Lewis: "Anyway, college is a whole new ball game."

Ogre: "Nerds!"

Lewis: "People judge you different than they do in high school."

Ogre: "NERDS! NERDS! NERDS!"

Lewis: "Where are they?"

Gilbert: "I think they're talking about us."

Lewis: "No way."

Nerds were around in 1984, but there hadn't really been a movie so liberal in the use of this nomenclature back then. Paired with Sixteen Candles, which boasted Anthony Michael Hall as the archetype of the pre-teen geek, Revenge of the Nerds may as well have kick started the now common use of this term. Think of any socially graceless, untraditionally attractive, gawky-looking black sheep; it's not too hard, considering how there hasn't been a shortage of nerds in popular culture, from Buddy Holly to Napoleon Dynamite. The meek may not inherit the earth, but they sure as heck have infiltrated every aspect of popular media, especially in the movies.

In the fine tradition of Rocky, The Bad News Bears and Animal House, classic underdog stories all, Revenge of the Nerds came in the Orwellian part of the Me decade to give a subculture of insects their own glorious locust swarm. Over 20 years later, it is that rare vulgar 1980s comedy that continues to charm and provoke hysterical laughter long after New Wave became old school. Credit Jeff Kanew for this film's endurance. When he was confronting Twentieth Century Fox, the studio that already unleashed two Porky's films, about making a knock-off of Animal House, Kanew wanted to instead make something along the lines of the coming-of-age farce Risky Business. Caught between crude comedy and a more poignant emotional identification, he managed to merge these extremes into the perfect movie, one that itself wouldn't meet its match until a certain comedy rekindled the American public's interest in warm apple pies.

Revenge of the Nerds has been with me since I first bought it on VHS as a preteen, and I haven't let it slip away yet. Lewis and Gilbert, played immortally by Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards, remain two of the most lovable dorks in film history, best friends ready to take that fateful journey from high school boyhood to college campus masculinity. They reveal themselves as eager beavers who giddily joke with Lewis' father (James Cromwell, known as "Jamie" at the time) about the chick factor of Adams College, their destination (it involves decimals, fittingly). And yet, there is a considerable recognition of how more harsh the class structures become in college, a point driven once the bulky Ogre (Donald Gibb), a beer-swilling frat hero and defensive guard for the Adams football team, notices them from the balcony of the Alpha Beta frat house. At this point, the line is drawn: brains vs. brawn.

After a drinking trick involving flammable vodka and lighter results in the wreckage of their house, the Alpha Betas, lead by star quarterback and Greek Council chairman Stan Gable (Ted McGinley), kick the freshmen out of their dormitory. Relegated to gymnasium lodgings, Lewis and Gilbert join forces with fellow outcasts once the freshman ranks have been plucked dry of worthy frat candidates. Among them are the violin-playing shy guy Poindexter (Timothy Busfield, superb in a mostly physical role), the effeminate black aerobicist Lamar (Larry B. Scott), timid exchange student Takashi (Brian Tochi), child savant Wormser (Andrew Cassese), and the immortal Booger (Curtis Armstrong), a stubbly, slovenly spaz with a belch that could blow your head off. They are given a probationary chance into joining an off-campus Afro-American fraternity, Lambda Lambda Lambda, with no previous chapter at Adams College. But when the news spreads to the Alpha Beta camp, who dutifully embarrass the nerds in front of UN Jefferson (Bernie Casey), the nerds realize that the odd must get even if they want to achieve happiness.

The plot revolves around back-and-forth attempts by the freshmen to finally gain clout. The nerds move into a dilapidated old house that is tidied up and made into a decent potential frat house, but the jocks retaliate by vandalizing it at first with a rock and then later with more brute force. After Gable and the Greek council thumb their nose at the prospect of new membership, the ragtag group join the Lambdas after getting even with both the Alpha Betas and their sorority dates from Pi Delta Pi. And when the Alpha Betas retaliate with a seriously disturbing outside display of disaffection, which is not given justice, the Lambdas do all they can to win the Homecoming Carnival and take the power away from the Betas and the Pis. What they do is not exactly ethical, but it shows that the weak can be just as assertive as the strong.

Being a nerd isn't exactly limited to one stereotype, the kind of pathetic, lame braniac with the pocket full of pens and the almost inhuman chortle. Booger is just as much a hard-partying chauvinist as the best of the Betas, both Lamar and Wormser turn out to be excellent dancers and Takashi and Poindexter verge on being the life of the party, certainly once after they install surveillance cameras in the sorority house. And even then, with the often broad strokes used for each character (F.I., the pidgin English and obligatory gong SFX used for Takashi), Kanew makes sure that the nerds are given considerable sympathy and appeal, even in the case of Lewis & Gilbert, who are sensitive, multi-faceted protagonists. Rarely now does politically incorrect humor go hand-in-hand with affection towards the characters.

