Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise is the 1987
sequelA sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to the 1984
comedyComedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
Revenge of the NerdsRevenge of the Nerds is a 1984 comedy film satirizing social life on a college campus. The film stars Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards, with Curtis Armstrong, Ted McGinley, Julia Montgomery, Brian Tochi, Larry B. Scott, John Goodman, and Donald Gibb...
. Its cast featured most of the main actors from the earlier film, including
Robert CarradineRobert Reed Carradine is an American actor. The youngest of the Carradine family of actors, he made his first appearances on television western series such as Bonanza and his older brother David's Kung Fu. Carradine's first film role was in the 1972 film The Cowboys opposite Roscoe Lee Browne and...
,
Anthony EdwardsAnthony Charles Edwards is an American actor and director. He has appeared in various movies and television shows, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Top Gun, Zodiac, Revenge of the Nerds, Northern Exposure and ER.-Early life:Edwards was born in Santa Barbara, California, the son of Erika...
,
Curtis ArmstrongCurtis Armstrong is an American actor best known for his portrayal as Booger in the Revenge of the Nerds movies, as Herbert Viola on Moonlighting, and as famed record producer Ahmet Ertegün in the film Ray.-Early life:...
,
Larry B. Scott-Career:Scott's film debut was in the 1978 movie A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich. He is perhaps best known for playing Lamar Latrell, the openly gay fraternity member in the Revenge of the Nerds series of comedy films from 1984 to 1994. In the 1986 film SpaceCamp he played opposite a then-young...
,
Timothy BusfieldTimothy "Timmy B" Busfield is an American actor and director best known for his role as Eliot Weston on the television series Thirtysomething and his recurring role as Danny Concannon on the television series The West Wing...
,
Donald GibbDonald Gibb , sometimes credited as Don Gibb, is an American actor with an imposing 6 ft-4in frame, best known for his roles as the hulking, dimwitted fraternity brother "Ogre" in several installments of the Revenge of the Nerds film series, and as Leslie "Dr...
, and
Andrew CasseseAndrew Martin Cassese is an American stage and film actor and musician. Born in New York, Cassesse is perhaps best known for starring in the 1984 comedy film Revenge of the Nerds as Harold Wormser...
. This film also provided an early starring role for
Courtney Thorne-SmithCourtney Thorne-Smith is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Alison Parker on Melrose Place, Georgia Thomas on Ally McBeal, and Cheryl Mabel in According to Jim, as well as her recurring role in Two and a Half Men as Lyndsey McElroy.-Early life:She was born in San Francisco,...
. Other cast members include
Bradley WhitfordBradley Whitford is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman on the NBC television drama The West Wing, as Danny Tripp on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, as Dan Stark in the Fox police buddy-comedy The Good Guys, as...
,
Ed LauterEdward Lauter is an American actor. He has appeared in numerous movies and was a stand up comic before getting into acting.Lauter was born in Long Beach, Long Island, New York...
, and
Barry SobelBarry Sobel is an American actor and comedian.-Life and career:Sobel grew up in New York City. During the 1980s, he toured the comedy circuit heavily. His routine centered around rapping in a Beastie Boys style....
.
One of the movie trailers parodies the trailer of
Poltergeist II: The Other SidePoltergeist II: The Other Side is a 1986 horror film. A sequel to Poltergeist, it features the return of the original's family and once again sees a spirit trying to harm their daughter, Carol Anne. It received mixed reviews from critics and did not gross as much at the box office as its...
where they pan the inside of a house, then the phone rings, and the person sitting in the chair facing away from the camera picks up, then the person turns to reveal it's
Heather O'RourkeHeather O'Rourke was an American child actress who played Carol Anne Freeling in the Poltergeist film trilogy and made several television guest appearances...
's character, Carol-Ann, who says "They're Back." In the
Nerds version, Lewis' character turns and says "We're Nerds!".
Plot
The film opens with a
Star WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
-like crawl (preceded by Skolnick's pocket protector) summarizing the Tri-Lambs exploits from the first film, culminating in their triumph against their rival fraternity, the Alpha Betas. Network and basic cable airings of the movie often edit out the last three words of the text crawl, which are "And get laid."
The
Lambda Lambda LambdaLambda Lambda Lambda is a social collegiate co-ed fraternity founded in 2006 at University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut. Inspired by movies like Revenge of the Nerds and National Lampoon's Animal House, it was established as a fraternity that is dedicated to the enjoyment and enrichment...
from Adams College are packing their suitcases to get ready for Fort Lauderdale,
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Just before heading to the airport, Lewis' (
Robert CarradineRobert Reed Carradine is an American actor. The youngest of the Carradine family of actors, he made his first appearances on television western series such as Bonanza and his older brother David's Kung Fu. Carradine's first film role was in the 1972 film The Cowboys opposite Roscoe Lee Browne and...
