Movie review: ‘Revenge of the Nerds’

FloridaGator80
A promotional still photograph from the movie “Revenge of the Nerds.”

Comedy in film has been defined by both decade and generation. From Laurel and Hardy to Martin and Lewis to “Saturday Night Live” lineups, audiences identify with the comics of the day. Some of it appeals across generations, say like the former appeal of Johnny Carson or Jay Leno or David Letterman, while some film genres have an expected and supportive generation. After the post-Vietnam evolution continued across U.S. society, comedy established a new benchmark with “National Lampoon’s Animal House” in 1978 but it was the early 1980s when the raunchy teen comedy blossomed and earned almost instant cult status. “Porky’s” in 1982 (click here to read my review – and it was made by the same director who did “A Christmas Story” – click here to read my review) became the raunchy standard of the day. It didn’t take long for the next benchmark to arrive: “Revenge of the Nerds” in 1984. “Revenge of the Nerds” is a terrifically funny film with its R-rated zing but, like “Animal House,” has some layers and is actually a solid comedy flick, despite what the “woke” crowd says today.

‘Revenge of the Nerds’
(1984; 90 minutes; rated R; directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards and Ted McGinley)

NERDS!

(NOTE: I expanded this review with additional opinion and trivia and the updating of links on Nov. 25, 2021. I again expanded it on March 14, 2026.)

Back in the day there was an ensemble cast comedy based on the real-life fraternity experiences of a “National Lampoon” writer Chris Miller. Along with the iconic former “Lampoon” editor, the late Doug Kenney, and another “Lampoon” alumnus, the late director and comedy star Harold Ramis, the trio brought “Animal House” to the screen. Things wouldn’t be the same again in R-rated, youth-oriented comedy.

Although there were some good attempts in the genre (“The Hollywood Knights” of 1980 is a good example for the high school set – click here to read my review), the next notable college-themed success story was “Revenge of the Nerds” in 1984. “Revenge of the Nerds” has a great ensemble cast, too, and plays out with only a few agreeable flaws. Overall, it’s better (not necessarily funnier) than “Porky’s” but nowhere as good as “Animal House.”

“Revenge of the Nerds” actually stands the test of time well, despite the liberal environment that would frown upon: a “panty raid” at a sorority house; the placing of hidden cameras in said sorority house (OK, so that’s a very, very valid criticism); and the outright attraction of boys to girls and vice versa. Today’s “woke” environment is a philosophy espoused by stupid, stifling and ignorant people, but, thankfully, we still can watch “Revenge of the Nerds.”

None of the film’s cast members would see the success of say a John Belushi in its wake, but “Revenge of the Nerds” does have a cast that would go on to do excellent work, if not always recognized. It does suffer with some stereotyping that can be a bit disconcerting today (see my previous criticism), but the film earns a pass because it is so funny and tries to be inclusive. Also, remember it was released in 1984.

A promotional still photograph from the movie “Revenge of the Nerds.”

In “Revenge of the Nerds,” two friends go off to college. They’re obviously overly intelligent nerds who are embarking on the time of their lives with absolutely no idea of the train that’s about to hit them. Along with other nerds, they pinball from getting tossed out of the freshman dorm by football players to finding their own house to be pranked and expressly humiliated by the coolest frat and sorority on campus. They finally hook up with a national fraternity (whose membership is, until that moment, all African-American) and begin taking their revenge on the cool people who’ve been tormenting them.

After an intra-fraternity competition where they win and get to name the new president of the Greek Council and one of the guys gets the quarterback’s girlfriend, the football players strike back until the guys’ fraternity brothers from other schools show up at the most opportune time to save the day (the black fraternity members are a ton more intimidating than the lily-white football players). One of the guys gets to make the climactic speech – stereotype alert! – and everyone loves the nerds.

I’m especially impressed that a film in this genre actually does a good job moving the plot along. It’s one smooth transition after another and truly isn’t a bad film overall.

