Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation

Overall the movie is not that great. I did however really enjoy the story of Lewis, Betty and Stan. In the 3rd movie we see where the relationship of Lewis and Betty went. We also see how Stan Gabel turned out and how the events of the first movie effected him. However the movie is also filled with new characters and lame scenes. I really think had they focused more on the original nerds story the movie would have turned out a lot better. I do recommend the movie for a "Nerd" fan, but if your not a real big fan of the first film then you should pass this one by.

I feel this film is a better sequel to the first rather then a 3rd movie.

"Revenge of the Nerds III" is nothing more than an excuse to have a reunion of the cast from the original "Revenge of the Nerds." It astounds me how moviemakers keep making inferior sequels. Haven't they learned anything by now? After being subjected to the cruel pranks of the jocks in the first movie and then some more hardship from the mediocre "Revenge of the Nerds II," the nerds have finally received the death penalty: a TV-movie sequel! And what a terrible way to die! It's one thing to make a bad sequel made for the theatre, but making a weak TV-movie sequel is a catastrophe! "Revenge of the Nerds III" wasn't funny at all, and it looks like they just barely had enough money to throw away on this movie. Here's a visual summary of all this....

############################################################# ############################################################# #######################/------------\########################## ######################!---R.I.P.-----!!######################### ######################!---------------!!####################### ######################!----THE------!!######################### ######################!---NERDS---!!######################### ######################!---------------!!######################## ######################!-1984-1992---!!######################## ######################!---------------!!######################### ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^!=*=***++++=!!^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I don't know what compelling reason there was to make this movie in the first place. If it was trying to cash in on the success of the 1984 original (and the 1987 sequel, to a lesser extent), Fox would have put it in theatres. Then again, maybe that was the original idea. This wouldn't be the first film to simply go direct to TV and video when they studio decided not to waste time with a theatrical release.

The movie itself just isn't very funny. It's a rehash of the events in the first movie, but doesn't have the raunchy edge of that film, nor does it have the peculiar but undeniable heart that actually gave the original some emotional punch. Comparing the scene at the pep rally there and the finale here in court is kind of comparing a small diamond to a big piece of broken glass.

The new nerds also aren't very interesting, and Gregg Binkley tries hard but doesn't have the weird watchable quality that Robert Carradine does. If you'll look closely the credits list "Chi" in the cast; that's Chi McBride, playing Malcolm Pennington III, and giving almost no indication that he'd emerge as a terrific actor (and certainly none that he'd be the breakthrough star on BOSTON PUBLIC, playing Steven Harper).

One thing that sort of caught my attention was the way the nerds here kept making implicit references to other minority groups. When Lewis refuses to help his cousin and other persecuted nerds, he's labeled "a self-hating nerd." Another character says they need "as many nerds in power as they can get." And when a character admits at the film's end that he's a secret nerd, he says "It feels great to come out of the closet!" The point seems to be that being a nerd is like being black, gay, Jewish, female, from another country, what have you. It's a strange point.

The film has another actor play Gilbert near the end, as Anthony Edwards followed up on his very brief role in the 2nd movie by not appearing here at all. He didn't appear in part 4 either, and III came out a few years before he broke through on ER. Didn't like seeing someone else play his role, but it fit this misshapen, boring film.

There is one great line here. When Lewis and wife Betty ask the local college DJ to broadcast in the name of nerd freedom, the DJ stands up and says, "There's no greater friend to the nerd, than the American DJ. If we weren't all nerds ourselves, we'd all be on television." It's such a good line that it overlooks that most college radio stations have so little listening range that the DJ might be the only person who gets the message.

One of the funniest movies ever made!!! Those nerds just kill me! I couldn't stop laughing throughout the whole movie. These "Revenge of the Nerds" movies get better with each sequel. This one ranks up there with "Airplane" and "Something About Mary" among the best comedies ever made. I can't wait to rent "Revenge of the Nerds: Part 4". Hopefully it will be as good as this one. My only complaint about this movie was that Gilbert didn't really appear in this movie. He made a cameo appearance at the end but it was a different actor. Which brings to mind, one question. What was Anthony Edwards thinking when he turned down a part in this movie masterpiece? Thankfully, he didn't make the same mistake twice and later chose to do ER.

I recently bought the "atomic wedgie" edition of the Revenge of the Nerds. It has all the four movies, so I watched Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation this afternoon and once again after looking at the IMDb rating, I was a bit scared on what to expect, but so far, I'm really liking these movies. Yeah, they're a bit ridicules, not to mention that I think Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation took a different direction than the original Nerd film, but it's all good. I thought it was actually a fun story and a new introduction of all nerds uniting together and showing who really takes care of the jocks in the world.

Lewis has now turned himself into a huge stud and is living with his wife, Betty. His nephew and his nephew's friend have gone to the same college and have joined the Lamb's, but we have a new dean in town, Stan is back! He and an alumni of the school are joining together to ban all nerds from the town. The nerds call on Lewis to get back to his nerd roots and help them take over the town, hopefully Lewis can get past this silly smooth operator appearance, because it's not working for him or the nerds that need him most.

Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation is nothing special, but it still has a few laughs. I really didn't think it was bad, at least not as bad as the rating would on IMDb led me on. Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation is just a fun movie that I think people need to be open too, it's a different direction in the story but it works over all. So just give it a shot, I think you'll actually enjoy this story, after all, everyone's gotta love the nerds.

5/10