Do you need something to do on a rainy day? Are you worried that you will forget what it’s like to be a student? Or do you already miss school so much that you could use a little mental road trip back to campus?
Get the popcorn ready, find the perfect spot on the couch, turn off your phone and join me on a tour through five decades of college themed movies. We have old classics and new goodies – hopefully there’s something that strikes everyone’s fancy!
Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
Let’s go back to a time when being a nerd was a bad thing and hipsters weren’t invented yet. The 1980s were a decade when only a full dose of nerdiness could take the already “unique” hairdos and clothes to a new level.
We follow a group of nerdy freshmen who get kicked out of their dorm after the very popular Alpha Beta Fraternity accidentally burns down their own house and needs a place to stay. After living in the gym for a while, the nerds eventually find a home but that’s when the trouble really begins. There are painful pranks and of course a lot of very creative revenge.
The movie takes place during the first few weeks of college. It’s an exciting time and everyone’s full of hope: Hardly anyone knows you; you can start fresh and have the chance to re-invent yourself. You can finally be the person you always wanted to be and forget High School. But if nobody appreciates the talent to calculate the number of boobs on campus and every attempt to fit in gets crushed, no brainpower will get you out of the misery. There is only so much a nerd can take. But never underestimate what’s possible when a group of outcasts come together and plan vengeance.
The movie is R-rated and definitely the most visually R-rated film of our little selection. But at the same time, Revenge of the Nerds has the most heartfelt message and a very uplifting ending. “We have news for the beautiful people. There is a lot more of us than there are of you… no one’s gonna really be free until nerd persecution ends.”
There’s probably a little nerd in all of us. We might as well embrace it. Even the most random talent will eventually pay off. Just make sure to always have Queen’s “We are the Champions” ready to be played in the background.
Next week we’ll watch a movie about a different kind of nerds who influenced almost all our lives and made sure we’ll never run out of possibilities to waste time.
Isabelle Mitchell is from Switzerland (not Sweden). She loves coffee and chocolate and she can talk about movies and the weather for a very long time. Isabelle went to Film School in Denmark and Canada and is a Sound Designer, but she’s currently working on getting her BS in Advertising at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh (Online Division). She’s planning on slowly taking over the advertising world one tagline at a time. When she’s not doing homework or studying, she works as a Marketing Assistant. You can find her on Twitter @isabellesagt or if you have a longer attention span, her blog.