Short Circuit (1986) (Film Review)

Short Circuit (1986) Let’s start with the lead actress, who makes quite a difference! Indeed, if she wasn’t there, the film would lose quite a bit. Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy, also known as Ally Sheedy, made a name for herself with three films in the 80s, including this one. The other two were the very good War Games (1983) and The Breakfast Club just the year before, in 1985. However, I haven’t seen his other two hits, St. Elmo’s Fire and High Art.

Her career in Hollywood seems to have been a difficult one. She has said that she turned down roles offered to her because she would have had to play the sex object. She is a member of the Brat Pack. This is the name given to a group of American actors from the 1980s who appeared on screen in films aimed at young audiences. It is also a reference to the famous Rat Pack (a group of musicians formed around Frank Sinatra in the 1960s). The expression Brat Pack can be translated as ‘bunch of dirty kids’. Ally Sheedy is also the author of two books. Despite the fact that the film has aged and has some totally ridiculous aspects… it’s still a masterpiece!

The dialogue is good, the pace is great, the characters are funny and pretty good. And the special effects are quite incredible. The humour is present throughout. The robot is exceptional, very likeable, with his feelings, his imitations, his dance steps… No, really, Short Circuit is an excellent piece of cinema.

A machine that feels as alive as a human being? In 1986, that was pretty avant-garde… although Blade Runner (1982) was even more so! With cool messages like ‘Life is not a malfunction!’

There are some minor longueurs, inconsistencies and repetitions that don’t make it a perfect film. But it’s not far from it. That said, this film still makes me emotional. Even more so when I think of its sequel. What’s more, you don’t realise that the last scene foreshadows a second film.

The music in the opening credits is one of my favourite pieces of film music.

You see a lot of scenes from other films on TV, like Saturday Night Fever. There are two songs in the credits: ‘Who’s Johnny’ by DeBarge and ‘Comme and Follow Me’ sung by the duo Max Carl & Marcy Levy. Surprisingly, I didn’t see ‘More Than A Woman’ included, even though it’s played at an important and touching moment. It’s the moment when the actress dances with the robot.

The end credits are great too. It shows scenes from the film, as well as previously unreleased footage (which may have been cut in the editing process). Interestingly enough, the robot bears a striking resemblance to Cronenberg’s The Fly at the end of his transformation… and the film was released the same year!

There’s something in the air for every era…

My Rating