Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

Director Jeff Kanew's and 20th Century Fox's R-rated, low-brow 1980s campus comedy was a raunchy derivative of (National Lampoon's) Animal House (1978); it told about a group of outcast, misfit and bullied nerds in the Adams College chapter of the national black fraternity Lambda Lambda Lambda (Tri-Lams), who engaged in continual feuding with the meat-head Alpha Beta jocks.

The predictable plot of the escapist, cult-classic (time-capsule) film centered on the competition between the underdog brainy computer-science nerds against the brawny, muscle-bound jocks fraternity (Alpha Betas) and their rich and bitchy sorority girlfriends at Pi Delta Pi. The film climaxed with a major tournament between the two groups in the Greek Games. With a script by Steve Zacharias and Jeff Buhai, this was one of the earlier examples of the "jocks vs. nerds" theme. Its tagline was:

• "They've Been Laughed At, Picked On and Put Down. But Now It's Time For the Odd to Get Even! Their Time Has Come!"

As expected, this youth-sexploitation film was filled with an archetypal group of endearing and loveable odd-ball characters (nerds, spazs, outcasts, twerps, misfits, geeks, losers, dweebs, etc., who continually were ignored or faced discrimination). It also featured rowdy hijinks, smutty gross-outs and body humor, F-bombs, and some nudity. The film was nowhere near as mean-spirited or raunchy as the earlier teen sex comedy Porky's (1982).

Some of the dated things depicted in this non-PC (or pre-woke) era film would be considered offensive or inappropriate (tasteless or even revolting) to certain audiences today, such as panty raids, frat hazing, bullying, female objectification, borderline rape (or at least sexual assault), or racial insensitivity and stereotyping (i.e., the characters of the gay African-American or the Asian exchange-student).

Surprisingly, with a budget of $8 million, it became a smash hit - and the 16th highest-grossing (domestic) film of 1984, at $40.9 million. The popularity of this defining first film about disenfranchised dorks led to three sequels (the last two were made-for-TV movies):

• Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987)
• Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation (1992) (TV)
• Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love (1994) (TV)
• An unsuccessful TV pilot was also released in 1991 based almost entirely on the movie.

There were a number of familiar names in the cast, who would further their careers - Anthony Edwards, John Goodman (as a bullying football coach), Bernie Casey and James Cromwell (as a nerdy father).

• after the 20th Century Fox logo and the title screen, in the opening scene, nerdy Gilbert Lowe (Anthony Edwards) revealed to his concerned mother Mrs. Flo Lowe (Alice Hirson) that he was anxious about leaving home for college; Mr. Skolnick (James Cromwell), the equally-nerdy father of his best friend Lewis Skolnick (Robert Carradine), was taking both Gilbert and Lewis to the school for the start of the academic year
• the opening title credits (with a large computer-type font) played during their drive to the school, to the film's title song performed by The Rubinoos: ("Mom packs us a lunch and we're off to school They call us nerds 'cause we're so uncool They laugh at our clothes They laugh at our hair The girls walk by with their nose in the air So go ahead, put us down One of these days we'll turn it around Won't be long mark my word Time has come for revenge of the nerds..."); on the way, the two conversed about their exact ETA; in Tucson, AZ, they exited the freeway on their way to Adams College

Gilbert Lowe (Anthony Edwards)

Lewis Skolnick (Robert Carradine)

Photo of Two Geeks After Arriving at Adams College

• Lewis attempted to reassure the nervous Gilbert about their new venture: "There's 6,127 students at Adams 58% of which are girls....So that's 7,107.32 boobs"; Lewis' father wished he was joining them - the theme of the sex comedy: "You college guys are all alike. All you really care about is getting laid. I wish I was goin' with ya"; the two freshmen students were majoring in computer science; after Lewis received a few brief words of encouragement from his father, the two clumsy hometown buddies (both wearing outdated glasses and sporting pocket-protectors) awkwardly hauled a large trunk and their suitcases across the campus to their freshman dormitory

Trophy-Winning Frat House	Stan and Betty	"Ogre"
The Rowdy Alpha Beta Fraternity - Introduced with the Song: "Are You Ready"

