My Science Project (1985) / Comedy-Sci Fi

MPAA Rated: PG for violence and language
Running Time: 94 min.

Cast: John Stockwell, Fisher Stevens, Danielle von Zerneck, Dennis Hopper, Raphael Sbarge, Barry Corbin, Ann Wedgeworth, Richard Masur
Director: Jonathan R. Betuel
Screenplay: Jonathan R. Betuel
Review published January 30, 2018

John Stockwell (Top Gun, Christine) stars as Mike Harlan, a high school teen who also works as a prideful car mechanic, though he finds himself on the verge of flunking out of school if he can't turn in a class project for his science teacher, the ex-hippie Bob Roberts (Hopper, Cool Hand Luke).  Seeking inspiration on something he can put together in a flash, he and his nerdy classmate, Ellie Sawyer (Von Zerneck, La Bamba), trespass into an Air Force base mostly used these days as a junkyard, pulling out from a hidden bunker a strange, pulsating contraption of unknown origin that had been pulled out of a crashed alien spacecraft discovered and housed by the military at that base back in the 1950s.  Along with his smart-alecky braggart best friend Vince (Stevens, Reversal of Fortune), Mike tinkers with it and brings it to life, but they soon find that the device can rip open a portal into the time-space continuum that allows objects from other eras and dimensions into the immediate vicinity, which soon becomes the entire high school.  Unfortunately, its power is seemingly endless, so it is up to them to put a lid back on the Pandora's Box they've opened through its discovery. 

Churned out from Disney's burgeoning "more mature" studio, Touchstone Pictures, My Science Project has some nifty high-concept ideas, but churns them through the proverbial Hollywood wringer, looking to other familiar properties in order to deliver its story and hope it can ride the same wave. Ghostbusters, released the prior year, seems the most immediate influence in terms of the development of its special effects and jokey characterizations.  Alas, unlike Ghostbusters, the laughs and thrills mostly end just when the climax of the film begins, as Betuel runs the proceedings as if he didn't have a script to draw from past the first two acts.  The clichés don't end there, as the movie recycles ideas from Star Wars and a host of other science fiction projects that resulted in its wake.  Released a little over a month after the hugely popular high school sci-fi comedy also dealing with time travel, Back to the Future, and released the same week as another high-concept sci-fi school comedy, Real Genius, it didn't generate the buzz necessary to become even an accidental hit (BTTF made five times the money at the box office in its sixth week of release than MSP in its debut).

The screenplay, scripted by its first-time director, Jonathan Betuel (who scripted a minor hit the prior year with The Last Starfighter, and would only sell the project to a studio that would let him direct), doesn't aim particularly high, and the film has a few watchable moments, but whatever modest setup could have teed off into a bit of low-grade entertainment quickly dissipates into a second-half full of mayhem and destruction that contains little humor value or any modicum of suspense, letting the effects work nearly all of the heavy lifting in trying to entertain audiences that, by that point, are already checked out on these stock stereotyped characters and their plights.  It gets noisy and violent, as the teens take up arms against dangerous foes from prehistory (including a T. rex) all the way up through the future.

The performances are silly and over the top, especially Dennis Hopper in a small supporting role as the drugged-out, conspiracy theory-touting teacher that capitalizes on his 1960s counterculture icon status, in which he must have thought he was doing for a much funnier and more daring movie (his Easy Rider costume gets an homage).  The same goes for Richard Masur (Nightmares) as the sheriff investigating the trouble he feels these youngsters are getting themselves into, borrowing heavily from the likes of Nick Nolte in his demeanor (something possibly intentional, as his character's name is Detective Nulty).  The leads, Stockwell, who is way too old for the role (he was 24), and Von Zerneck, are likeable, but largely bland and ultimately forgettable, leaving much of the zanier moments in the hands of the more charismatic Fisher Stevens, also obviously into his 20s, who scores a few zingers, but still comes off as more obnoxious than amusing much of the time.

Perhaps the worst part of My Science Project is its shoddiness, with an obviously redubbed sound design that makes it feel like a foreign film, though it certainly isn't, and very murky, lackluster photography, compounded by poor use of lighting, that makes some of the more impressive efforts into its special effects, make-up and miniatures (including some work from the legendary Rick Baker) seem much cheaper in the process.  The sound, though, is the worst of it, with bad Foley work and a tinny, hiss-filled dialogue track that feels like it was all recorded after the filming was in the can, compounded by a score that might be considered lackluster at best.

My Science Project was released smack dab in the middle of the 1980s, which means it is likely going to appeal to those who just love goofball, quintessentially 80s movies, but certainly its appeal does not extend far beyond that demographic at all.  It takes more than a few interesting ideas to make a credible movie, but this one lacks the budget or deft hands at the helm to see these ambitions solidify into something satisfying. The impetus for its plot is an attempt for its main character to get a passing grade, but as an undertaking on its own, My Science Project is a D+ effort for anyone who isn't nostalgic for it, and had found an appropriate place in the junkyard of also-ran 80s cinema, only unearthed by those seeking to desperately seeking a hidden treasure of the era.

 Qwipster's rating:

©2018 Vince Leo