"It's alive!"
Even John Hughes films aren't immune to the remake treatment, it seems. As geekdom is practically revered in today's pop culture, it's really a wonder that Hughes' 1985 comedy Weird Science hasn't already been mined for a remake. Better late than never? Some would surely argue that point. "Leave it alone," thirty and forty-somethings will cry. But they may not be heard over the sound of the thudding hearts of those of us anxiously and optimistically hoping that maybe - just maybe - the remake all be good. Because maybe it will.
21 Jump Street turned out to be a winner, right? Deadline says Michael Bacall - who penned the script for the Jump Street feature film (and the planned sequel) - has been tapped to write the screenplay for Universal Pictures' Weird Science remake. In addition to having some experience turning a beloved piece of 80s pop culture into a funny movie with 21 Jump Street, Bacall also knows a thing or two about teenagers unleashed, as he also wrote the script for Project X. With that in mind, I already want to nominate Miles Teller for the role of Wyatt, if not Robert Downey Jr.'s character Ian. Deadline says the plan for the remake is to make an "edgier R-rated comedy in line with 21 Jump Street and The Hangover."
Weird Science starred Anthony Michael Hall and Iian Mitchell-Smith as two outsiders who decide to create the perfect woman using their computers and some Frankenstein-esque techniques. The result is the gorgeous Lisa (Kelly LeBrock), a beautiful, smart, all-around "perfect" woman who guides them out of the geeky roles in which high school has cast them and into more confident adolescents. Bill Paxton plays Wyatt's bullying older brother Chet.
Like much of what John Hughes gave us in the 80s, Weird Science is a beloved classic, so reluctance on the part of its fans is to be expected, but with original producer Joel Silver on board to produce and Bacall set to write the script, I'm choosing to be optimistic that the remake will offer something fun for the next generation and a bit of nostalgia for those of us who grew up loving the original film (and maybe also the 90s series that followed).
