There are a lot of riffs on Frankenstein, but none more extra than the 1985 cult classic, Weird Science. A wish-fulfillment film filled to the brim with hormones, Weird Science might, at first glance, seem like one of those ‘80s movies that haven’t aged well, or worse, is straight-up offensive by today’s standards. When two teenage boys try to create the perfect woman on their computer, what could go wrong?
While there is a certain datedness to the film, Weird Science remains a very funny cautionary tale and a sweet antidote for what we now call toxic masculinity. It’s also, in small ways, predictive of where geek culture would go in the decades after it was released. Here’s why Weird Science isn’t all that weird, and why the film’s basic kindness makes it a sci-fi classic for the ages.
