Ten reasons why My Science Project (1985) rocks!
There are a good handful of 80's movies I down right adore. My Science Project is one of the more underrated ones, but still a must to watch. As one of the many John Stockwell movies of that decade that I'm down right fascinated with. Here are ten reasons why this movie rocks and why you should go see it right NOW!
10) The 1968 GTO
- I don't care who you care, if there's a cool classic car in a movie, it grabs anyone's attention. The lead character Harlan drives a classic 1968 GTO that yes, indeed has a race with the speed of light and boom! Wins!
9) A zanzy storyline unlike any other teen movie.
- By 1985 a good number of teen comedies had been made. Either crazy sex comedies, or brat pack movies. For the most part they were pretty straight forward with a basic storyline. This movie strays away from that logic. In fact I would say this movie could be for a guy or a girl. It has some pretty great humor, and memorable moments. In fact, besides a few times I would say this could be a film to show a younger person if you want them to slowly get started into 80's movies. It's almost like a preteen movie, yet has enough adult themes to make you laugh at. Ah the good old days when PG13 pretty much meant nothing.
8) The credits
- Who doesn't love a pre credit sequence? This one kills it with plenty of clips and photos of the movie as well as some deleted scenes following the Fisher Stevens character around. Also how catchy is that Tubes song "Science Project."?!
7) It has a Spielberg feel to it.
- Maybe it has to do with the opening scene, but this movie has a very strong Spielberg feel to it. A bunch of misfits get into a crazy adventure together. Dealing with a device that can shift time. Even down to the ending where the past and present are taking over the school, I honestly think this is exactly the type of movie Mr. S would have directed or produced for sure.
6) An adorable love story
- I loved the pairing of Harlan and Ellie. The dorky girl with bottle cap glasses, pretty much begging Harlan the grease monkey after his latest breakup to take her out on one date before graduation. Sure you could say this is sexist, but I really thought the two made a pretty adorable couple. But hey, if somebody that looked like Mr. Stockwell was walking around me, hell yes I would have disabled my car engine to have him fix it.
5) Dennis Hopper
- Ah, the LEGEND Mr. Hopper. In the 1980's he was on a roll. Between Blue Velvet, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, this was yet another role where he just completely killed it in. I loved him yelling at Stockwell and Stevens when they missed the science final, or how he ends up in his Easy Rider get up at the very end. Also what the hell was that can he was huffing? Ah free love... Hummm...
4) A T-rex
- Maybe it's because I just saw Jurassic World, but let's face facts. Everyone loves a dinosaur. In the ending where the characters go into the high school as time continues to shift back and forth, there's a scene where a full grown T-Rex appears! Awesome!
3) Classic one liners
" Kid why do you wear sunglasses at night?" "Because…when your cool like me the sun shines on you 24 hours a day!"
2) Fisher Stevens as the best sidekick e-v-e-r
- Yet again Fisher Stevens steals the show. Playing Vinny, the Italian best friend (which is laughable by the stereotype they push here) Fisher steals every scene he's in. Between his classic one liners, his banter with his punk rock girlfriend, or him running around with TNT strapped to him, he's a huge pleasure of watch since everything that comes out of his mouth of comedy gold. The best is him getting booked at the police station.
1) The ever so dreamily John Stockwell
- Ah, John Stockwell. Best known for his role in Christine, he had a brief career in the 1980's in some pretty awesome movies, all of which I love and collect posters from. My Science Project is a highlight of these credits for sure. Stockwell not only is crazy handsome, but a very likable every day Joe kind of lead. I loved his role as Harlan, the car junkie who just hangs underneath cars all day. By far one of my favorite roles he's ever been in. Also those eyes! "swoon"
Thanks for the write up. This is definitely an overlooked classic. Loved the film, never saw too much coverage on it, just the odd blog post. Glad this one exists.
ReplyDeleteDid you know they wrote a book adaptation of the film, using the original script, which features scenes cut from the movie? One of the scenes in the end credits, of Fisher Stevens, is actually described in the book - so it feels like the extra scenes in the book were based on the script, for scenes which might have been filmed, but then not used.
There's also a TON of thematic and content changes, which shows how the film must have evolved as shooting went on.
It's actually quite a boring book, with serious pacing issues. The film can get by at 90 minutes, but the majority of the book is just high school drama and only the final 20% of the book covers the last 1/3 of the film.