This review is a part of my Bill Paxton Project, an attempt to watch and review every piece of film the man did during his lifetime.
Okay, it’s time to knock this one out. This is the one that really made me a fan of Bill Paxton. Weird Science came out when I was 11 years old, and it’s kind of a perfect movie for an 11 year old boy growing up in the 80’s. Written and directed by John Hughes (The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles), it’s the story of two nerdy teen boys who use their computer to turn a Barbie doll into a hot, sexy British woman who will be their love-slave for the weekend. Girls, turn away in disgust now – this is not a feminist story. This is definitely adolescent male fantasy territory, drowned in typical 80’s misogyny.
Does it hold up to today’s social and political standards? Not in any way. Would I show it to my daughters? I haven’t yet (my oldest daughter cringed significantly while watching Sixteen Candles). Does it still make me laugh? Absolutely.
Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell Smith are the hapless nerds, and their friend chemistry is fantastic. Robert Downey Jr. shines in a supporting role as the hip bully. But Bill Paxton earns a master’s degree in scene stealing. He plays elder brother “Chet”, who’s a complete dick to his little brother Wyatt and his friend. He’s an ex-military type with guns and over-the-top machismo. Paxton previously played military characters in The Lords of Discipline, Stripes, and Commando (and later on in Aliens and Navy SEALs), and an asshole in Aliens and The Terminator. So, this character is sort of home field advantage for him at this point. And, my God, does he nail it. Every scene he’s in, he chews the dialogue like he chews his cigar. Eventually, he’s punished by being turned into an anthropomorphized pile of shit, and it really does his character perfect justice. You love to hate him in this movie, because he loves to make you hate him.
Every interview I’ve ever read of anyone who knew or worked with Bill Paxton, they all say the same thing: he was one of the nicest guys you would ever meet. I never got the privilege, as he died suddenly from a medical mistake in 2016. Watching a well-known nice guy play such an incredible asshole is as much fun for the audience as it likely was for Paxton to perform.
