EMMETT Of The Unblinking Eye

TOP 10 NERD MOVIES OF ALL TIME!!!

August 20, 2004

Everyone knows what a nerd is.  But do you know from whence the word "nerd" purportedly swings.  If not, pull out your trusty copy of Dr. Seuss's If I Ran the Zoo, where you'll read the following:  "And then, just to show them/ I'll sail to Ka-Troo/ And bring back an It-Kutch/ A Preep and a Proo/ A Nerkle, a Nerd and a Seersucker, too!"  One more invaluable contribution to the English language from Dr. Seuss!  And the movies have made their own valuable contribution to the lore of the nerd as well, as you'll see from the Top 10 Nerd Movies of All Time set out below.

	10.	Revenge of the Nerds (1984): Well, we might as well get this one out of the way early. Yes, it's the quintessential movie about nerds, and yes, it has nerds in the title. Too bad it's not a better movie.
	9.	Amadeus (1984): Now, here's a good movie. And if a nerd is, in fact, "A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept", it's hard to find a better example that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -- or at least the way he's played here by Tom Hulce of Animal House fame.
	8	A Beautiful Mind (2001): This one was a tough call -- not because Russell Crowe's character, John Nash, wasn't a nerd, but because he somehow wound up with Jennifer Connolly, And that's a very un-nerd like thing to do.
	7	Office Space (1999): Nothing's as nerdy as the high-tech computer world, and this comedy starring Ron Livingston and Jennifer Anniston, with a wonderful small part by Stephen Root as the long-since-fired techie, has more nerds per square foot than almost any other.
	6	Ghostbusters (1984): Although the Ghostbusters themselves have nerd-like tendencies, it's Rick Moranis's portrayal of the accountant neighbor of Sigourney Weaver defined what a nerve can be. And Moranis has made a career out of that role ever since.
	5	The Nutty Professor (1963): How can you have a nerd movie list without a Jerry Lewis movie in it. Although he rarely portrayed anyone with any intelligence, this role is an exception. And his transformation into Buddy Love is just flat-out spooky.
	4	Lucas (1986): A wonderful little movie about a nerdy boy (Corey Haim) who falls in love with a beautiful girl (Kerri Green) over the summer. His efforts to impress her after she meets the local studly-jock type (Charlie Sheen) highlights the ageless battle between the nerd and the jock. It's also Winona Ryder's first film
	3	Sixteen Candles (1984): Anthony Michael Hall is the ultimate nerd-who-thinks-he's-cool (and what nerd, deep in his heart, doesn't?). And Gedde Watanabe as Long Duk Dong, the bizarrely-enamored foreign exchange student, isn't a bad second. Look for John Cusack in his second film role.
	2	Real Genius (1985): There is no more nerdy place in the world than Cal Tech, and this movie shows what a bizarre place it can be. Val Kilmer stars as a brilliant but bored physics student forced to work on a laser product with his conniving professor (William Atherton). assisted by the new kid in the dorm (Gabriel Jarret)
	1	Apollo 13 (1995): Surprised? Frankly, so was I. But the more I thought about that room full of scientists being thrown a bunch of leftover junk and asked to make a filter, the more I realized that this movie shows nerds in a good light for a change. And that's worthy of note. Besides, Clint Howard is in it.

One island short of Ka-Troo: