A few weeks ago, I posted an article about 10 movies nerds love and reference. The list included many science fiction films along with a couple fantasies. But, what the film didn’t include was many nerds.
Nerds saw a huge jump in movie roles after the popularity of the term increased when put on display in Happy Days in the mid-70s. Ever since, nerds have had a place in Hollywood.
Here is a list of my favorite movies about nerds (ranked according to their IMDB rating).
Weird Science (1985)
Although this film is ranked barely above average (6.3) by IMDB, it has its place in best nerd films for no other reason than the movie contains every nerds dream–the ability to create a gorgeous women through programming.
Once you add in that this film is freaking hilarious and the fact Wyatt Donnelly was a professor at ASU when I attended there then there is no other reason to not add Weird Science into the list of top movies about nerds.
Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
When I was younger, this film was on television (yes, edited) almost every single day. So even at an extremely young age I was exposed to the nerds ability to defeat the jocks.
Now that I am older and have seen the unedited version, I enjoy the film that much more. Does that make me a pervert? No, because I already know I am one. Anyway, that isn’t the reason I enjoy it more. It is because many parts of the film were deleted for time constraints and words were censored.
Lucas (1986)
A true nerd who is picked on endlessly encounters a blessing as an attractive girl moves in down the street and attends his school. She’s a bit older and down to earth. The nerd loves her. As the two become best friends the nerd falls for her even more. She of course, only likes him as a friend. She (who would have guessed) falls for the football star. She falls for the football star. Luckily, the nerd has his own admirer who is just as down to earth.
The Nutty Professor (1963)
Yes, the Jerry Lewis original. As Lewis plays an even more believable nerd than Eddie Murphy, he sets out to become a handsome, popular man. Like Murphy’s version, Lewis is picked on constantly by almost everyone who knows him. He is even embarrassed in front of his class (which contains the beautiful Stella) by the football coach. Once he drinks his potion, he becomes a popular, handsome, and socially capable dude. Of course, the potion wears off quickly and hilarity ensues.
Real Genius (1985)
A nerd (Gabriel Jarret) is the youngest student to ever be accepted into a university for geniuses. He partners up with his roommate to develop a high-powered laser, only to have it taken by their teacher once it’s complete. The laser was being created unknowingly to finish a military contract to kill humans by laser from space. But that isn’t really the story.
The story is the roommate, played by Val Kilmer, is a mellowed out dude who use to be exactly like the young genius. Eventually, Kilmer teaches him how to mellow out and enjoy college. Like all nerd films, the nerd must fall in love, and he does.
War Games (1983)
A young computer nerd accidentally connects into a nuclear weapons facility and launches a game between America and Russia. Neither side realizes that it is just a game, until when it isn’t. The countdown to WWIII begins, but the nerd and his female companion save the day.
At the beginning of the personal computer age, War Games rose many peoples awareness for both the danger and hope the computer age will bring. It is definitely a nerd classic.
Carrie (1976)
This film is unlike the others mentioned. It is a Stephen King classic about a nerd who is the child of a Christian fanatic. She is so sheltered by her mother that she doesn’t even know what is happening to her when she has her first period. She of course, contains the same powers as her father. She learns more about her powers only to have them come to great use at the end.
Pi (1998)
A math nerd who has terrible headaches is unsocial and obsessive with patterns. He is a number theorist who is attempting to find a predictable pattern within the stock market. He is lonely and his only contact is a math professor.
The math nerd works on his calculations within a super-computer, only to have it crash and spit out a 216-digit number. He gets the computer to work again, but it spits out the same number while crashing. Once the computer stops printing, he starts writing it down only to recognize it. As the movie goes on, the nerd’s headaches increase, he’s kidnapped, and thugs use the number to crash the stock market.
Written: Jun 8, 2009
Deneil Merritt
June 28, 2009 @ 6:30 pm
I really like “Revenge of the Nerds” out of all of them. The movie was awesome.