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 pubic hair | shower | female frontal nudity | rape by deception | bare midriff | 

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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:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the DVD commentary, the woman who answers the door for Wormser when he is house hunting is a woman that Curtis Armstrong did theater work with in the past.

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Goofs

Poindexter has a "spiked" hairstyle during the performance at the end of the Homecoming Carnival. In the next scenes, his normal hair style is back.

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Quotes

Lewis: [planning the party] Do any of you have dates, besides Gilbert?
Lamar: I do!
Booger: Yeah, but that's with a guy.
Lewis: Well, what about you, Booger?
Booger: I've been out combing the high schools all day!

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits sequence is played over the Nerds' drive to Adams College.

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Alternate Versions

The Castilian Spanish version was titled "La Revancha de los Novatos", "The Revenge of the Freshmans". The word "Nerd" was changed to "Freshman", and that was kept for the next movies too.

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Connections

Referenced in The Big Review: Comics and College (2013)

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Soundtracks

Burning Down the House
Written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth
Performed by Talking Heads
Courtesy of Sire Records
by arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

My brief review of the film

Although it may be all a bit silly and quite clichéd, this is nevertheless a good film of its type, with main characters that are appealing and a great title song, scored by Thomas Newman, who would later compose the scores of movies such as 'American Beauty'. The film does not really go anywhere much at all, the jokes work only about half the time, and it is all a bit short on its content, but despite all of this, the film has a pleasant and rather enjoyable nature not common to the average college comedy, and this makes it a rather uniquely likable film overall. It may not be a great piece of cinema, but it is quite good entertainment.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 August 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Revenge of the Nerds

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