Revenge of the Nerds (1984) * * *

 

Directed by:  Jeff Kanew

Starring:  Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, John Goodman, Ted McGinley, Donald Gibb, Matthew Salinger, James Cromwell, Curtis Armstrong, Larry B. Scott, Brian Tochi, Andrew Cassesse, Bernie Casey, Julie Montgomery, Timothy Busfield, Michelle Meyrink, David Wohl

Revenge of the Nerds is the 80's tribute to Animal House but instead of the slobs taking on the snobs, it's the nerds taking on the jocks who make their lives miserable.  Why do the football players, all members of the bullying Alpha Beta fraternity, hate nerds so much?  The movie never explains and doesn't attempt to, and why would it?   The mostly freshmen nerds, led by best friends Lewis (Carradine) and Gilbert (Edwards) are harmless, but intelligent guys trying to make their way at Adams College.  However, they are harassed at every turn by the Alpha Betas led by faceman quarterback Stan Gable (McGinley).  The partying Alpha Betas accidentally burn down their frat house, so they throw the freshmen out of their dorms and force them to live in the gym.  The college president is the ineffectual Dean Ulich (Wohl), who himself is a nerdy guy bullied by the aggressive football coach (Goodman) and whom cowers to the coach's demands.  

It isn't humiliating enough for the nerds to be relocated to the gym (while basketball practice is in full swing), but when they find a house to live in which they repair themselves, the Alpha Betas vandalize the house and terrorize the poor guys.  When they try to take up matters with the Greek Council (run by the Alpha Betas), they get nowhere so form their own fraternity and work to defeat the Alpha Betas at the homecoming games so they can gain control of the council.   We have the likable underdogs taking on the insufferable bullies, while Lewis sets his sights on Betty (Montgomery), Stan's girlfriend with whom Lewis has fallen in love.   She won't have anything to do with him until a chance hookup between Betty and a disguised Lewis (whom Betty thinks is Stan).  I'm not a legal expert, but I've heard this might qualify as rape, but the movie wisely overlooks this possibility.  

Revenge of the Nerds combines inspired humor (some gross-out of course which goes with the territory) and some lovable characters such as Booger (Armstrong), who is short on hygiene but long on wisecracks, bespectacled, awkward Arnold Poindexter (Busfield), and a pre-teen computer whiz named Wormser (Cassesse).  There is also a gay nerd (Scott) and a Japanese nerd (Tochi) to round out the diverse outcasts.   What's more important is that we root for them to overthrow the Alpha Betas and once a rooting interest is established, we more or less forgive the movie its trespasses.  Oh, and it's a funny movie.