Here are the two biggest nerds:

  • As “Lewis Skonick,” Robert Carradine is just pitch-perfect as the pocket protector-wearing, braying laugh little guy. He’s endearing, optimistic and hopeful: Just about everything the cool people want to make fun of in a misguided attempt at bolstering themselves. Carradine all too easily becomes “Lewis” and he also all-too-easily looks like he’s the latest candidate for a wedgie. He was also the loquacious member of the Jesse James gang in “The Long Riders” (click here to read my review). Carradine was solid in “TAG: The Assassination Game” (click here to read my review) and in “Django Unchained.” He had 143 acting credits since the first in 1971 on an episode of TV’s “Bonanza,” and his career spanned six decades. Carradine took his own life in February 2026 at the age of 71.
  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Revenge of the Nerds.”

    A Golden Globe winner and three-time nominee (not for this one), Anthony Edwards, who is most famously “Goose” in “Top Gun” with Tom Cruise, is Carradine’s best friend “Gilbert Lowell.” Edwards is the shy, retiring guy whose sense of self-confidence is just under the surface. Edwards is better here than he was in another college-age flick “Gotcha!” (click here to read my review – and it’s another with the strange sub-genre of the “Assassin killer game” on college campuses – “TAG: The Assassination Game” – and see that Carradine was in one himself). He was also in the college-themed flick “How I Got Into College” (click here to read my review) and won his Globe, four Globe nominations and a Primetime Emmy and three other nominations for his work on TV’s “ER.”

Here’s a quick rundown of the other nerds:

  • Curtis Armstrong has the most iconic character here as he plays “Dudley ‘Booger’ Dawson.” Armstrong uses nose-picking and general disorder to his advantage with being the most worldly-wise member of the team. He has the edge, but knows he’s a nerd and sticks with his friends. Armstrong was also in “Smokin’ Aces” and a bunch of TV roles in a prolific career of 175 acting credits over five decades through early 2026.
  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Revenge of the Nerds.”

    I don’t believe the gay character “Lamar Latrell,” played by Larry B. Scott, was much accepted by the homosexual community (talk about a stereotype), but Scott manages to make something of his character – despite being in a competition where the javelin is engineered for his “limp wristed” style. (Now do you understand why I don’t believe the gay community doesn’t embrace “Lamar?”) Scott was also in the under-appreciated “Space Camp” (click here to read my review) as well as the classic “The Karate Kid.”

  • Andrew Cassese and Brian Tochi play “Harold Wormser” and “Toshiro Takahsi” respectively. Both most likely are not embraced by the pre-teen and Asian audiences for their stereotypes. Cassese was in his first film here and he did the first sequel in a short career of nine roles. Tochi has been in a wide range of films from “The Omega Man” with Charlton Heston to the 1990 film version of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Tochi also has a unique part of his resume: He is the only actor to appear in Star Trek (1966) as a child and Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) as an adult.

Here’s a quick look at the nerds’ tormentors:

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Revenge of the Nerds.”

    Julia Montgomery plays “Betty Childs” (she was Julie in the film’s credits) and she’s the hot cheerleader who at first works hard at humiliating the nerds and then becomes the girlfriend of Carradine. She has also been in “Milk Money.” Montgomery began her acting career on the soap opera “One Life to Live” in 1976 and did 92 episodes, but her resume is a little thin with only 47 acting credits over a span of six decades.

  • Ted McGinley plays “Stan Gable,” who is the star quarterback and main tormentor of the nerds. McGinley is excellent in this role and seems born to it. He’s known with audiences as the man who caused several major TV productions to “jump the shark” (the point where they began failing) – including “Happy Days” and “The Love Boat” (click here for my look at that iconic TV series). He’s probably most recognizable as “Jefferson D’Arcy” on TV’s sarcastic, dark comedy “Married With Children.”
  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Revenge of the Nerds.”

