Les aventuriers de la 4e dimension

Sadly, My Science Project was a very big risk that seems to transcend it's teen film genre. While people will cite better time-travel themed movies like Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Back o the Future, this one will certainly stand on its own due to the Twilight Zone quality of it. Great visuals, great idea, and the story didn't try to insult it's audience by making the story painfully obvious.

I especially liked Mike's character, a kind of good guy that was a diamond stuck in the pond scum. Unfortunately, his entire performance was stepped on by Fisher Steven's over the top performance. Dennis Hopper made a perfect cameo performance that really fit his bi-polar acting style.

While this film won't be considered one of the elite teen films of the 1980s like The Breakfast Club, Bill and Ted, River's Edge, Say Anything, Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but it will fit comfortably with the silver medalists of that area, much like Can't Buy Me love, The Wraith and Three O'Clock High. A great film for teen movie aficionados.

'My Science Project' was a fun idea. John Stockwell is Michael Harlan, a slacker car jock who's got to come up with a real science project if he wants to pass his class. Digging around in some condemned military land, he finds a wierd gadget that causes major van damage. In the course of trying to figure out the extent of power of the little electrifying gizmo, his hippie science teacher, Bob (Dennis Hopper) is sucked into a time warp. But, he doesn't leave before figuring out that the thing that Mike Harlan found opens up all time warps. So, now Harlan and his friend Vince Latello (Fisher Stevens), Ellie Sawyer (Danielle von Zerneck), and a hopeless nerd named Sherman (Raphael Sbarge) have to fix the time dimensions while getting chased by strange guys from the government and dinosaurs and midevil warriors, and everything else. Mike's got a real mess on his hands.

It's probably one of the few films I really liked John Stockwell in because he didn't have to try to hard to be Mike Harlan, slacker car jockey who doesn't say much and likes to be left alone. Although, the better character in the movie was his big shot friend, Vince. But that's a typical kind of character for Fisher Stevens, who's always good in comedy.

And yes, as one viewer already mentioned, it follows a long line of 80s science fiction comedy or 80s sci-fi teen movies like 'Real Genius' (teens build a super laser); 'Back to the Future' (teen travels to past, present, and future via a Delorean time machine); Weird Science (teens make a girl on their computer); 'Peggy Sue Got Married' (adult goes back in time to relive being a teen); 'Mac and Me' (teens find friendly alien family), and so forth.

I like the idea for 'My Science Project,' but having all of the people and creatures from different time periods land in the present-day lacked a lot of fun that could've been achieved from a movie (perhaps a longer movie) like this. The finale battle scenes against the enemies from different time dimensions all took place in the school. So, the setting was static, and somewhat boring after awhile. Probably, too, because it was done so cheaply. A lot more could've been done if they were allowed to expand the setting by allowing Harlan and his friends to travel through time, too.

Nonetheless, if this be your cup of tea, then cheers!

A kid makes a strange science project that leads to time travel.

Forget the over-rated "Bill And Ted", forget the "Back To The Future" movies, if you want a 1980s time travel flick you will find it here in "My Science Project".

For the life of me, I will never know why this film is now so forgotten and unknown while the above mentioned movies get free-to-air reruns every six months (atleast in Australia)!!!!????

What makes "My Science Project" so much better than the above films? I guess it partly comes down to the characters in the movie. From nutty Dennis Hopper, to the kid who keeps referencing all those 1960s/1970s shows/movies, and to the lead character who just comes over as pleasing (in a non Michael J Fox-sort of way).

But also the ending, which I dare not give away.

Granted, this is missing the mighty opening theme tune of the "Back To The Future" movies, but with the exception of the music, "My Science Project" wins hands down!

Starring the late great Dennis Hopper and underrated talent Fisher Stevens this is an odd little 80's sci-fi comedy that I'd never heard of. I can only assume this is because it didn't do all too well.

It tells the story of a car nut who finds a mysterious device while searching for something to use for his science project. The device distorts time and space building to an epic climax featuring dinosaurs, laser firing space men and everything in between.

On paper this should have been outstanding but for whatever reason it fell flat.

The sci-fi side looks pretty terrible and does not even remotely meet its potential while the comedy element is so lacking it's hard to believe they even call it that. In fact the only comedy comes from Fisher Stevens who is one of the movies saving graces.

Those into 80's cheese might appreciate this but don't go expecting Weird Science (1985) because it isn't even close.

The Good:

Solid script

Fisher Stevens

The Bad:

Doesn't flow very well

Isn't funny

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

You can wear sunglasses during mug shots

Movies come in phases now and then where a bunch of movies with similar themes come out at about the same time. There was the underwater craze of 89 ("The Abyss", "Leviathan", and "Deepstar Six") and there was the body switch craze ("Big", "Vice Versa", and one with Dudley Moore). This movie came out during the comedy with a science twist. The other two movies that came out during this phase are "Real Genius" and "Weird Science". I liked this phase as I enjoyed all three movies quite a bit. This one was no exception as it combined humor and science fiction very well. This one has a couple of kids finding this strange device that I think ended up being some type of engine. Anyway when this thing gets hooked up with power and turns on all sorts of strange stuff starts happening. The thing seems to be able to move time or open portals. The end is great as the thing really goes berserk and it turns the school (I think it was the school) into a battle zone complete with different times. There is a dinosaur and mutants. All in all I am probably in the minority in liking this one, but I thought it was really good.