• as they passed a rowdy fraternity house (in the midst of hazing an unfortunate pledge who was dropped head-first off the roof), they were greeted and ridiculed by loud chants of "Nerds, nerds, nerds!"; once in their dorm room, Lewis unpacked the large trunk, removing two large boxes of components to build a robot
• the Alpha Betas - a hard-partying and rowdy drinking group of meathead football jocks were introduced (to the tune of "Are You Ready" by Ya Ya); there were glimpses of animalistic Frederick Aloysius "Ogre" Palowaski (Donald Gibb) guzzing beer and a quintessential coed couple: mean, smooth-talking blonde Stanley "Stan" Harvey Gable (Ted McGinley) and his girlfriend - popular blonde cheerleader Betty Childs (Julia Montgomery) making out; the AB's were in the midst of an out-of-control beer-keg party with juvenile antics including stair-diving; later, they were blowing "fireballs" after imbibing 188 proof alcohol; unfortunately, one fireball blast accidentally and carelessly set the curtains on fire and burned down their entire frat building, appropriately to the tune of "Burning Down the House" by the Talking Heads; they blamed the fire on faulty wiring
• the frat's supportive football Coach Harris (John Goodman) pressured the Adams College Dean Ulich (David Wohl) to move the freshmen from their dorm, and reassign them to live in gymnasium (and temporarily camp out there): ("We got a big game coming up and I don't want my boys' minds worried about where they're gonna live"); the AB frat members (mostly football team players) literally and forcefully threw them out and took over their rooms, while chanting: "Nerds, nerds, nerds" as the displaced students marched toward the gym; half of the basketball court was cordoned off with bunk beds and a single, small B/W television was provided for their "viewing pleasure"; as compensation, the Dean announced a change in school policy - the freshmen would be allowed to join and live in the fraternities, and the selection process would begin the next day

Other Prominent "Nerds"
Dudley "Booger" Dawson (Curtis Armstrong)	Toshiro Takashi (Brian Tochi)	Lamar Latrelle (Larry B. Scott)
Harold Wormser (Andrew Cassese)	Arnold Poindexter (Timothy Busfield)	Judy (Michelle Meyrink)

