Une créature de rêve

I'm not sure how many people really read these reviews in IMDb but if there are people out there like me that enjoy this forum quite a bit, then they will know that I have loved Bill Paxton's work forever. I can tell you he was in Stripes and he was one of the punks in Terminator and he even had a small role in Commando. His three best films in my opinion are True Lies, Aliens and his classic turn as Chet in Weird Science. Anyone that has seen this film will tell you that they loved it when Chet comes home to find it snowing in his room. Or how fun it was to watch him torture Wyatt by extorting money from him. "For Christ sakes Wyatt will you cover yourself! " Bill Paxton may be best known for his work in James Cameron films but it is John Hughes that we have to thank for unleashing him onto audiences with this amazing turn as Chet Donnelly. He is the meanest, nastiest older brother and yet he is screamingly funny. Bill Paxton had a cameo in a film called The Last Supper years later and his character really could have been a grown up Chet. But it is here that we get to laugh at some of Paxton's best work. Weird Science is one hell of a funny film and John Hughes is responsible for that, but if Chet wasn't played by Bill Paxton then it just wouldn't have been the same.

As the film goes, it is quite good. I don't believe it is Hughes' best, that honour, in my opinion, goes to The Breakfast Club, but it is very very entertaining. And as one reviewer said before me, you had to have grown up in the 80's to really appreciate this film. And underneath all of what this film is about, it is still just a film about the insecurities of being a teen, getting the girl and living happily ever after. I think Hughes may have been writing the script for Sixteen Candles, stopped in the middle of it and then took acid with Chevy Chase or John Candy and then came up with this idea because some of the situations really are right out of nowhere.

Take for example the actual creation of Lisa. The two geeks hook up a doll to the game of Operation?? and then with bras around their heads, they connect the computer and then lightning and winds invade their room and then Kelly LeBrock walks out of their closet. Acid for sure.

Then there is the scene with Vernon Wells and his biker buddies. A highschool house party and then a bunch of guys on motorcycles straight out of Mad Max breaks into the house and starts to terrorize the kids. Acid trip for sure.

Acid aside, Weird Science is a trip through time. If you were born in the 70's and went to highschool in the 80's like I did, then you are probably familiar with the name John Hughes, and if you are then you are probably a fan of most of his work. Along with Ferris, Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club and some of his adult films like Planes Trains... She's Having a Baby and even Vacation, Weird Science is a film that should be seen again. It is 15 years old and perhaps people can say it is dated some, but to me it is a throwback to what films were like in the 80's. This film is fun, hysterical and enjoyable. And it has Bill Paxton in one of the funniest roles in any career. This is a fun film and if you haven't seen this in quite some time, then maybe you should.

8 out of 10

God bless the 80's, and may they live on way after their time! This film captures the 80's geeks, preps, and class rivalry. It was a hard time to fit in, but a fun time, like most teenagers, I had these fantasies that this movie reflects on. I can not believe they got Wes from the Road Warrior to do a part. The scene where the computer animated women talks to Michael Halls parent is hilarious, but sick. The stuff going out of the chimney, the MX missile, and the kitchen turning blue is funny. Bill Paxion or chet is a classic wait and see what happens to him. Anyways rent it live it and be it! 8/10

weird science is another good movie from the master of teen movies john hughes. this movie is maybe the funniest of all teen movies made by john hughes. but it's not the most entertaining. that award goes to the breakfast club. weird science is entertaining. john hughes goes a bit too far toward the end,but it's still unforgettable. weird science in my opinion comes from the greatest decade of all time.the 80's! i give weird science *** out of ****

80s! I'm living in the 80s! If you love 80s teen movies, then Weird Science ought to be in your catalogue. It is one of director John Hughes most memorable, and one of the 80s most original.

Written in two days, this is a teen science fiction film, the story of two teenage loners, Wyatt (the always grimacing Ilan-Mitchell Smith) and Gary (Anthony Michael Hall before he went deadpan) and their weird way of discovering girls. A variation on Frankenstein, the teenagers create a beautiful woman (the super cool Kelly LeBrock) using their computer and some clever hacking skills (of course, it's exaggerated). Their creation is Lisa, the chic English accent woman who brings a little life to the subtle Illinois suburb. As the antithesis of both Wyatt and Gary's personalities, she's going to show these boys a little adventure, get them to loosen up, and for crying out loud, gain some self-esteem.

Because Lisa is a lady with some supernatural power like freezing grandparents in time, erasing the memory of a bad first impression with Gary's parents, turning Wyatt's obnoxious military school brother Chet (Bill Paxton in his funniest, most arrogant role yet) into a giant pus maggot, or even having a gang of mutant bikers storming a house party. And Lisa's greatest gift to the boys: showing them true love by helping them along to meet the two girls they've been after all along, their high school classmates, Deb and Hilly, who are unfortunately hung up on the dweeb bullies, Max (Robert Russler) and Ian (Robert Downey, Jr.). So essentially, it deals with many aspects of teen angst (but more like just teen self-esteem or self-consciousness issues) within one story. Parents, class status (done subtly here as opposed to Some Kind of Wonderful or Pretty in Pink), relationships, etc. It works well, and is done quite humorously.

One of my favorite scenes is when the trio (Lisa, Gary, and Wyatt) go to the night club looking pretty out of place (they're not only the only white people there, but probably the only ones under thirty). Once Anthony Michael Hall's character, Gary, gets drunk and starts with his slang, it's hilarious. Reminds me a little of Adventures in Babysitting when the gang drops in on the club and they're not allowed to leave until they sing. So eventually, they loosen up and have a little fun.

It's a wonderful movie with a classic John Hughes comic touch (says the mutant biker to Gary and Wyatt after they threaten to kill them if they don't leave, "Please don't tell anyone about this. I'd hate to lose my teaching job.). Plus, it's got a great soundtrack, featuring Killing Joke, Lords of the New Church, and Oingo Boingo doing the title song. The music video for it was fantastic, and not only features clips from the movie, but Kelly LeBrock herself in Oingo Boingo's own rendition of creating the woman via technology.

Although not one of John Hughes' best (I think Sixteen Candles is still his greatest), it is certainly one of his most memorable and one that I will love no matter how old I get. So have yourself a lazy Saturday, pop in the movie, and enjoy.

During most of the 1980s, I was working in or running movie theatres. I showed this movie and previewed it before it even opened. The one thing which struck me upon first viewing it was that it is essentially a teen-age version of Dr. Seuss's "The Cat in the Hat", right down to the house being magically cleaned up and the last piece of furniture sliding into place just as the parents return home to find everything as they left it. I always wondered if Hughes borrowed the plot on purpose or if he wrote Weird Science without realizing it's commonalities with one of the best loved children's story of all times. Anyone have opinions on that?