Revenge of the Nerds may seem definitely tame compared to the semen-guzzling escapades of modern college comedies, but it only goes to show that they sure don't make ‘em like they used to. In fact, Kanew's balancing between raunch and heart allows for the more base humor to go down very smoothly. Some of the nerds, particularly Lewis and Poindexter, experience their sexual awakening in ways that are both clever and cheap, the latter especially once the nerds spy on the Pis disrobing in their bathroom. And even then, what red-blooded American male wouldn't agree with Booger in his demand for some bush? (The original title of Fox's new DVD reissue was supposed to be "We've Got Bush," but either the euphemism was too uncomfortable or right-wings didn't think it appropriate given the man in charge of America shares the same name, which is highly ironic if you think about it on a general level).

Who hasn't been caught digging the soundtrack either, bursting out in a refrain of "You've got to put one foot in front of the other/Put your other foot DOWN, DOWN, DOWN!"? Or that classic ditty about the "Sex Girls" by the Gleaming Spires? Even Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Talking Heads' "Burning Down the House" shows up, the latter during a scene with the Alpha Betas, who are listening to music made for nerds and perhaps by nerds(!). The big musical set piece where the Lambdas engage in a synth/guitar/hip-hop freak-out hasn't even been touched by the shortest pole yet, especially not in the dreadful sequel, Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise.

Robert Carradine may be remembered by the current generation as Lizzie McGuire's daddy, but make no mistake: he will always be Lewis, the blessing and the curse of his career. He so perfects Lewis, from his initially innocuous pursuit of Gable's Pi, Betty (Julie Montgomery), down to his final moments of despair and courage, his is the nerd to end them all. And his laugh is great, too. Anthony Edwards, meanwhile, eventually proved himself more versatile and low-key actor, currently starring in David Fincher's impressive fifth feature, Zodiac. But like Carradine, his refusal to play Gilbert as a two-dimensional wimp is really engaging and applauding. They have fun with the material, but they don't treat the whole works as mere clown business. Instead, much of the supporting roles prove more outrageous and unbound. Curtis Armstrong, in particular, will perhaps also be eulogized as "Booger" come his dying day. There hardly seems to be a wrong note in the entire cast, which also includes Michelle Meyrink as Gilbert's love interest, Judy, David Wohl as nerd sympathizer Dean Ulich, and a hysterical early film role for John Goodman as Coach Harris.

Revenge of the Nerds ends well on a rousing note, as the nerds seize their moment of glory away from the braggart jocks who have finally pushed Gilbert, really the de facto leader of the outfit more so than Lewis, into shouting to the world that he is a nerd with as much to say as any other man. At this point, the film reaches the apex of a subtext that the movie has been playing with in spurts throughout the movie. What is a nerd and who constitutes one? It would appear to be anyone whose been "laughed at and made to feel inferior," which is a laundry list that can include virtually every race, sexuality and gender. It is a mix represented within the brotherhood of the nerds who represent the Lamda Lambda Lambda chapter of Adams, and is more universal than one institution can allow. I will admit that the ending is considerably tacky, but damn if the previous 85 minutes of Revenge of the Nerds didn't work well enough to merit its happy ending. Needless to say, I'm pretty proud of it.

Revenge of the Nerds gets the bells-and-whistles treatment it finally deserves after its previous DVD incarnation boasted the not-too-special feature of its 1987 sequel, Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise, made by the same man responsible for the hack jobs America's Sweethearts and Christmas with the Kranks. Gluttons for punishment can purchase a package containing both movies as well as the made-for-TV sequels Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation and Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love, both released in the 1990s and featuring role reprisals by Carradine, Armstrong, McGinley, and Montgomery (the sequels all lack any bonus features, but who cares?). Christened the "Panty Raid Edition," after the studio dropped the proposed "We've Got Bush" tag, the original movie gets an anamorphic widescreen transfer preserving the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The original mono soundtrack and a Dolby Digital 2.0 remix are included, as well as Spanish and French monaural dubs and optional English and Spanish subtitles.

The transfer here is no different than the last, but I had no pervasive problems with the image quality to write about. The hues are unsurprisingly faithful to the era from which it came, which means that not every color is as sharp and vivid as can be. Red is the most lively color to be gleamed, especially once Lamar comes out in his Michael Jackson vest, which draws immediate attention thanks to how saturated the bloody thing is. The black levels tended to suffer from noise-related inconsistency, but the movie's most memorable night time sequence looks as sharp as a tack. Overall, detail and sharpness levels were highly pleasing, and even if some of the colors tended to feel dull and worthy of a remaster, I was easily won over by the digital transfer as opposed to my old VHS print.

