How “The Rewatchables” Categories Should Have Gone for “Weird Science”
What’s Aged the Best
Should Have Won: Parasocial relationships
Actually Won: Robert Downey Jr
This movie’s premise actually lands even harder today. With the widespread adoption of AI, there are young men who barely interact with real women because they can get the attention they constantly want from a chatbot. Two teenagers creating a real, human woman to help them learn confidence and connection is healthier by comparison. A modern sequel or remake could even explore one of those boys, becoming a father, and building his kid’s own “Lisa” as a way to teach him how to develop real-world confidence and communication skills with women.
Weakest Link
Should Have Won: Ilan-Michael Smith as Wyatt Donnelly
Actually Won: Lack of romantic relationships
Yes, he was actually a teenager when he made this movie, but Smith is just an awful actor. This is John Hughes, the same director who discovered Macaulay Culkin, one of the best child actors ever. You’re telling me he couldn’t find someone better? Smith spends the entire film looking like a former child actor who loved being on set as a kid but realized he hated it by the time he hit his teens. His only genuinely strong moment is when he breaks the fourth wall and gives that little smile to the camera. If it weren’t for Anthony Michael Hall, this whole movie would fall flat.
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Most 1985-Thing About This Movie
Should Have Won: Having a successful television spin-off
Actually Won: Oingo Boingo doing the theme song
The 1980s were a weird time, and one of the strangest trends was how often successful movies were immediately turned into TV spin-offs. They almost never worked, which is exactly why you don’t see streaming platforms trying the same thing today. Imagine if today’s biggest blockbuster skipped a sequel and instead became a streaming series with a completely different cast. We saw it with “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, and that version had Jennifer Aniston. Somehow this show managed to last five seasons, which is significantly more than the Jennifer Aniston–led “Ferris Bueller” series and other spin-offs could say.
APEX Mountain
Should Have Won: Kelly LeBrock
Actually Won: Anthony Michael Hall
This is the absolute peak of LeBrock’s career, and there’s really no debate about it. She didn’t make another movie for five years after this simply because she didn’t need to. Talk about going out on top. LeBrock is a near–household name, and it’s entirely because of her role in this film. She’ll forever be remembered as Lisa in “Weird Science” and becoming that iconic from a single performance makes this her true APEX Mountain.
Who Won the Movie?
Should Have Won: Anthony Michael Hall
Actually Won: Kelly LeBrock
Hall is absolutely the standout performer in this entire movie. It’s his first film where he gets top billing outside of an ensemble, and he completely owns it. He was so good that he became the youngest “Saturday Night Live” cast member ever, joining the show right as Lorne Michaels returned to rescue it. Let me emphasize that. His performance here made him so big that, at just 17, he was brought in to help revive one of the most iconic comedy shows of all time. It ultimately didn’t work out for Hall on SNL, and the show actually took off after he moved on. But this movie proved he could carry a film without leaning on a powerhouse ensemble, and it set him up for decades of opportunities in the years that followed.
