Runtime:
111 minutes
Directed
by: Kenneth Johnson
Starring:
Fisher Stevens, Michael McKean, Cynthia Gibb, Jack Weston, Dee
McCafferty
From:
TriStar
Go with me on this journey as for one more night I continued down the path of rewatching films from my youth:
Let me kick your balls into outer space by talking about another
revisit to my youth; last night I saw something I saw a few times when I
was a kid but it has to be a VERY long time since I saw the film in
full. It's been even longer since I've seen the first Short Circuit;
hopefully no one thinks of me as a craphead for preferring the sequel to
the original. It may take a long while but eventually I'll see the OG
Short Circuit for a review.
It is no wonder that plenty of kids around my age enjoyed the film, considering that some juvenile things happen and the lead is a cute and funny sentient robot who calls himself Johnny Five. He, his co-creator Ben and a huckster named Fred end up in New York City, which is a boon for Five as he loves acquiring input, and he has “megabytes of storage.” He wishes to be treated the same as a human being but naturally most strangers just don't understand and unfortunately his naivete causes him to trust some sleazy people who wish to use him for nefarious purposes.
There are a few very silly moments, perhaps Ben did not need a romantic interest (even if it was Cynthia Gibb) and the film is long at almost two hours; yet I was still entertained... as I did when I was a young boy, I felt bad for Johnny Five as he was not accepted by most of society and there was also a specific moment or two that I imagine was a tearjerker for many kids back in the day. Michael McKean was fine as Fred, who may be as rotten a character as you first think. Fisher Stevens as Ben... yeah, by modern standards it is not a good look. The character is supposed to be from India and Stevens is a white dude doing a stereotypical act. It was not so heinous to me that it ruins the film but then again I am a Caucasian man and if anyone from India is offended to a grievous degree, I get it.
I am not sure what Hispanics will think of the minor characters known as the Los Locos gang as they also play up stereotypes there. Yet to me they were yet another example of a 1980's movie gang that in no way reflects an actual inner-city gang from any time period. I will presume that there never have been too many that have a catchphrase and actually say it out loud. Anyhow, at least for me I still enjoy the film, problematic lead human character aside.
It is no wonder that plenty of kids around my age enjoyed the film, considering that some juvenile things happen and the lead is a cute and funny sentient robot who calls himself Johnny Five. He, his co-creator Ben and a huckster named Fred end up in New York City, which is a boon for Five as he loves acquiring input, and he has “megabytes of storage.” He wishes to be treated the same as a human being but naturally most strangers just don't understand and unfortunately his naivete causes him to trust some sleazy people who wish to use him for nefarious purposes.
There are a few very silly moments, perhaps Ben did not need a romantic interest (even if it was Cynthia Gibb) and the film is long at almost two hours; yet I was still entertained... as I did when I was a young boy, I felt bad for Johnny Five as he was not accepted by most of society and there was also a specific moment or two that I imagine was a tearjerker for many kids back in the day. Michael McKean was fine as Fred, who may be as rotten a character as you first think. Fisher Stevens as Ben... yeah, by modern standards it is not a good look. The character is supposed to be from India and Stevens is a white dude doing a stereotypical act. It was not so heinous to me that it ruins the film but then again I am a Caucasian man and if anyone from India is offended to a grievous degree, I get it.
I am not sure what Hispanics will think of the minor characters known as the Los Locos gang as they also play up stereotypes there. Yet to me they were yet another example of a 1980's movie gang that in no way reflects an actual inner-city gang from any time period. I will presume that there never have been too many that have a catchphrase and actually say it out loud. Anyhow, at least for me I still enjoy the film, problematic lead human character aside.
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