    Along with “Booger,” one character that stands out is “Fred ‘Ogre’ Palowalski” played by Donald Gibb. He’s the brutal football player who enjoys being nasty to “nerds.” He’s funny and always on the verge of out-of-control. Gibb has also been in “Bloodsport” and a string of TV roles.

Veteran actor John Goodman does a nice turn with little material as the rambunctious football leader “Coach Harris” (his name is never spoken and you only see his name on a door. Goodman appears as if he’s having a ball with the paper-thin character and his talent alone elevates it. Goodman has been in the cult classic “The Big Lebowski,” “The Big Easy” (click here to read my review) and was in “The Monuments Men.” He’s best known for a TV show with a certain talentless star who isn’t worthy of comment, so I won’t even mention the show’s name.

I’d like to focus a bit more on the work of James Cromwell as Carradine’s father (he was Jamie in the credits) and David Wohl as the college dean. Both do good work, but I’m out of time. Also, without a chance to do much work, you’ll find the totally underrated Michelle Meyrink as “Judy,” who is the girlfriend of Edwards. She should have had a better shot at elevating the role. Meyrink is just as good as she was in “Real Genius” with Val Kilmer (click here to read my review).

Timothy Busfield plays a key character (“Arnold Poindexter”), but he has become another actor embroiled in sexual misconduct allegations and I do not intentionally feature sleazebags in most reviews.

There were three sequels to “Revenge of the Nerds,” but only the first sequel is even close to being watchable – and, even so, is just nearly execrable. It takes place at a national fraternity gathering and parallels the first, with the exception that “Ogre” becomes a friend an ally. Forget the second and third sequels all together, they’re not worthy to even be called a TV movie.

“Revenge of the Nerds” was the 16th ranked film at the domestic box office in 1984 with $40.8 million in ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo. Its total income went over $60 million with video rentals, according to Wiki. Another great raunchy comedy from the year was the hilarious “Bachelor Party” (19th with $38.4 million) while the No. 1 film was “Beverly Hills Cop” with Eddie Murphy and it earned $234.7 million. Here are the films I’ve reviewed for my blog from 1984:

Assorted film notes (via IMDb.com):

  • The only actor in the main cast with a stage name is Tochi, whose birth name is Brian Keith Tochihara and Tochi is obviously just a shortened version.
  • In real life, Wohl, who plays the “dean,” is only two months older than the actor who plays “Booger.”
  • Carradine had mimicked Cromwell’s braying laugh. Cromwell later said it was how his former wife laughed.
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “In Spain, the film was translated into ‘La revancha de los novatos’ (Revenge of the Freshmans), because in that time there wasn’t an official translation for the word ‘Nerd,’ until several years later.”
  • Filming at the University of Arizona was at first OK’d, but then denied when school officials read the screenplay, but they relented. “Booger’s” name here, “Dudley Dawson,” reportedly was the real name of the university official who overturned the filmmakers’ original approval to shoot.
  • Carradine moved in at the University of Arizona to get a feel for being a “nerd” on campus.
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “On the documentary for the Special Edition DVD, it was revealed that many of the actors (including Robert Carradine, Curtis Armstrong …) initially did not want to do the film but gave in because the movie either paid well or it was a chance for some of them, who were struggling actors, to get into a movie. “
  • Afterward, the actors described the production experience as a “fraternity atmosphere.”
  • Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “Jami Gertz, Joan Cusack, and Sarah Jessica Parker all auditioned for the role of Judy.” Sad. Absolutely none of them could have held a candle to what Meyrink did with the limited character.
  • Click here for IMDb.com’s extensive page of trivia about the film …

© Chuck Curry and A Gator in Naples,
©2014, ©2015, ©2021, ©2026
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without
express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner
is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that
full and clear credit is given to Chuck Curry and A Gator in Naples
with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Unknown's avatar

Published by FloridaGator80

Leave a Reply