Revenge of the Nerds

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Revenge of the Nerds

R

Released Jul 20, 1984

1h 30m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

70%

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40 Reviews

73%

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50,000+ Ratings

Geeky college students Gilbert (Anthony Edwards) and Lewis (Robert Carradine) are evicted from their dormitory when the Alpha Betas -- who recently burned down their own fraternity house by accident -- confiscate the building. When the college forces the freshmen to live in the gym, Gilbert, Lewis and their fellow dorks relocate to a run-down house. When the Alpha Betas, led by jock Stan (Ted McGinley), repeatedly humiliate them, the nerds plot revenge.

Critics Consensus

Undeniably lowbrow but surprisingly sly, Revenge of the Nerds has enough big laughs to qualify as a minor classic in the slobs-vs.-snobs subgenre.

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Duane Byrge

The Hollywood Reporter

While much is in the Animal House vein and quite funny, several tasteless episodes mar the film.

Jul 20, 2017

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Rita Kempley

Washington Post

If you've seen Porky's, Animal House, D.C. Cab, or Police Academy, you've seen Nerds. And if you liked the prototypes, you'll like the latest of the genre, low humor and all -- belching, mooning, panty raids, peeping at girls and booger jokes.

Oct 2, 2015

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Simple-minded romp about a group of freshmen outcasts doesn't qualify for the dean's list, but Revenge of the Nerds shows more than enough smarts to deserve passing grades.

Mar 26, 2009

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David Sterritt

Christian Science Monitor

The underlying intelligence of director Jeff Kanew glimmers through at times, and is reflected in a couple of nice performances.

Oct 2, 2015

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John Ferguson

Radio Times

There is a theory that every Hollywood star has a turkey or two in their closet, so today, step forward Anthony Edwards, star of the hit TV series ER.

Rated: 1/5

Oct 2, 2015

Full Review

Film4 Staff

Film4

It's one of the great unfathomable mysteries of Hollywood that this unspeakably awful comedy was successful enough to spawn no less than three (count 'em) sequels.

Oct 2, 2015

Full Review

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Kyle C

A couple of funny scenes, but ultimately this movie will fade into obscurity in my memory among the endless stream of terrible raunchy 80s comedies. The concepts are much funnier than the movie itself. A lot of the jokes are completely tasteless and rely on offensive stereotypes to even approach comedic effect. John Goodman and Curtis Armstrong give pretty good performances but everyone else is pretty much just annoying.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/14/25

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Georgan G

Goofy but some funny parts in this 1980s comic classic.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/02/25

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J.J. E

Best movie of 1984. Period.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/16/24

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Horror fan 4

This is a classic 80's Movie with terrific characters and hilarious moments.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/08/24

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Erik B

Perfect 80's movie depicting The Jocks vs. The Nerds - all stereotypes included. An early example of Nerd Power, this movie has a lot of super-iffy scenes and concepts, but remains a fun watch if you keep it in the context of the time.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/06/23

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Trenaway E

When you could joke about everything without the snowflakes crying about it!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/08/23

Full Review

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Jeff Kanew

Director

Robert Carradine

Lewis Skolnick

Anthony Edwards

Gilbert Lowell

Ted McGinley

Stan Gable

Timothy Busfield

Arnold Poindexter

Andrew Cassese

Harold Wormser

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Synopsis

Geeky college students Gilbert (Anthony Edwards) and Lewis (Robert Carradine) are evicted from their dormitory when the Alpha Betas -- who recently burned down their own fraternity house by accident -- confiscate the building. When the college forces the freshmen to live in the gym, Gilbert, Lewis and their fellow dorks relocate to a run-down house. When the Alpha Betas, led by jock Stan (Ted McGinley), repeatedly humiliate them, the nerds plot revenge.

Director: Jeff Kanew
Producer: Ted Field, Peter Samuelson, David Obst, Peter Bart
Screenwriter: Jeff Buhai, Steve Zacharias, David Obst, Miguel Tejada-Flores, Tim Metcalfe
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox, Interscope Communications
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 20, 1984, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 2, 2019
Runtime: 1h 30m