Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Two unpopular teenagers, Gary and Wyatt, fail at all attempts to be accepted by their peers. Their desperation to be liked leads them to "create" a woman via their computer. Their living and breathing creation is a gorgeous woman, Lisa, whose purpose is to boost their confidence level by putting them into situations which require Gary and Wyatt to act like men.
Weird Science is a fun but uneven John Hughes teen fantasy comedy. The premise is charmingly absurd and the film has a distinctive whimsical energy driven by Kelly LeBrock's charismatic Lisa and the likable leads, but the plot meanders considerably with loosely connected comic set pieces rather than a coherent narrative arc. The acting is serviceable — LeBrock is effortlessly charming, Anthony Michael Hall brings his usual nerdy sincerity, and Bill Paxton steals scenes as obnoxious older brother Chet — but nobody delivers a truly exceptional performance. Cinematographically it's a standard mid-80s studio comedy with competent but unremarkable visuals. The concept has a novelty to it given its comic-book-inspired wish-fulfillment premise and Hughes's particular suburban teen sensibility, though it's not his most distinctive work. The ending resolves things hastily and formulaically, with the boys gaining confidence and Chet getting his comeuppance in a rushed, unsatisfying fashion.