as a cheap and tacky 80's movie, but having watched it again recently I think history may well judge it a minor classic.