The mono soundtrack and the Dolby stereo mix both sport impressive clarity in terms of dialogue and music presentation. The Dolby 2.0 surround mix does a fine job of stretching the original mono mix to the front channels of the home theater sound system. Music and ambiance are given the proper spatial arrangement, effects are often employed directionally in a natural manner, and, although it seems a bit muted compared to the more boisterous mono mix, the stereo recreation sounds more justifiable than a 5.1 job.

The first new feature on this disc is a full-length audio commentary by Jeff Kanew (recorded separately but edited seamlessly), Robert Carradine, Timothy Busfield, and Curtis Armstrong. Kanew relates how he made the film, occasionally tossing in several really good production nuggets involving the casting of the character of Judy, scenes which were deleted, and some of the ad-libs seen in the film. A lot of his observations are fairly smart and comical as well (he would admit that an f-word be used in the right circumstances if not pervasively). However, the pairing of the three actors adds a lot of life to the proceedings, especially since two of the actors in the group had their careers defined by the characters in this movie, which they address in an amusingly self-deprecating manner. Cracking up at their favorite improvised lines, pointing out the strange elements of the film (those "wonder joints" in Booger's possession have high street value) and recalling the real-life bonding of the actors playing nerds, the trio, led mainly by Mr. Busfield, help make this one a must-listen.

I'm a Nerd and Pretty Proud of It is a retrospective piece nearly 38 minutes long that is the piece de resistance of this package. The participators from the commentary are all featured here, expanding upon the information and jests featured in that yack track, and we also get some newly-arranged recollections from Ted McGinley, Julie Montgomery, Larry B. Scott, and Andrew Cassese. Kanew admits his pre-production hang-ups with the studio over the project, claiming that he was driven by the prospect of making a movie he would be ashamed to put his name on. Even Carradine and McGinley, who were naturally polar opposites of their characters at the time of casting, felt unease at mentioning the film's title. Things lighten up as the cast recall their time making the movie as easygoing an experience as hanging out in your dorm or freshman hall room getting full on pizza and beer. Tons of anecdotes can be gleamed from this baby, most interestingly regarding the film's botched distribution handling, and fans of this film should have no problem enjoying this one.

Six deleted scenes are included from a VHS-quality source, totaling about 8:45. Some of the cut footage has been mentioned in the commentary by Kanew, particularly the subplot involving Stan Gable's nerd brother. A few of the scenes are understandably cut for pacing (a chariot race during the carnival competition, the nerds arriving at their trashed house and confronting the jocks), but I admit I was partial to a charming bit between Edwards and Meyrink as well as when the nerdy Lambdas try to mix with a group of black Lambdas at a high-class party, causing UN Jefferson to get antsy. Michael Lerner appears in one scene as Lewis' goombah uncle. Sadly, the edited scene with Lewis and the house sign from much older editions of the movie is not to be found.

You've probably purged out of your mind the fact that Revenge of the Nerds was poised to become TV show. If so, Fox have done you no small favor by dredging up the original TV pilot for the series, which was made in 1991 and thankfully not picked up by Fox. The television doppelgangers of Lewis &Gilbert make you yearn for the lesser works of both Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards (surely, it makes even "Pet Sematary Two" look like a work of unparalleled genius). And the less said about "Booger," represented by Cousin Oliver from "The Brady Bunch," the better. The show itself plays like a clean-scrubbed, committee-approved rehash of the plot strands from the film, and worst of all, it completely condescends to the worst stereotypes and fears you have of nerds, going against the charm of the film. Not even five minutes into the thing, you'll be wishing for the Simpsons to come in and save you.

Things round out with theatrical trailers for the original and its first sequel, which I must remind you sucks big, even with Bradley Whitford and Courtney Thorne-Smith. Just hold on to the original and cherish it over all crappy imitators.

The truth of the matter is this: you don't need horn-rimmed glasses with a heavy duty lens or a buttoned-down shirt with a pocket full of pens to enjoy Revenge of the Nerds. Twenty years later, the movie still remains one of the several comedies from the eighties that I shamelessly treasure. It's been a long time coming, but the geek squads of the world finally get to enjoy a b*tchin' edition of the movie on DVD, replete with commentary, featurette, outtakes and that terrible, terrible TV pilot. And it can be purchased cheap, too. So clap your hands everybody!

Revenge of the Nerds is a 20th Century Fox presentation, rated R for crude humor, strong language, sexual content/nudity, and drug use. It runs 90 minutes and debuted in American movie theatres on July 20, 1984.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age