Short Circuit (1986)

Number 5 of a group of experimental robots in a lab is electrocuted, suddenly becomes intelligent, and escapes.

Director:

John Badham

Writers:

S.S. Wilson, Brent Maddock

Stars:

Ally Sheedy, Steve Guttenberg, Fisher Stevens

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ally Sheedy	...	Stephanie Speck
Steve Guttenberg	...	Newton Crosby
Fisher Stevens	...	Ben Jabituya
Austin Pendleton	...	Howard Marner
G.W. Bailey	...	Skroeder
Brian McNamara	...	Frank
Tim Blaney	...	Number 5 (voice)
Marvin J. McIntyre	...	Duke
John Garber	...	Otis
Penny Santon	...	Mrs. Cepeda
Vernon Weddle	...	General Washburne
Barbara Tarbuck	...	Senator Mills
Tom Lawrence	...	Howard Marner's Aide
Fred Slyter	...	Norman
Billy Ray Sharkey	...	Zack

Storyline

Number 5, one of a group of experimental military robots, undergoes a sudden transformation after being struck by lightning. He develops self-awareness, consciousness, and a fear of the reprogramming that awaits him back at the factory. With the help of a young woman, Number 5 tries to evade capture and convince his creator that he has truly become alive.

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Plot Keywords:

robot | military | lightning | mistaken for alien | three stooges spoof | 

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Taglines:

Something wonderful has happened... Number Five is alive!

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 May 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cortocircuito

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$40,697,761 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

David Foster Productions, Producers Sales Organization (PSO), TriStar Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There was a script for a possible third Short Circuit movie written in 1989 and rewritten in 1990, but it was found to be unsatisfactory by the producers, and the project was subsequently scrapped. According to Variety magazine in April of 2008, Dimension Films had bought the rights to make a third Short Circuit movie, in which the plot would involve a boy from a broken family meeting and befriending Number 5. It remains unclear however if this movie will be a sequel to the first two movies, or a remake of this movie.

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Goofs

Number 5 is hit by the trash robot, in the next shot while he is being moved, his mouth cover is gone, and then back on when he is loaded onto the truck.

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Quotes

Benjamin Jabituya: Who is knowing how to read the mind of a robot?

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Crazy Credits

The credits are played out over a montage of scenes from the movie, including a pair of scenes that failed to make the final cut. One involves an encounter between Number 5 and a toy robot, the other involves a scene in a scrap yard where a scrapped car that Number 5 is currently sitting in is crushed.

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: Moon 44 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Who's Johnny"
("Short Circuit" Theme)
Written by Peter Wolf (as Peter) and Ina Wolf
Performed by El DeBarge
Courtesy of Motown Records

User Reviews

A rarity among family-oriented films...

There have been many films that claim they can entertain audiences of all ages. Indeed, this seems to be the most profitable kind of film to make, with the family-oriented often translating to the lowest common denominator. There is a rare kind of film in this oversaturated market, however. Namely, the film that claims it can entertain an audience in almost any age bracket, and really can deliver on this promise. I know how this sounds, so bear with me a moment.

Short Circuit is, at heart, a comedy about what happens when a robot designed to replace a special forces soldier is struck by lightning, and starts to believe he is a living entity. Much of the rest of the film revolves around either Number 5's attempts to evade capture by the people who made him, or his attempts to convince the people he meets of the truly wonderful thing that has happened to him. Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg provide an excellent support cast that does a first rate job of interacting with the character. This was one of the first films to show human actors engaging in conversation with what was essentially a full-scale puppet, and it remains one of the best. With brilliant voice acting by Tim Blaney, Number 5 seems more human than some of the other actors in the film, especially G.W. Bailey. They must have had a special on Police Academy alumni that year.

Speaking of Police Academy, the "let's rip the front seats out and sit in the back" joke gets a couple of references here. In fact, a few old classics get a good reference in this effort. Interestingly enough, the Three Stooges short that is shown and imitated in a couple of sequences is called Woman Haters. Go figure. The one weakness of the film is that it seems primarily constructed around a few puppeteering or special effects sequences. The use of the laser beams here seems very dated by modern standards, and the computers would look unbelievable if I hadn't personally seen the computers that were available to the public and business around this year.

Sadly, they do not make films like this anymore. In this day and age, where every film has to be made as expensively as possible, and even films aimed at children seem segmented, nobody seems willing to consider that the adults in the audience might need to be entertained, too. Which is a real pity. Films like Short Circuit have the ability to appeal to this viewer even more now that he is twenty-something years old than was the case when he was eight years old. I doubt that anyone who turns twenty-six in 2020 is going to same the same about the Pokemon or other such mind-numbing single-digit-age-only crap that is being churned out.

I gave Short Circuit an eight out of ten. It is starting to show its age, but as a relic of the mid-1980s, it also shows that there were people asking questions about the advancement of technology. Indeed, on the basis of films like Short Circuit, I am almost willing to regard the 1980s as the last bastion of creativity in the mainstream film industry. Give it a look expecting a film about more than money, and you may be pleasantly surprised.