I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Not quite understanding the bad reviews here. Going in it's easy to see immediately that this movie was going to be flippant and a bit of a fairy tale. How can anyone take it seriously? Instead, just sit back and enjoy the ride.This movie is basically a series of unlikely events strung together. Can they happen, sure but probably in another dimension. But still, I found this film a guilty pleasure. It's best to just put your mind on hold for a bit and just have fun.On a side note, I really miss the 80's version of John Lithgow. He is such a great actor and back then he was at his prime.

I was surprised that some did not enjoy this 'classic' 80's film-- I for one have to disagree. First thing that annoyed me is that Christopher Collet is the 'star' of this film, yet IMB gives John Lithgow top billing-- Really? This is unacceptable. This is a film about a young man (Paul) who is brilliant but comes from a broken family with an absentee father and feels protective of the person who cares for him-- his mother! John Lithgow comes into the story line secondary to Paul. The most enduring character is the lead character Christopher Collet-- who, out of lack of any other worthy extra curricular activity, decides (after meeting the man who wants to date his mother) to build a '1st Place' nuclear bomb (science project) with plutonium absconded from a lab where mom's new boyfriend works (a boyfriend Paul doesn't particularly respect) -- shades of 'The Graduate'. Any political correctness about the 'war- mongering lab' comes from Paul's girlfriend (Elizabeth) who is much more so an activist than Paul. The film is a great example of 1980's film genre-- shades of 'War Games', 'Ferris Bueller', etc. The film conveys to me a story about a sharp young man who is struggling to find himself after his brilliant (architect-father) and mother have separated. Without continuing to ruin the film for those that haven't seen it: I say watch it-- it's excellent! If you missed out on the 1980's, well, I am so sorry for you! I saw it when it came out in 1986 and have always loved it, especially now, when I desire an '80's' mood. Enjoy this film for what it is and immerse yourself in the public consciousness of a bygone era!

I was subjected to this utter nonsense at a friend's house. I won't go into why. At first I thought it "wasn't bad." But as the "plot" continued, I thought someone must have spiked the punch and I was high on LSD. This is one of the silliest movies ever made. There are so many stupid ideas one has to wonder if it was designed to make fun of movies as a whole. The "brilliant" kid wants to build a bomb to expose the lab for making plutonium? Hey, pick up the phone and make a call. He thinks that he can't get into any trouble because "I'm only a kid." Who told him that? For a bright boy, he doesn't seem like it. He breaks into the lab and steals plutonium... that ought to be worth 20 to life right there. He's Edward Teller in disguise and builds an A bomb with his Mattel Do it yourself kit. Yeah... sure. Best of all, he handles the plutonium with his mom's dish washing rubber gloves?!!! He'd be dead in no time. He takes his bomb to the big fair to show off? To show off what? That he's a complete nincompoop? Even the other nerds know better than that. If I hadn't been waiting for another friend in order to leave, I would have exited this complete nonsense as soon as he started playing cutesy with the plutonium strapped to the back of his toy car. This was really, really bad. 1 star for Lithgow desperately seeking a plot. 1 Star for Nixon trying ever so hard not to break out in uproarious laughter while Collet tries to explain why he wants to make a bomb.

We are asked to respect a high school kid(Paul Stephens who builds a nuclear bomb, and admire how he lightheartedly carts said device in a science fair, endangering the lives of literally tens of thousands people. If this "comedy" had been a wacky, Marx Brothers/Airport type farce, that wouldn't have bothered me in the slightest. But is "comedy" (which doesn't contain a single laugh)insists that we admire the arrogant little creep. I kept wishing that Jack Bauer would come in and shove a knife in Paul's kneecap.Marshal Brickman never directed a feature film after this, and I can't wonder why.