Movie Review: Revenge of the Nerds

Revenge of the Nerds
Twentieth Century Fox, Interscope Communications, Zacharias-Buhai Productions, USA, 1984.

Long before "Big-Bang Theory" or "IT Crowd" there was a film series "Revenge of the Nerds."

Geek-friends Lewis (Robert Carradine) and Gilbert (Anthony Edwards) (you have to know some chemistry to get the joke) go to college. Maybe they can meet some girls there. Unfortunately there are bullies who hate nerds. Ogre (Donald Gibb), Burke (Matt Salinger) and Stan (Ted McGinley) and other idiotic Alpha Beta jocks burn down their own frat house so with support from Coach Harris (John Goodman) they invade the freshman-dormitory kicking the new students out.

Lewis and his dad (James Cromwell)

Judy (Michelle Meyrink) and Gilbert

Ogre

The nerds are not accepted to fraternities so they decide to start their own. But the system is rigged so they are not allowed to do so. They join U.N Jefferson's (Bernie Casey) black fraternity Lambda-Lambda-Lambda and throw a party but the Alpha-Betas ruin it. The nerds plan a revenge with some juvenile pranks. Stan's girlfriend Betty Childs (Julia Montgomery) plays dirty tricks but ultimately can not resist love skills of the nerds.

Coach Harris and Dean Ulich (David Wohl)

Stan and Betty

Lamar, Takashi and Booger

Although starring nerds it doesn't make the jokes intelligent, rather on the contrary. College-comedy has similar raunchy and low-brow jokes as "Animal House." There is a lot of crude fun but somehow it could have used the nerd-theme better. There are many laughably bad jokes too. It has the usual elements of college-comedies, wild parties, topless girls and silly contests so the genre hasn't really evolved much since that. The cast has typical side-characters for the comedies of the era, Gay, Oriental Guy and Pot-head that are fun but do not quite fit the definition of nerd but represent the social outcasts of the college world. In the end, though, there is talk about tolerance and sort of declaration of nerd-rights. 

Sorority girls

Robot vacuum cleaner model 1984

Remember, mopery is exposing yourself to a blind person!

The Moper

Rating: Average

Starring: Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Timothy Busfield, Andrew Cassese, Curtis Armstrong, Larry B. Scott, Brian Tochi, Julia Montgomery, Michelle Meyrink, Ted McGinley, Matt Salinger, Donald Gibb, James Cromwell, David Wohl, John Goodman, Bernie Casey, Alice Hirson, F. William Parker, Roger Carter, Kres Mersky, Marianne Muellerleile, Lisa Welch, Suzanne B. Hayes, Shawn Siqueiros, Sandra Katzel, Henry Kendrick, Fumio Kodama, Lance Lombardo, William B. Wilson, Carl Cherry, Adam Frank, Taylor Samuels, Brad Grunberg, James Anklam, Matthew M. Haugh, William C. Horning, Angela C. Gardaphe, Lisa Kolasa, Kristen Kinderman, Kay Strunk, Gamble Baffert, Brian Lover, Jerry Kurinsky, Tonja Sue Philbee, Monique Sorenson, Calon Blackledge, Scott Bird, David Moskowitz, Steven Duran, Thomas Obeid, Theodore Kerpez, Michael Urena, Vincent Lindsley, Laura Bell, Linda Felker, Deborah Bernstein, Renee Mintz, Donna Costello, Lillie Nusz, Romy Dushoff, Rhonda Tinsley, Felicia Fagan, Jennifer Wilcox, John Almon, Brian Nelson, Daniel Egan, Thomas Repp, Jay Galland, Andrew Salan, Dean Heindel, Scott Spangler, Robert Melton, Steve Yeatras, Madaline Blinder, Colleen Madden, Lucy Craig, Susan Myers, Jennie Gaio, Kristi Nelson, Carolyn Hoover, Melissa Perlman, Karen Knutzen, Lori Stock, Chris Stravolo, Kelly Reed, Lloyd Sherr, Malcolm Gregor, Clinton James Austin, Greg Berg, Kris Levario, Peter J. Wacks, Michael L. White

Director: Jeff Kanew

Movie Review: Major League: Back to the Minors

Major League: Back to the Minors a.k.a Major League III
Morgan Creek Productions, Warner Bros., USA, 1998.

I thought I had all the "Major League"- films but I didn't, so I have to skip the second part for now. Oh well, this is not the first time I'm watching movies in the wrong order. 

Gus Cantrell (Scott Bakula) is planning to quit his baseball career that has seen the better days. Stuck in lower leagues he does not have much room for advancement. Maybe he should start a peaceful life with his nice girlfriend Maggie Reynolds (Jensen Daggett). His old friend Roger Dorn (Corbin Bernsen) suggest a new career coaching a minor team Buzz. After the previous movies Roger has become a baseball team owner.

Gus Cantrell

Maggie Reynolds

Roger Dorn

The most promising player in Buzz is Billy 'Downtown' Anderson (Walton Goggins) but he is also selfish diva. Other players are weak. Pitcher Hog Ellis (Judson Mills) needs to learn pitching and the second pitcher Carlton 'Doc' Windgate (Peter Mackenzie) is too slow. Lance Pere (Kenny Johnson) is a former ballet dancer trying a baseball career and Lopez twins (Tim, Tom & Ted DiFilippo) are always quarreling. Empathetic Frank 'Pops' Morgan (Thom Barry) is supportive but too old to run fast, so Gus makes him the Captain. 

