Was für ein Genie (1985)

Was für ein Genie: Directed by Martha Coolidge. With Val Kilmer, Gabriel Jarret, Michelle Meyrink, William Atherton. Teenage geniuses deal with their abilities while developing a high-powered laser for a university project. When their professor intends to turn their work into a military weapon, they decide to ruin his plans.

“It is unfortunate that Val Kilmer so quickly u0026quot;graduatedu0026quot; from the realm of youth oriented roles, as his work in Real Genius is by far the most enjoyable to watch. Kilmer proves adept at excellent comic timing, and he is given a motherlode of razor-sharp one-liners to fire off in every scene (I speculate that writer Pat Proft enjoyed watching The Marx Brothers in his formative years). Chief drawback of this film is the hammy, sneering villain played by Atherton — as the old saying goes, just give him a mustache to twirl. But if you happened to see the film as a young person, the above-mentioned wonu0026#39;t get in the way of your fond memories. I sure know that every time I see that slow-motion romp through the popcorn and hear Tears for Fearsu0026#39; u0026quot;Everybody Wants to Rule the World,u0026quot; ramp up on the soundtrack, my cynicism just melts away.”