Short Circuit (1986)

Short Circuit (1986) – A robot being developed for the Department of Defense becomes self-aware after a lightning strike.   It recruits a young woman’s help as it fights to keep “alive”.

Director -John Badham                         Starring Ally Sheedy, Steve Guttenberg, Fisher Stevens

Why I Liked It – It’s got all the classic “Disney” touches, i.e. a likable cast, a funny “young” character (usually a kid, animal or robot) with action that moves right along.

This is(mostly) family-friendly, entry-level science fiction that’s just fun to watch.  Don’t overthink this movie.  Is it great science?  Nope.  Is it the perfect representation of robots and robotics?  Again, no.  In fact, there was an attempt to be as realistic as possible, resulting in a fight about number Five’s expressive “eyebrows” inside the production.  Is it a careful consideration of self-awareness in computers, the Turing test, etc?  No.  It’s an enjoyable movie about a funny robot. That’s all it was trying for and it achieved it in full.

It’s interesting that director John Badham oversaw two movies about computers with some level of self-awareness.  1983’s “War Games” had a similar breezy approach, this time to a potential end of the world scenario.  With a veteran cast here (including familiar character actors Austin Pendleton and G.W. Bailey in supporting roles), he has everything he needs to make the story pay off.

It’s worth noting that Fisher Stevens is playing a Hindu character here.  Stevens is white and would NEVER be cast in this role today.  It’s interesting to note that his work was convincing enough that there was real confusion about who was playing the role when the movie debuted in India. He does have some dialogue that isn’t G-rated.  I’d call it PG-13, and not necessary in the larger scheme of things.  It’s my only real concern about the movie. 

Rating – *** Worth A Look