Real Genius

Real Genius (1985)

9 corrected entries

(3 votes)

Corrected entry: In the scene where they are reprogramming the laser in the B1 bomber, Laslo enters the coordinates of 34 degrees, 10 minutes 15.21 seconds north latitude, 119 degrees, 7 minutes west longitude. I checked these coordinates at http://itouchmap.com/latlong.html and there is nothing there but woods. I checked the whole west latitude area from 7 min to 8 min and Dr. Hathaway's house (nor any other house or development) is anywhere in the area. (01:29:20)

Correction: This is hardly a mistake as it's intentional. Just as with phone numbers, people's addresses, and sensitive military information, real information is almost never used. They can't very well use coordinates that point to someone's house. You may as well submit a mistake for every instance of a phone number in a movie that starts with 555.

Corrected entry: At the end when Dr. Hathaway's house gets the popcorn treatment, they are shown flying around in an Air Force B-1 bomber - a B-1 bomber doesn't have an interior like the one they showed, that was from an Aircraft Warning and Control (AWAC) plane. Not to mention that the Air Force didn't start using the B-1 until 1986 and the movie took place in 1985.

Correction: They weren't in the B-1, but in a trailer on the base, remotely controlling the laser. It didn't look like an AWAC interior, but the interior of a trailer. The Air Force was using B-1 from 1977, or so, in limited numbers, (but probably not for experiments as depicted in the film).

Corrected entry: In the scene where Jordan gives Chris & Mitch the military ID's, AFTER they realize the pictures are wrong and switch them, the shot is of Chris' ID and when he flips it up, it has the name Mitch Taylor with Chris' picture on it. (01:23:50)

moviemogul

Correction: I'm not sure why you think this is a mistake. Jordan had given them the wrong IDs because the names on them got switched and she only looked at the names. She corrects this by giving each guy the ID with the right picture, but the names, obviously, would still be backwards.

Corrected entry: Mitch states to Jordan that he can not start peeing when she asks him in the rest room scene, however we can see in the mirror reflection as she enters that he is peeing.

Correction: He was in position at the urinal, but he may not have actually started peeing at the time she walked in. Or, he stopped when she walked in, and can't "restart" while she's there.

Corrected entry: The monumental cost of buying billions upon billions of popcorn kernels would be out of the realm of poor college students.

Correction: Im fairly sure that the super genius Lazlo could figure out a way to procure that much popcorn at little to no cost at all.

Corrected entry: In the scene where the girl gives Mitch and Val Kilmer their fake military IDs,the names and pictures do not match. They have been switched.

Correction: This is obviously not a mistake as the characters in the movie note its occurrence and fix the problem. When Jordan gives them the fake IDs, she asks how they look and Chris, noting that they're backwards, says "Terrible, mine looks like him and his looks like me." Jordan fixes it by taking them back and then giving the one she gave to Chris to Mitch instead (and vice versa) so the pictures would be right.

Corrected entry: After Chris Knight has his epiphany on making the super laser workable, he holds a meeting and explains, in very technical language, how it's supposed to work. The explanation he gives is true, but meaningless, since it's essentially a generic explanation of how all lasers work, shedding no light on his particular innovation.

Correction: I think the writer of this entry missed the point of the explanation. Chris Knight states that the unique property of his laser is that it is in a solid state, a frozen argon matrix, not the usual gaseous state of an excimer laser. Therefore the explanation is not generic.

Corrected entry: In the scene where Chris removes a frozen cylinder from the freezer to make a "coin" for the vending machine, the characters refer to it as "liquid nitrogen". This cannot be true. It is a solid and not a liquid. Second, liquid nitrogen exists at -160 C, and cannot exist as a solid except under high pressure. Anything stored in the freezer would not remain solid indefinitely unless its melting point is above minus 20 C. Finally, even if it was liquid or solid nitrogen or even dry ice, Chris would not be able to touch without severe injury to his fingers. (00:23:45 - 00:24:40)

Correction: The liquid nitrogen referred to may be coolant in the container to keep the ice frozen. He was also wearing a glove to protect his fingers.

Corrected entry: When the group gasses Kent to implant the microphone in his braces we hear a thump as if someone fell to the ground. When we see Kent he is slumped over his keyboard. The sound we heard is inconsistent with how they found Kent slumped over. (01:18:50)

luchador

Correction: The sound could easily have come from Kent dropping a textbook he was holding. If you've ever dropped a heavy book flat on the floor you know it makes a very loud thud.

Continuity mistake: In the scene where everyone is going to the Tanning Invitational, Chris grabs two Hawaiian Lei's and a straw hat from a girl at the door. He puts a blue lei on Mitch and holds on to the red one and the hat. The shot switches to just Chris and when it goes back to Mitch he has on the red lei. Back to Chris again who talks a little more then reaches over and puts the hat on Mitch's head, who is again wearing the blue lei.

More mistakes in Real Genius

Kent: Uh, I'll catch up with you guys. I have to go to the bathroom.
Chris Knight: Okay, Kent, but I don't think that's going to help your confidence any, do you?

More quotes from Real Genius

Trivia: When Mitch first arrives on campus, he's talking with a professor. After the conversation, Mitch takes a step back and bumps into another student. This student is played by Tom Hanks.

More trivia for Real Genius

Question: After Mitch first arrives on campus, he talks with a guy who makes a remark about his references. Mitch takes a step back and bumps into another student. Is this other student played by Tom Hanks?

Answer: I found an internet reference that Hanks appears as an uncredited extra in the crowd scene. However, there's no verification, with some claiming he was in it, and others say he was not. I've seen the clip, and it looks like him, but not sure it is.

raywest

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