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Nerds without computers may seem a contradiction in terms, but life was simpler back in 1984 and the geeks seemed to get along fine with just a slide rule and a plastic pocket protector. A variation on the fraternity-farce plot of Animal House, the picture celebrates the triumphs of a gang of geeks, led by Robert Carradine and a pre-E.R. Anthony Edwards, as they get back at a rival frat house full of jocks and preppies. Although the brains-over-brawn theme ought to be sure-fire, the movie gets by mostly on charm; there are very few explosively funny sequences. The supporting cast includes some surprising familiar faces, notably James Cromwell (Babe, L.A. Confidential) as Carradine's look-alike dad, pants hoisted proudly to his armpits. The director, Jeff Kanew (Gotcha!), went on to the 1991 private-eye belly flop V.I. Warshawski and has not been heard from since. --David Chute
On the DVD
The deluxe edition of the 1984 college comedy Revenge of the Nerds comes equipped with a variety of special features that the film's cult fans will find essential. First, a running audio commentary by director Jeff Kanew and actors Robert Carradine, Timothy Busfield and Curtis Armstrong proves a delight: warm and silly memories by some very likeable, middle-age guys about working, scene-by-scene, on a goofy, Animal House-like movie in their younger years. The same four individuals, and others from the cast such as Ted McGinley (who played the villainous hunk Stan Gable), Julia Montgomery (Stan's girlfriend, Betty Childs), and Andrew Cassese (Wormser), reminisce in the featurette documentary "I'm a Nerd and I'm Pretty Proud of It" about how they landed their respective jobs on the film (seems like everyone read for Carradine's part) and how wild and crazy the actual shoot was in Tucson. What strikes one is how positive all those memories are. Even though some careers haven't exactly skyrocketed in the years since Revenge took off, the experience seems to have been very good for everyone at the time. Also included in the special features section is the original, Orson Welles-narrated theatrical trailer; a trailer for Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds In Paradise; and such deleted scenes as a romantic interlude between Gilbert (Anthony Edwards) and girlfriend Judy (Michelle Meyrink), and another starring Michael Lerner as Gilbert's racist uncle. A real rarity: the pilot for a truly forgettable television version of Revenge of the Nerds. --Tom Keogh
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