• more nerds were introduced in the gymnasium - all were rejected by the fraternities: pot-smoking, nose-picking Dudley "Booger" Dawson (Curtis Armstrong), gullible Japanese-American Toshiro Takashi (Brian Tochi), gay African-American Lamar Latrelle (Larry B. Scott), child prodigy Harold Wormser (Andrew Cassese), and thick-glasses wearing, half-blind violinist Arnold Poindexter (Timothy Busfield); and shortly later, Gilbert became acquainted with accordion-playing Judy (Michelle Meyrink)
• the next day, most but not all of the displaced freshmen were selected by fraternities; Lewis and Gilbert were both ostracized and not selected as freshmen pledges, and thus remained in the gym; the duo decided to seek advice from members of the popular Pi Delta Pi sorority
  • [Note: There was a continual sexual play on words and the running joke about the PI girls - also referenced by the film's continual use of the phrase "Hair pie" - the triangular patch of female pubic hair, the Delta symbol drawn as a triangular shape, and the concluding "pie-eating" contest.]
• Lewis and Gilbert walked up to the group of attractive "trophy" sorority girls, seated on the front steps of their sorority house, led by Betty Childs, Stan's girlfriend; Lewis asked innocently: "We figured pretty girls like you might be able to suggest a fraternity...Well, tell us what frat do you think is us?"; Betty facetiously and deceptively set them up by suggesting: "You guys are Alpha Betas all the way.... you guys have got that certain something I know they'd be interested in," and claimed she would recommend them for membership to Stan Gable (her boyfriend)
• with false hopes, Lewis and Gilbert visited the AB frat house, where they were led into a dark room (labeled "ALTAR of Sacrifice") in front of hooded frat members; the two were handed "rubbers" for their initiation; they were pranked and fooled into participating in a fake ceremony (sex with a sheep); they were also stripped down, interrogated ("Have you ever made love to a woman?"), and doused with buckets of water; afterwards, the two humiliated nerds returned to the gym covered with feathers
• in his computer science class, Gilbert met female nerd Judy, who was frustrated with "interfacing" with her "inhuman" computer; he advised her: "It's not inhuman. Only humans can be inhuman...Working with a computer's great. I mean, it's, uh, godlike in a way. 'Cause you can have complete control"; he demonstrated his skill by creating a cute romantic animation of the two meeting each other and dancing together
• Lewis programmed his robot-computer to locate possible off-campus residential housing for the rejects in the gymnasium; an abandoned and dilapidated house was selected, cleaned, renovated (with paint and wallpaper) and repaired, and became the new home for the nerds near the campus who were unable to rent anything else in town; as they fixed up and cleaned the house, the Bone Symphony performed "One Foot in Front of the Other"
• after seeing the nerds' new accommodations, Stan wanted to ruin their success: ("It won't look terrific for long"), and he continued to harrass and make life miserable for the nerds; from his motorcycle on the street, he threw a rock through one of the windows of the nerds' new house (with a written warning: "Nerds Get Out!"); the nerds reported the property damage and vandalizing incident to the Campus Police, but were told it was out of their "jurisdiction" and that it sounded "like a fraternity prank"; it was suggested that they appeal to the school's Greek Council
• during the next Council meeting, it was revealed to the nerds that the president of the organization was Stan Gable - who was predictably uncooperative and unwilling to help them; Stan was even able to overrule the Dean's opinion, by explaining that it was against the Council's charter for them to form their own fraternity unless they had a national sponsor: ("You must have a national fraternity as your sponsor")
• however, after applying to 29 fraternities and receiving rejection letters from each one, the nerds were finally accepted by Lambda Lambda Lambda (Tri-Lambs), a black fraternity headed by U.N. Jefferson (Bernie Casey), that had no chapter at Adams College; due to a clause in their by-laws, it specified that the nerd group (with one black) were eligible for a 60-day trial or probationary period; as the meeting ended, Lewis (who was eager to show that the nerds were "Tri-Lamb material") invited the skeptical Jefferson to their first party, to impress him with their worthiness
• Lewis boldly asked Stan's girlfriend Betty for a date to their planned Saturday night party, but was abruptly rejected; after being informed about Lewis' inappropriate invitation, Stan made plans to disrupt their party: ("Maybe we could help them out")

Betty Leading a Chorus of Pi Delta Pi Sisters to Serenade the Nerds, and Deceptively Offering to Be Their Dates For Their Saturday Night Party

• during the nerds' planning for the party, Betty showed up with a chorus of Pi Delta Pi coed sorority sisters (wearing light blue dresses and holding candles) to serenade the Lambda nerds outside their house:
  • "We're the Pi's And we're here to say We think you are special guys Lambdas all the way Alpha Betas are okay If you like sweat socks We prefer your high I.Q.'s To their great big jocks Lambda Lambda Lambda boys Really are the best Won't you take a piece of Pi and we'll do the rest"
• Betty also offered to help out the fledgling Lambda fraternity by providing dates to their party: "We'd like to be escorts to your party Saturday night and help out in any way possible"
• however, at the Saturday night party, the Pi sorority sisters were a no-show, and Jefferson was unimpressed by the extremely dull and boring event sponsored by the uptight nerds; Lewis lied to Jefferson that a group of "good-lookin' sorority girls" expected to be their dates were "probably just being fashionably late"; thinking that the music was the problem, Lewis insensitively put the Negro spiritual-gospel song "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" on the turntable to please Jefferson - before Lamar quickly removed it (and scratched the needle on the record)
• to salvage the party and to avoid canceling it due to a lack of females, Gilbert's 'girlfriend' Judy suggested spontaneously inviting her nerdy Omega Mu sorority sisters over to attend; after the group of mostly plain-Jane, homely, unattractive, overweight Mus arrived, the party remained stagnant (with all of the misfit males and females seated opposite each other); the playing of the Gleaming Spires' song: "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls" on the soundtrack, a solo violin performance by Poindexter, and an accordion sing-along with Judy ("I Gotta Be Free, I Gotta Be Me") didn't change the mood of the party, until "Booger" begin passing around high-grade marijuana "wonder joints"

