Revenge Of The Nerds hasn’t aged all that well since it was released in 1984.
If you’re unfamiliar with the discourse, all you need to do is Google “Revenge of The Nerds problems” and headlines containing words like “disturbing” and “uncomfortable” immediately flood your search.
To put it simply: in hindsight, the movie’s scene which technically glorifies rape was a terrible idea. And even the original screenwriters have agreed.
To commemorate the film’s 35th anniversary, GQ conducted a long-form interview with actors, writers and producers behind the original film.
Among the many topics and scenes discussed, the aforementioned scene in which Lewis has sex with Betty under false pretences is raised – a scene they surely would’ve talked about whether it was the birth year of the #MeToo movement or not.
In the GQ interview, screenwriter Steve Zacharias acknowledges that he regrets thats writing that scene. “I regret that. I’ve written a play for the musical and I eliminated the rape scene.”
And it’s not the only scene he regrets writing. “I also regret the video scene. It would be goofy enough if they just did a panty raid and played it really nerdy.
In general terms, for a long time the movie was never officially called out – meaning that it has never been banned from showing on any channels or at any cinemas, in the way that Chris Lilley was banned from Netflix this year.
Since 1984, the film has received a fair few sequels including Revenge of the Nerds II and TV movies like Nerds in Love.
Now, Seth Macfarlane has stepped up to the plate to once again revive the film as its producer, with the script being cowritten by Alex Rubens of The Twilight Zone, Key and Peele and Rick and Morty, alongside identical twin brothers, Keith and Kenny Lucas – who you’ll undoubtedly recall from their iconic double trouble scenes in 22 Jump Street.
Variety reports that the reboot is set to be a contemporary reimagining, depicting today’s nerd culture and what even constitutes a geek in the 21st century.
Hopefully with some modern thinking, they can un-tarnish the Revenge of The Nerds name. But if one thing’s for sure, stereotyping just doesn’t cut it anymore. So we’ll just have to wait and see how well they pull this one off.
