Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

At Adams College, a group of bullied outcasts and misfits resolve to fight back for their peace and self-respect.

Director:

Jeff Kanew

Writers:

Tim Metcalfe (story), Miguel Tejada-Flores (story)

Stars:

Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Timothy Busfield

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Carradine	...	Lewis
Anthony Edwards	...	Gilbert
Timothy Busfield	...	Poindexter
Andrew Cassese	...	Wormser
Curtis Armstrong	...	'Booger'
Larry B. Scott	...	Lamar
Brian Tochi	...	Takashi
Julia Montgomery	...	Betty Childs (as Julie Montgomery)
Michelle Meyrink	...	Judy
Ted McGinley	...	Stan Gable
Matt Salinger	...	Burke
Donald Gibb	...	Ogre
James Cromwell	...	Mr. Skolnick (as Jamie Cromwell)
David Wohl	...	Dean Ulich
John Goodman	...	Coach Harris

Storyline

When lovable nerds Gilbert and Lewis embark on their freshman year at Adams College, little do they realize the dangers that await them. They are beset by taunting from the jocks of Alpha Beta fraternity, which only worsens when the jocks accidentally burn down their house and toss the freshmen out of the freshmen dorm. To make matters more problematic, Lewis develops a crush on pretty Betty Childs, popular sorority sister and quarterback's girlfriend. Joined by the aptly named Booger and the violin-playing Poindexter, the nerds soon realize they must form their own fraternity in self-defense. Soon the tables are turned as the nerds employ high-tech warfare against the jocks.... but can they really succeed and make a difference?

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Plot Keywords:

female frontal nudity | bare midriff | topless female nudity | female pubic hair | shower | 

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Taglines:

They've been laughed at, picked on and put down. But now it's time for the odd to get even! Their time has come!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

18A

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film deleted a subplot of the Nerds visiting the Tri-Lambda national conference in Las Vegas, in which the Nerds are outcasts and in which Gilbert talks to his uncle at the hotel where the conference is being held. These deleted scenes can be found on the new "panty raid edition" DVD. The producers then took the idea of the Tri-Lambs going to a convention and having to fight anew against anti-nerd prejudice, added new elements (the convention was an national inter-fraternity gathering that took place in Fort Lauderdale during spring break) and used it as the second film's storyline.

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Goofs

The label for the brown bottle of "Liquid Heat" changes position between shots to always face the camera.

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Quotes

[after the Alpha Betas' treachery is revealed at the pep rally]
Dean Ulich: You know, Coach. I'm going to let the Lambdas live over at the Alpha Beta house while you and your boys rebuild theirs!
Burke: Where the hell are *we* gonna live?
Ogre: Yeah. What about *us*?
Dean Ulich: You're *jocks*! Go live in the gym!

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Crazy Credits

DIRTBAGS......A Part of Growing Up

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Alternate Versions

Two versions were filmed of the scene in which Betty pulls her shower curtain aside to find Lewis waiting - a "backed-out" version, to give a more wide view of the room, and a close-up of Lewis' face. While the "backed out" version was used during the actual scene in the movie, the zoomed-in one appears in the end credits during the scene in which Robert Carradine is credited for the Lewis role.

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Connections

Referenced in The Fate of the Furious (2017)

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Soundtracks

Breakdown
Written by Tommy Dunbar and Judge
Performed by The Rubinoos

User Reviews

A decent feel-good film with an all-star cast.

Revenge Of The Nerds came out during the 1980-86 R-rated teen flick bonanza that was coming out of Hollywood. While this one is much milder than some of the others, it does have it's moments of raunchiness.

The story is simple: two young men are attending Adams University; but find out quickly that their type (the gawky, glasses wearing, intellectuals) are treated like nobodies. In fact, any male who isn't a jock or a WASP isn't even allowed to live in the dorms. A group of "misfits" including the two main characters Lewis and Gilbert are forced to live in the gym. They do find accommodations but they continue to suffer humiliation and embarrassment from the Alpha Betas. And so, like in the title of the movie, they get REVENGE.

This is a movie that certainly can't be made today. Affirmative Action certainly would be in place to disallow discrimination on college campuses. The "villains" make fun of anyone who isn't like them. Still, when it's all said and done the film sends out a message that you should be proud of yourself and how you look and not let anybody tell you otherwise.

Yes, as an 80's film you'll see every requisite of the decade, but you'll also see something that's a portent of the future. The Nerds raid the women's dorm so they can cause a distraction so others can install cameras in the bedrooms and showers so they can be spied on. That has become very popular on the 'Net.

As for the cast: Oh my! You'll never see this intriguing mix too often. Like in Freaky Friday, you'll see a lot of actors who made it big on T.V.

Ted McGinley - The leader of the Alpha Betas. He's been on a zillion T.V. shows. I always thought he was more of a nerd than jock.

John Goodman - Head coach of the football team. He looked so lean. Along with Roseanne; he's a superb supporting actor in major motion pictures but a weak lead actor.

Anthony Edwards - Gilbert Lowell. Dr. Mark Greene on ER. Considered a heartthrob during those years.

Robert Carradine - Lewis Skolnick. Member of the Carradine acting family.

Timothy Busfield - Poindexter. Elliot Weston on "thitysomething".

Matt Salinger - Danny Burke. The son of "The Catcher In The Rye" writer J.D. Salinger.

Curtis Armstrong - Booger. Remember him from Moonlighting?

Even James Cromwell makes a brief appearance as Lewis' father.

As for the comments of Julie Montgomery's beauty; sure she's beautiful. Especially if you like the Kate Moss, Calista Flockhart, J. Cynthia Brooks, Paris Hilton, Samia Ghattas, etc. skin and bones body. I don't, myself.

All in all, this is still a good film that does its job. Just avoid the sequels. None of them are good and lack the bite of the first film.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 August 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

La revanche des tronches

Filming Locations:

Scottish Rite Temple, 160 S Scott Ave, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,513,090, 22 July 1984

Gross USA:

$40,874,452

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$40,874,452

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Interscope Communications, Zacharias-Buhai Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1