The Nerds' Party

• the party was just beginning to loosen up and get into high-gear, with dancing, flirtations, giggling, and the playing of Michael Jackson's "Thriller," and Jill Michaels and Pat Robinson's "Right Time For Love"; Poindexter's date asked bluntly: "Do you wanna f--k or not?" and grabbed his crotch, while Lewis appeared at the top of the stairs with a self-satisfied Hugh Hefner pose (wearing a dark-red satin robe, and blowing smoke rings with a pipe) after having sex with his dark-haired Mu date
• the Alpha-Betas and the Pi sorority sisters disrupted and ruined the party by releasing a group of pigs into the house; while singing "Old McDonald Had a Farm" atop the back of a farm wagon parked outside with bales of hay; one of the males yelled out: "We thought you could use some more pigs for your party, nerds" before the group pulled down their pants and mooned everyone
• the geeks were downcast and worried that their chances of entering the Tri-Lambs was now disrupted; "Booger" suggested: "I say we blow their f--king houses up," although Gilbert suggested a non-violent response: "We got to beat 'em at their own game. We've got to become the best fraternity on campus. You know, if we win that Homecoming Carnival, we can take over the presidency of the Greek Council. That would drive 'em crazy"; however, he did agree to responding immediately:
  • "Their action tonight demands an immediate retaliation. And if we don't, we're nothing but the nerds they say we are"
• the nerds' first retaliatory response, under the cover of night-time, was to break into the Pi sorority house, to the theme music from TV's " Mission: Impossible"; two nerds (Harold and Lamar) ascended to the rooftop and into the attic, while the others snuck into the hallway, where Betty was singing "E-I-E-I-O" as she entered her room; large peep-holes were drilled into the 2nd floor ceiling where hidden video cameras were installed; after Betty spoke a few words to sorority sister Suzy (Former Playboy Playmate of the Month Lisa Welch) in the bathroom, she undressed and pulled aside a shower-curtain, where Lewis greeted her with the words: "PANTY RAID!"
• Gilbert and Poindexter also snuck into Suzy's room and stole two pairs of her underwear; in the hallway, Booger told one large sorority sister to get out of the way: "Step aside momma, I wanna see some of that muff!", while Takashi added the words Booger had recently taught him: "Oh, Hair pie! Hair pie!"; Betty was interrupted by Lewis as she phoned Stan, and was heard blurting out: "That nerd saw me naked!"
• the diversionary panty raid was designed to provide cover for the installation of surveillance of spy cameras, high-tech warfare to be used to later spy upon the pretty, disrobing coeds and humiliate them in return

Booger: "We've got bush! We've got bush!"

Takashi: Oh, Hair pie!"

• the juvenile antics continued as later back in their frat house, the geeks spied live upon some of the coeds in various states of undress; when Suzy was spied upon removing her nightie top, Takashi toasted: "I drink to that"; during the peeping on an unnamed Pi Delta Pi nude coed (Colleen Madden), Booger delivered a famous line about the naked coed: "This is bulls--t. I want bush. Pan down. We've got bush! We've got bush!" and then Takashi repeated his familiar exclamation: "Oh, Hair pie!"; by morning, some of the horny males were still watching the coeds brushing their teeth in the bathroom, and the topless Betty squirming face-down on her bed
• Lewis suggested that after settling the score with the Pis, they still had to get even with the studly male Alpha Betas: "Now we got a little score to settle with the Alpha Betas"; the foursome of Lewis, Gilbert, Booger, and Poindexter entered the football locker room before football practice and poured "liquid heat" (a muscle-rub liquid) onto a pile of jock straps to produce an intense burning sensation; Jefferson was impressed and pleased with the clever and persistent nerds to fight back when he was informed of their prank against the Alpha Betas; he decided to grant them full membership status as Tri-Lambdas, to the previously all-black fraternity: ("I think you'll make a fine addition to Tri Lambda, and I wanna welcome you aboard")

