Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

"This is bullshit! I want bush, pan down."

We all know the pain and anxiety that goes with starting in a new school or college. Will you make friends quickly? Will you fit in? What if everyone hates you? It is something we have to go through at some point in our youth; be it summer camp, scouts, or simply progressing through the school system. Now, imagine all of those issues, but you also happen to be the lowest member of food-chain; a nerd.

Luckily for Lewis (Robert Carradine; The Pom Pom Girls, The Big Red One) and Gilbert (Anthony Edwards; The Sure Thing, Top Gun), two über-nerd school chums, they both happen to be starting off in the same college together to study computer science. Unlucky for them, the Alpha Beta's, the most obnoxious football fraternity on campus, accidentally burn down their own dorm. The coach of the football team (John Goodman; Raising Arizona, Punch Line) decides that the football team can't be without beds, so he allows the jocks throw the freshmen out of their dorm. Lewis and Gilbert find themselves bunking up in the college gym, with nowhere else to go. 

In the gym they meet an assortment of fellow homeless geeks and losers, including; the violin-playing Poindexter (Timothy Busfield; Stripes, Field of Dreams), the 12 year old Wormser (Andrew Cassese; Revenge of the Nerds II), the revolting and sleazy Booger (Curtis Armstrong; Risky Business, Better Off Dead, One Crazy Summer), the 'Engrish' speaking Takashi (Brian Tochi; Police Academy 3, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and the very gay Latrelle (Larry B. Scott; The Karate Kid, Iron Eagle). They decide to pool together to find a new dorm, and after a bit of searching, they come across an old, run-down dump just off campus. Fixing it up is just a montage away, but the jocks are not happy that the nerds are striking out on their own, and continue to harass our glass-wearing heroes. 

After getting rejected by the Greek Council about the behaviour of the Alpha Beta's, on the grounds of not being a fraternity, they decide they need all the help they can get. The only national fraternity that will listen to them is the Tri-Lambs, a blacks-only frat. Due to a loophole, the frat has to give them a chance, so the nerds invite them to a party they are throwing. The all-female Pi Delta Pi's join in on the harassment, and pretend they will show up for the party, but instead unleash a herd of pigs loose in the house. 

The nerds decide they aren't going to take it anymore, and concoct a plan. After executing one of the finest panty-raids in cinema history, they hid cameras in the Pi Delta Pi's showers, and soon after they put hot oil in the Alpha Beta's jockstraps. After hearing this, the president of the Tri- Lambs gives the nerds an official chapter of their fraternity. Being official though doesn't stop the pranks however, and they realise that the one way they can end it is by taking control of the Greek Council. But first they must compete in the Greek Games and prove that they are more than just insult fodder and greasy hair...

Unlike many other college comedies from the era, Revenge of the Nerds has a pretty good story. Characters learn and grow, and we genuinely want to see them succeed in the fist pumping climax. The script is great, and we get a real sense of the likability of the characters from very early on in the film, with each 'nerd' and 'jock' having their own personality that we don't always see in the genre. By having such well defined characters it allows the humour to really shine through, no matter how crude it gets. And crude as some of it may be, the film is hilarious. Moments such as; the panty-raid, Poindexter's stoned dancing, Latrelle ringing the doorbell of a big hairy white guy, "Poindexter, do you wanna fuck or not?", and the all-black Tri-Lambs showing up to the help the nerds out at the last minute are just a few slivers of the hilarity here. There are very few jokes that don't work, and even then it might be just down to your preference on comedy. But because the film is so well written and imagined, what you come away with is a sense that you have gone on a journey with these characters, and to say that about a college comedy really is something.

Of course, having a great script is only half of it, as the cast really bring it to life. Both Carradine and Edwards are lovely (yes, I said it, lovely. I would hang out with these guys) in their leading roles, with both bring a warmth and sense of fun to nearly every scene they are in. Curtis Armstrong really sticks out again as Booger, and he was very memorable in the likes of Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer. He also gets some of the funniest lines (" What the fuck'sa frush?" and "I've been out combing the high schools all day!" come to mind) in a very funny film. The 'jocks' are also made up of familiar faces, with Ted McGinley (best known for Married... With Children) and Donald Gibb (Jocks and Bloodsport) getting plenty of screen time. 

The film was directed by Jeff Kanew, who made the seldom-seen Natural Enemies, and Gotcha!. He does a fine job here of keeping the film moving along, and also of keeping his huge cast together. Special mention should be made of the enjoyable soundtrack, as it's filled with some fun music by the likes of The Gleaming Spears, Revenge and The Rubinoos, who also do the title tune. 

Ultimately, Revenge of the Nerds is about accepting those around us who are different; be they smart, socially awkward, foreign or gay. us weirdos make up the majority of the world, and as Gilbert says in his final, rousing speech, "Just join us 'cause, uh, no-one's gonna really be free until nerd persecution ends."