Short Circuit (PG)

This 80s classic was my favourite film when I was about 6, and it's out on Blu-ray and DVD today!

Short Circuit (PG) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

Eighties cult classic Short Circuit is pure daft fun.  Packed with goofy American humour and anchored by a warm hearted moral about the universality of morality, the movie is a childhood favourite for many and sure to become one for generations to come.

‘Number Five’ begins existence as a lifeless robot, built to do the army’s bidding and act as a cutting edge military deterrent.  Suddenly lightening strikes (literally), flooding consciousness through his circuits and gifting him with a squeaky voice and instantaneous lust for life.  The now living machine sets off on a hyper-curious exploration of the world, initially oblivious to the panicking armed forces hot on his tail.

Newton Crosby is Number Five’s charming genius inventor, modestly portrayed by a subdued Steve Guttenburg, and Ben Jebituya is his stereotypical nerdy assistant-cum-sidekick, who is to prone to making arguably excessively racy jokes for a PG rated film.

The onscreen oestrogen and obligatory love interest comes in the shape of Stephanie Speck, an animal loving, UFO believing pseudo-hippy.  Her heart is won by Number Five’s malice-free nature, and they enjoy a dance in front of director John Badham’s own Saturday Night Fever, playing on the television. Ally Sheedy fills Speck’s character with no small measure of irresistibility, delivering a spritely and memorable performance in a film where for the most part the best actor is the robot.

Though patchy in quality, the script is nothing if not upbeat and much mirth is to be had from Number Five’s zany and surreal one-liners (“Hey, laser-lips, your mama was a snowblower”)!  Director John Badham’s life affirming mid-career effort is heavily indebted to Steven Spielberg's far superior E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, released four years previously.  Upon discovering Number Five outside her house, Speck even thinks he is an alien, and is delighted as he swiftly picks up human ways.  The film does however carve it’s own unique spot in eighties movie history, with an impressive character design crowned with ingeniously emotive ‘eyebrows’.

Anyone with at least one working eyeball will notice the plain-as-day similarities between Number Five and WALL-E, with their caterpillar perambulators and binocular optics.  Pixar’s Andrew Stanton stated that he ‘may have been subconsciously influenced’ by Short Circuit, presumably using the subconscious as a metaphor for tracing paper.  The bottom line of the matter is of course that Short Circuit came first, but WALL-E is the better film.

It won’t move your soul, unless you’re under five, and it won’t teach you anything new, unless you know less than a dead piece of metal, but Short Circuit is mostly harmless escapism fit for all the family (bar a few blue gags).  It’s worth a look, and the kids will love it.

Blu-ray & DVD extras: Commentary by director John Badham and writers S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock, Original theatrical trailer, ‘The Creation of Number 5’, Cast and crew interviews, Behind the scenes featurette