The New Tri-Lambda Members of the All-Black Fraternity

"NERDS" Sign On Fire

• however, the Alpha Betas were not happy, and to show their dissatisfaction, they set a sign reading "NERDS" on fire outside the Tri-Lambda's house, reminiscent of how KKK members threatened the existence of African-Americans
• at the next Greek Council meeting, Dean Ulich determined that the sign-burning clearly indicated that the Alpha Betas were guilty, although Stan rose to defend his fraternity as innocent: ("No member of my fraternity could have perpetrated such a callous, heinous act against the nerds, or the Tri-Lambs"); he refused to vote, and deliberately stonewalled any actions taken against his fraternity by declaring that as President of the Greek Council, only he could call for a vote to sanction the Alpha Betas; it was clear to the geeks of Lambda Lambda Lambda (Tri-Lambs) what they needed to do - they had to win the Homecoming Carnival (and its Greek Games, the fraternity competition) as a way to oust Stan as President of the Greek Council, and take over the Council's governance
• at the start of the "GREEK GAMES" at Adams College's Homecoming Carnival, there were three categories and ten events: (1) Field Events (6 events), (2) the Charity Fund-Raising Booths (Pie-Eating and Kissing) (2 events) and (3) the Musical Show and Skit Competition (2 events); the top two competing teams throughout the day were the Alpha-Betas (and Pi Delta Pis), and the Tri-Lambda (and Omega Mus)
• the first field event was to ride tiny tricycles around a track 20 times, with each lap requiring a pit stop and the chugging of one beer; Takashi won the race by ingesting trichloromethaline to counteract the effects of alcohol in his system; Stan was worried about the up-and-coming nerds: ("Times are changin', Betty. These nerds are a threat to our way of life. If they win Homecoming, they're gonna take over the Greek Council. And we'll be up to our necks in nerd s--t")
• the next field competition: the "Trojan Horse," was won by Ogre of the Alpha-Betas; the third event was the "Wrist Wrestle," again won by Ogre; the fourth event, "Tug-of-War" was also won by the Alpha Betas, putting them in the lead with 30 points, and Tri-Lambda was now in 2nd place with 20 points; the "Belching Contest" was won with a 10-second belch from "Booger," adding 5 points to the Tri-Lambdas' score; the sixth and last field event - the "Javelin Throw" was won by Lamar using an aerodynamically-designed javelin; Alpha Beta was now leading with 50 points, with Tri-Lambda in second place with 35 points
• in the second competitive category, the Charity Fund-Raising Booth, two competing booths were set up for pie-eating and kissing; Lewis was one of those in line for kisses and showed Betty that he had paid money for a huge string of tickets to kiss her; to avoid kissing the nerd ("I'm not kissing a nerd"), Betty quickly excused herself: "It's time for my break" and substituted someone else
• miffed by a rude comment made by Stan at the kissing booth about how horny she was: ("You're like a goat"), Betty stormed off into the Fun House; to take advantage of the situation, Lewis followed her inside, wearing Stan's dark cape and Darth Vader mask disguise to impersonate her boyfriend; in the Moon Walk area, she asked seductively: "You wanna do it on the Moon?" - and Lewis obliged, fooling her into having sex with him - an example of black comedy rape (by deception or fraud)
• afterwards, she was shocked and surprised when he removed the mask, but nonetheless complimented the nerd on his sexual prowess: ("That was wonderful. You did things to me you've never done before....God, you were wonderful...Are all nerds as good as you?"); Lewis explained the difference between nerds and jocks: "'Cause all jocks think about is sports. All we ever think about is sex"; she invited Lewis to get together with her again after the night's pep rally
• the fund-raising competition was won by the Tri-Lambda team - by exploitationally selling pies with Betty's nude picture on the bottom of each pie-plate; Stan thought something was "fishy" and was flabbergasted when he saw Betty's picture printed on each pie-plate: "That's my Pi!"
• the contest ended up tied, with the Musical Show and Skit competitions as the deciding factor in determining the winner; the geeks eventually triumphed with their creative and superior techno, computer-driven musical performance, and were voted as the best team after receiving the loudest applause; Dean Ulich awarded them the Homecoming Carnival trophy, with the privilege of appointing the new Greek Council President; Lewis nominated Gilbert to be appointed to the position

Betty Breaking Up with Stan: "I've got a date with a Tri-Lamb"

The Coach: "You just got your asses whipped by a bunch of god-damn nerds"

The Humiliated Alpha-Betas Still in Drag as They Were Lectured by the Coach About Being Men

