Few filmmakers are iconic enough that their very name is used to represent and define an entire generation of viewers, and it takes a lot of effort and genuine brilliance to get to the point where an entire genre is essentially created around their artistry. John Hughes was not only a great writer and director, but flourished into an artist whose work is so closely tied with an entire cinematic movement, it has become something of a concept, and one that many imitators have been chasing for decades in their own attempts to capture the spirit of his work – and understandably, it remains mostly elusive to them for the most part. His output in the 1980s is one of the most impressive runs any director has ever had, which is quite an achievement considering he was someone who worked exclusively in the realm of broad comedy, which is rarely taken seriously when discussing major cinematic accomplishments. His work can be divided into the consistent comedies about adolescence that are steeped more heavily in realism, and the slightly more off-kilter works that see the director taking bold risks and trying new ideas, perhaps not attaining the same level of success as other works, but yet still carrying a lot of value. Weird Science firmly occupies the latter, and while it was not the Hughes film that he perhaps wanted to make (he is on record on saying that he didn’t enjoy this experience, and was only working through it to get funding for The Breakfast Club, his unquestionable masterpiece), it has risen in estimation, being elevated from a mere footnote in an otherwise impressive career  and is now regarded as one of his boldest attempts to take the themes with which he was extremely familiar, and attempting to bring them to life in a decidedly unorthodox manner. Offbeat and hilarious, the film is one of the most unconventional of the director’s career, but its in these riskier efforts that we find Hughes once again proving to be an exceptional filmmaker, and one with a vision that is nothing less than spellbinding, especially when working with a subject that had the potential to be far less captivating in the wrong hands.

Each one of his films is unique in its own way, but certain qualities persist throughout Hughes’ films, which give them a very distinct tone and style that has been replicated many times before, albeit with very little success. Weird Science is an attempt to slightly shift his usual storytelling approach, which primarily consisted of quirky but very realistic depictions of teenage life and the broken promises of suburbia that become more clear in our journey from adolescence to early adulthood, and instead replacing it with something more unconventional in both story and style. The film, which centres around the very simple premise of a pair of social outcasts who decide to give themselves a boost of popularity by using their scientific knowledge to create the perfect woman, is a delightfully deranged and outrageously perverse comedy that combines infantile humour with the most cartoonish, off-the-wall science fiction elements imaginable. Hughes was going out on a limb for the majority of this film, which makes for a suitably immature but genuinely hilarious film that combines many intriguing elements into an unorthodox coming-of-age comedy, a genre that he mastered on many occasions, although not with the same level of gonzo insanity that he exhibited here. In many ways, this was more of an experiment than anything else, an opportunity for Hughes to take advantage of the rise of technology and the growing sense of attention given to subcultures that were usually viewed as uncool but were gradually starting to be used as more than just supporting players. Whether or not the results are worth the time is up for individual interpretation, but it is clear that this is a film far better than many would give it credit for, based on its bizarre premise and sometimes dated humour.

There is a reason why, after his death fifteen years ago, countless prominent actors stepped out to pay tribute to Hughes and his remarkable legacy. Many filmmakers have made a difference in the lives of their performers, but there was something special about him and the connections he formed with his actors. Part of it had to do with the fact that the majority of his works were based around younger protagonists, so he was a pivotal figure in the formative years of many of his actors, who credit him for helping them on not only a professional level, but a personal one, too. Even in something as relatively minor (in comparison to his other works), we have some terrific performances coming from the actors. The film features Anthony Michael Hall (who could rival Molly Ringwald for the title of the most distinctive Hughes collaborator), who is playing against type as this wisecracking smart aleck who is constantly trying to get out of the very messes that he is responsible for causing, and Ilan Mitchell-Smith in his only collaboration with Hughes, and arguably his most iconic role. The two are exceptional, primarily because they implicitly understand the nature of the material with which they are working and temper their performances appropriately. The central trio is completed by Kelly LeBrock, who portrays their sultry and peculiar creation, the embodiment of feminine mystique and beauty, and the agent of chaos that is responsible for much of the anarchy that occurs throughout the film. This part called for someone known more for their stunning beauty than their acting talents, so Hughes truly lucked out when it was revealed that she was hilarious, turning in a brilliant comedic performance that manages to aid in softening the blow of the frequent objectification throughout the film. A range of supporting performances are found throughout the film (including Robert Downey, Jr. and Bill Paxton in hilarious roles), but it’s the main trio that is most memorable and responsible for most of the enduring charm of the film as a whole.

Understanding the appeal of Weird Science requires us to have some kind of awareness of the era in which this film was made – looking at it from a contemporary point of view alone is not the smartest idea, since many jokes have aged poorly, and the entire premise is somewhat misogynistic, particularly in how it is an entire film based around the idea of the “ideal” woman, and how most of the female characters are objectified beyond recognition. Yet, there is still a lot of value in this film, particularly in how it is essentially a product of its time, a story told during a period where conversations around these matters were gradually starting to become more prominent. It isn’t the subject matter that is worthwhile in this film, but rather the way Hughes ties everything together, and once we remove the sheen of subversion and cut off the lingering edges that are more questionable in terms of content, we find that this is a film that is about those all too familiar themes that we often find in a lot of the director’s work – it is ultimately an outrageous comedy that has a bittersweet core, being based around the experiences of two dreadfully unpopular teenagers that just want to fit in, and are willing to go to any means necessary to achieve it, even if it requires them to shatter the laws of physics. Hughes ties everything together brilliantly, and he makes sure that the tone of the surrounding film matches the storyline. From its first moments, Weird Science is firing from all cylinders, adopting a devil-may-care approach to the storyline and simply throwing caution to the wind, secure in the knowledge that that they are doing is compelling, even if it lacks logic. Ultimately, this is one of those rare comedies that requires the viewer to simply surrender to the madness, which is not necessarily a bad technique, but one that should be noted when setting off into this chaotic and unconventional version of reality.

Hughes was a filmmaker who had an ability to fend off all criticism and was insistent on marching to the beat of his own drum, which is the reason his work is so acclaimed and has withstood the test of time exceptionally well. It is clear that Weird Science is not The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off as far as his masterworks tend to go, but it never strives to be. Instead, it is an off-the-wall, engaging blend of science fiction and comedy that is superbly compelling in both its ideas and execution. There is a lot of charming hidden beneath the sometimes obvious narrative layers of the film, which is a delightful but mostly quite predictable work – but this doesn’t change the fact that it is a lot of fun, and the exact kind of elegant, good-natured coming-of-age comedy we would expect from the director, just filtered through a more unconventional lens, one that combines science fiction with Hughes’ traditional narrative techniques to create something genuinely quite endearing and unique in its viewpoint. Good performances, a rapid-fire sense of humour and enough offbeat energy to propel the entire story, Weird Science is a terrific film, and one of the very best works of the 1980s as far as coming-of-age comedies tended to go. Nothing particularly daring, but still fascinating and captivating in both theory and execution, Hughes took bold risks with this film, and they all absolutely paid off in spectacular and hilarious ways.