My Science Project (1985)

Very disappointing...

Fantastic!

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Starring the late great Dennis Hopper and underrated talent Fisher Stevens this is an odd little 80's sci-fi comedy that I'd never heard of. I can only assume this is because it didn't do all too well.It tells the story of a car nut who finds a mysterious device while searching for something to use for his science project. The device distorts time and space building to an epic climax featuring dinosaurs, laser firing space men and everything in between.On paper this should have been outstanding but for whatever reason it fell flat.The sci-fi side looks pretty terrible and does not even remotely meet its potential while the comedy element is so lacking it's hard to believe they even call it that. In fact the only comedy comes from Fisher Stevens who is one of the movies saving graces.Those into 80's cheese might appreciate this but don't go expecting Weird Science (1985) because it isn't even close.The Good:Solid scriptFisher StevensThe Bad:Doesn't flow very wellIsn't funnyThings I Learnt From This Movie:You can wear sunglasses during mug shots

A car jock, his comedy sidekick, and a cute science geek have to work together to save the town from the destructive consequences of awakening an alien artifact of immense power. It may not be original, but it is a great idea for a story, and the first half hour or so works brilliantly. Unfortunately the logic and character development suddenly goes out the window at a certain point, becoming just an excuse for genre-jumping action sequences and special effects. Dennis Hopper shines whenever he is on screen: if this had been a movie about the science teacher, it would have been far more watchable. The other characters never really expand beyond their stereotypes.The latter half of the story feels like it is assembled by taking a tour through a bunch of different sound stages on a Hollywood lot, and just hoping it'll all fit together somehow. Putting dinosaurs and laser guns and roman gladiators together may seem like the perfect recipe for excitement, but without a point to it, and without any sense of why or what is happening, there isn't much reason to care about any of it. There is no glue keeping all the assembled pieces together. It has a certain B-grade charm, but not enough to make it a classic.

If you've never seen this movie before, give it a try...It's a great 80's high school flick. Add it to your collection with Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Buehler and Pretty in Pink. Plus, John Stockwell looks yummy driving his massively sweet red GTO. He was a pretty good actor before he became a pretty good director, too. Vinnie (the guy who played Ben in the Short Circuit movies) has some awesome one liners and Dennis Hopper plays a hysterical former hippie science teacher. Plus, you can laugh at the 80's special effects and realize how good we have it now. Give it a try, it's a good time. If you like this one, also try The Philadelphia Experiment. Another 80's sci-fi flick that has pretty similar special effects.

Man I've been watching My Science Project since way back when I was a kid. It was better then but the only thing that has really dated it is the special effects. The story is still good, Fisher Stevens is still funny, and Dennis Hopper is still far out man! I'm not saying that this movie is better than Star Wars or anything but it's a pretty good example of cheesy 80's Sci-Fi. The trick to watching My Science Project or indeed, any movie from the 80's, is to not take it seriously. Turn off the white hot critic's eye and just enjoy this movie for what it is. It's a great movie. Bottom Line: I can't think of many 80's movies in this genre that are this film's equal, except for maybe The Last Starfighter. If you can let me know.