• to add insult to injury, Betty announced to Stan that she had a better option and was breaking up with him, by returning his pin: "I've got a date with a Tri-Lamb....Here's your pin...God! I'm in love with a nerd!"; the humiliated Alpha-Betas were assembled by Coach Harris in the locker room (where the slogan was posted: "ONLY THE STRONG WILL SURVIVE") - he delivered a rousing speech to them to be strong and masculine (while his players were still dressed in drag as cheerleaders!), and instigated revenge against the nerds:
  • "When you were a baby in your crib, your father looked down at you, he had but one hope, someday my son will grow to be a man. Well, look at you now. You just got your asses whipped by a bunch of god-damn nerds. Nerds! Well, if I was you, I'd do somethin' about it. I would get up and redeem myself in the eyes of my father, my maker and my coach!"
• Stan and Ogre led a mad charge toward the Tri-Lambda fraternity house, entered after destroying the front fence and door, and completely vandalized everything inside; the nerds were left with the interior of their frat house spray painted, and their property smashed to bits, including Lewis' and Gilbert's robot and Booger's guitar; thoroughly downtrodden, Lewis did some soul-searching as he spoke to Gilbert:
  • "I'm a nerd....I never really wanted to believe that....We're nothing. We let them destroy our house. Nobody cares. Don't you understand that? The university doesn't care. There's nothin' we can do about it"
• however, Gilbert was determined to not admit defeat: ("I think we got something good going, and I'm not gonna let 'em take it away from us")
• at the Friday evening's pep rally for the next day's football game, Gilbert approached a lineup of the members of the football team (who were being introduced by the Coach with rousing cheers), to confront and challenge them: "You guys went way too far this time, and you're not getting away with it"; Gilbert was picked up and tossed into a school fountain; he recovered, marched over to the stage, and grabbed the microphone away from the Coach; the Dean attempted to defend Gilbert's right to speak, but was intimidated by the Coach who readied himself to slug the Dean

The Coach Roughing Up the Dean

Jefferson to Coach: "You just hold it right there!"

Gilbert's "I'm a Nerd" Speech

• Jefferson suddenly arrived, backed up by large intimidating group of sweatered members of the national Tri-Lambs; as he approached the stage, Jefferson threatened: "Hold it, Coach! You just hold it right there!"; he supportively urged Gilbert to take the microphone and lecture the crowd about his right to fight discrimination, and how he felt proud to be a nerd:
  • "I'm a nerd. And I'm here tonight to stand up for the rights of other nerds. I mean, uh, all our lives we've been laughed at and made to feel inferior. And tonight, (he pointed backwards) those bastards, they trashed our house. Why? Because we're smart? 'Cause we look different? Well, we're not. I'm a nerd, and, uh, I'm pretty proud of it."
• Lewis took the microphone, stood next to Gilbert, and delivered his own defense of nerds, and invited those who agreed with him to step forward:
  • "I'm a nerd, too. I just found that out tonight. We have news for the beautiful people. There's a lot more of us than there are of you. I know there's alumni here tonight. When you went to Adams, you might have been called a spaz or a dork or a geek. Any of you that have ever felt stepped on, left out, picked on, put down, whether you think you're a nerd or not, why don't you just come down here and join us, okay?"
• Betty rushed forward to embrace Lewis, and Judy hugged Gilbert at the front of the crowd, as Gilbert added: "No one's really gonna be free until nerd persecution ends"; the two nerds had effectively appealed to the supportive crowd (composed of alumni, Lewis and the other Tri-Lambs, the school's band, and even Betty), to repudiate the hateful Alpha-Betas; they were backed by the soundtrack's song - Freddie Mercury and Queen: "We are the Champions"
• now more confident and bold, Dean Ulich bravely announced to the Coach a new housing arrangement for the Alpha-Betas - it was a perfect example of KARMA: "You know, Coach. I think I'm gonna let these boys live over at the Alpha Beta house while you and your boys rebuild theirs...You're jocks. Go live in the gym"; the film concluded with a cheer of "Nerds, nerds, nerds..."
• the end credits presented selected film clips of the main characters, identified by both their real names and cast names