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We should let some of those '80s teen comedy movies go due their jokes about sexual harassment (and worse), says Weird Science co-star Ilan Mitchell-Smith
Weird Science’s Ilan Mitchell-Smith says we could still enjoy ‘80s comedies, but we need to be honest about their problematic elements
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Rewatching ‘80s teen comedies is fun, but some of these classic movies have questionable moments. Revenge of the Nerds features revenge porn, Bender sneaks a peek up Claire’s skirt in The Breakfast Club, and Porky’s….well, we all know about the infamous locker room peephole. As we learn and grow as a society, our relationships with these ‘80s screwball comedies have changed. We know that sexual harassment isn’t comedy, but what does that mean for our favorite films?
Ilan Mitchell-Smith, who played Wyatt in the 1985 film Weird Science, has some thoughts.
“I love the ‘80s, and I love movies from the ‘80s, so I think it’s good to be able to keep two thoughts in our head at the same time,” Mitchell-Smith says during a panel at Florida Supercon. “One, that we like stuff, and the other that maybe some stuff is okay, that we let it go. It was common in movies in the ‘80s to have a comedy sequence of guys who drill the hole in the wall looking at women who are naked, who did not want to be looked at. Maybe it’s okay that’s gone, even if we love the movies where that happened.”
Mitchell-Smith is no stranger to problematic teen comedies. Weird Science, his most notable role, centers around two teenage boys who use a computer to create a woman they can have sex with. Mitchell-Smith’s point is that it’s okay to love these movies while still acknowledging that they’re problematic.
We’ve grown as a culture, and it’s okay to be honest about that.
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About Florida Supercon 2025
Florida Supercon brings your favorite celebrities, unique exhibitors, incredible comic creators, anime voice actors, gaming, wrestling, and more under one roof in sunny Miami Beach for an incredible weekend celebrating the very best pop culture has to offer.
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Miami Beach
United States of America
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