Frank 'Pops' Morgan

Hog Ellis

Billy Anderson

Roger wants Billy to his team Twins that is coached by Gus' old nemesis Leonard Huff (Ted McGinley). The game doesn't get better until two retired players 'Voodoo' Cerrano (Dennis Haysbert) and Taka Tanaka (Takaaki Ishibashi) join the team and show the youngsters how to play baseball. Buzz gets a chance to humiliate Twins in a big arena, but Leonard does not play fair. Billy shows his skills though and Leonard hires Billy although he is still not ready for the big league. Losing the best player makes Buzz lose the motivation. The End.

...
...

Not really. Gus teaches that baseball is not one man show, but a team game. There is no "I" in "Team." The players deserve a second chance so it is a time for a rematch!

Cerrano

Taka Tanaka

Leonard Huff

Scott Bakula was good as a coach, whipping the underdog players into shape. Familiar character from the previous films Announcer Harry Doyle (Bob Uecker) has some funny scenes. And Ted McGinley, known for "Married With Children" still has slick idiot charm. There is some fun physical comedy but the verbal comedy is milder than in the first movie, mostly because the new player characters are not as funny. You just start waiting the appearance of the old team players. Roger Dorn is quite out of the character here, and makes wonder what happened between the first and the third film. It is not so bad but far from remarkable. Although the comedy gets slightly better near the end, it almost would work better as a baseball TV-movie drama.

Rating: Average

Starring: Scott Bakula, Corbin Bernsen, Dennis Haysbert, Takaaki Ishibashi, Jensen Daggett, Eric Bruskotter, Walton Goggins, Ted McGinley, Kenny Johnson, Judson Mills, Lobo Sebastian, Thom Barry, Peter Mackenzie, Ted DiFilippo, Tim DiFilippo, Tom DiFilippo, Bob Uecker, Larry Brandenburg, Jack Baun, Mike Schatz, Joe Kelly, J. Don Ferguson, Brian Beegle, Ted Manson, Ronald 'Buzz' Bowman, Alex Van, Tim Ware, Robert M. Egan, Michael A. Lynch, Richard Bruce Doughty, Al Hamacher, Natalie Hendrix, Stephen Hardig, Letroy Myers, Gary P. Pozsik, André Tardieu, Brien Straw, R.J. Kackley, Bradley Crable, Ken Medlock, Lucinda Whitaker, Kimberly Herndon, Elizabeth Diane Wells, Gary Murphy, Scott Foxhall, Warren Peper, Dee Thompson, Raymond Sterling, Ron Clinton Smith, Richie Dye, Dolan Wilson, Laura-Shay Griffin, Mark Storm, Bayani Ison
Director: John Warren

Movie Review: Major League

Major League
Paramount Pictures, Mirage Enterprises, Morgan Creek Productions, USA, 1989.

In Cleveland baseball them Indians has not won the league in 35 years. Rachel Phelps (Margaret Whitton) inherits the team and wants to move the team to Miami. First she has to end the deal with city of Cleveland, and the deal will be broken if there is a major drop in audience. So the team needs to fail so badly that the audience will stay at home. What they need is a team of losers, former stars and misfits. Colourful bunch of players arrives: has-been baseball star Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger), voodoo-man Cerrano, weak-armed Eddie Harris (Chelcie Ross), sloppy-fingered snob Roger Dorn (Corbin Bernsen), wannabe-player Willie Mays Hayes (Wesley Snipes) and jailbird Ricky Vaughn (Charlie Sheen).

Rachel Phelps

Eddie Harris and Roger Dorn

Ricky Vaughn and Jake Taylor

Against all odds the tough but fair coach Lou Brown (James Gammon) begins to get the motley crew on the winning track. Rachel tries dirty tricks to keep the team losing but they will not be discouraged. As a romantic sideplot Jake's old flame Lynn Wells (Rene Russo) is getting married and he decides to do something to repair the past. Also Ricky gets in a mess with Dorn's sexy wife Suzanne (Stacy Carroll).

Pedro Cerrano

Willie Mays Hayes

Lynn Wells

In the 1980s several variations of "Police Academy" were made and why not, there is always fun in watching a band of goofy underdogs outdo themselves. Every player has his own obstacles to overcome and there is always room for self-growth. The team even becomes interested in classical literatuire. Okay, in comic form but still. In the 1980s comedy style everything goes to achieve the feel good ending, so the story does not have great surprises but entertaining sports comedy does what it is supposed to do.

Lou Brown

Suzanne Dorn

Amusing characters are performed by many familiar faces. Tom Berenger is seldom seen in comedic roles and also here he is in mostly dramatic role, still cracking jokes with the others. Before Wesley Snipes became an action star, he did a career in comedies, this is a bit different role than he is usually seen. His character is energetic but somewhat gullible. Charlie Sheen has the role of bad boy, who becomes a sports idol.

Rating: Good

Starring: Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Margaret Whitton, James Gammon, Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes, Charles Cyphers, Chelcie Ross, Dennis Haysbert, Andy Romano, Bob Uecker, Steve Yeager, Peter Vuckovich, Stacy Carroll, Richard Pickren, Kevin Crowley, Mary Seibel, Bill Leff, Mike Bacarella, Skip Griparis, Gary Houston, Ward Ohrman, Marge Kotlisky, Tony Mockus Jr., Deborah Wakeham, Neil Flynn, Keith Uchima, Kurt Uchima, William M. Sinacore, Richard Baird, Julia Milaris, Roger Unice, Michael Thoma, Patrick Dollymore, Joe Liss, Gregory Alan Williams, Peter Ruskin, Michael Hart, James Deuter, Jack McLaughlin-Gray, Tim Bell, Joe Soto, Ted Noose, Lenny Rubin, Thomas P. Purdoff, Jeffrey J. Edwards, Alexandra Villa, Michelle Minyon, Alex Flores, Michael F. Twarog, Ted White
Director: David S. Ward