I've mentioned before some of the reasons why I like this movie so much. A lot of it, I acknowledge, has to do with the time of my life when I found this movie. I was by no means a science genius with ideas no one around me could comprehend, but I was certainly a picked-on nerd. Real Genius, despite being a screwball comedy at its core, offered two surprisingly profound revelations on that situation: that somewhere out there is a place where even the nerdiest fits in, and that smart people can use their intelligence to be incredibly witty and funny. I've seen Real Genius many times, but I still laugh at the jokes. Hell, I laugh before the jokes now, because I know they're coming.
Val Kilmer is perfect as the unconventional Chris Knight, a brainiac trying hard not to take himself seriously in order to maintain balance in his life. Gabe Jarret practically fell off the face of the earth after this movie (though you can spot him, 10 years older, in the mission control center in Apollo 13), but he's painfully awkward and childish here in a way that perfectly suits the movie. (The moments where he tries to mimic Kilmer -- repeating his laugh or throwing Chris Knight's advice back at him -- are just perfectly cringe-worthy.)
You can use the word "perfect" to keep describing the cast all the way down the ranks. William Atherton is a perfect jerk as Jerry Hathaway, treating everyone around him like garbage until his hilarious comeuppance. He's flanked by Robert Prescott as the equally rotten Kent. Michelle Meyrink is hilarious as the impossibly hyper Jordan, while Jon Gries gets laughs on the opposite end of the spectrum as the sedate Lazlo Hollyfeld. It's a cast of characters that can come at humor from just about every angle, and at some point or another, the movie does.
Seeing the movie this time, I learned something new -- the musical score was composed by Thomas Newman. Newman is the composer whose quirky style graces movies like American Beauty, The Shawshank Redemption, and the opening credits of Six Feet Under. (Not long ago, I commented on his score for Skyfall.) Real Genius is much more noted for the pop music peppering the movie, spotlighted in several montages and the grand finale. But there's 10 to 15 minutes of Newman's work sprinkled throughout, and it's pretty good stuff. It definitely sounds like the prototype version of the sound that Newman would refine over the years, and its oddball qualities certainly suit this film.
Real Genius still gets an A in my book, and I'm glad to have now seen it on the big screen.
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