) best friend Gilbert (
Anthony EdwardsAnthony Charles Edwards is an American actor and director. He has appeared in various movies and television shows, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Top Gun, Zodiac, Revenge of the Nerds, Northern Exposure and ER.-Early life:Edwards was born in Santa Barbara, California, the son of Erika...
) explains to him that he feels stupid that he cannot come, because he broke his leg (during a chess match).
After arriving at Fort Lauderdale and heading to the Royal Flamingo Hotel, Lewis explains to his Tri-Lamb friends that it's early and they should head to the beach or pool. A trainee named Sunny (
Courtney Thorne-SmithCourtney Thorne-Smith is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Alison Parker on Melrose Place, Georgia Thomas on Ally McBeal, and Cheryl Mabel in According to Jim, as well as her recurring role in Two and a Half Men as Lyndsey McElroy.-Early life:She was born in San Francisco,...
) informs Lewis that their reservation is canceled and has been given to the Alpha Betas. The Royal Flamingo manager (
Ed LauterEdward Lauter is an American actor. He has appeared in numerous movies and was a stand up comic before getting into acting.Lauter was born in Long Beach, Long Island, New York...
) explains to Sunny that they don't want nerds staying in this hotel. Lewis is making phone calls to another other hotel called the Hotel Coral Essex (a few blown out neon light tubes on the sign ends up reading as "HOTel cORAL esSEX") and makes their reservation there.
Roger (
Bradley WhitfordBradley Whitford is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman on the NBC television drama The West Wing, as Danny Tripp on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, as Dan Stark in the Fox police buddy-comedy The Good Guys, as...
) makes a speech with the Alpha Betas in their jacuzzi about planning to get rid of the nerds by the next day. Ogre (
Donald GibbDonald Gibb , sometimes credited as Don Gibb, is an American actor with an imposing 6 ft-4in frame, best known for his roles as the hulking, dimwitted fraternity brother "Ogre" in several installments of the Revenge of the Nerds film series, and as Leslie "Dr...
) is promised by Roger that the nerds will be gone.
At night, the Lambdas arrive at the jungle and head to the United Fraternity pre-conference barbecue. They take the wrong way and see a group of Seminole Indians (dressed up Alpha Betas) capture an Indian maiden and throw her into a flame. The nerds are forced to give their clothes to the Indians and end up running away from this temple and headed back to the hotel by morning.
The Nerds arrived at the United Fraternity conference led by Roger promising the Alpha Betas to vote on Proposition 15, which will force the nerds to leave the conference. At night, The Lambdas perform outside of the Hotel Coral Essex the "No on 15" party. The next day, The Lambdas use the Royal Flamingo hotel room that they were promised by Roger to have the Alpha Betas remove Prop 15 from the agenda. The Lambdas are invited by Sunny and her girlfriends to the beach in the afternoon to have fun. The Lambdas are asked to go buy some booze to spice up the fun, and they agree. Suddenly, the fun is stopped by the police and the Tri-Lambs are arrested for grand theft auto, due to Roger's scheming. Sunny was revealed by the other two girls of the plan after the Lambdas had left the beach. Later, the Tri-Lambs were taken to jail and plans to finish college without graduating the next school year.
Stewart (
Barry SobelBarry Sobel is an American actor and comedian.-Life and career:Sobel grew up in New York City. During the 1980s, he toured the comedy circuit heavily. His routine centered around rapping in a Beastie Boys style....
) bails the Tri-Lambs out of jail and Sunny apologizes and tries to explain that she knew nothing of Roger's plan, Lewis doesn't believe her and runs out of the building in anger. A few minutes later, The Alpha Betas throw the Tri-Lambs into a van along with Sunny and dump them on an uninhabited island. Disgusted by Roger's actions, Sunny jumps in the water. When they realize Ogre cannot be trusted to keep his mouth shut, they also throw him into the water, despite the fact that he cannot swim where he is rescued by the Tri-Lambs. Overnight Lewis has a dream about his friend Gilbert, he explains to him that all is not lost and implores Lewis not to give up. When Lewis complains about Sunny, Gilbert points out that she was here with them by choice. This help's give Lewis the confidence he needed to try and find a way off the island. The next morning, The Tri-Lambs find a Cuban military officer's vehicle and head back to Fort Lauderdale to confront the Alpha Betas. Lewis knocks Roger into the pool and the Lambdas win again.
Back in Adams College, Ogre has joined the Lambda Lambda Lambda as the newest member.
Cast
- Robert Carradine
Robert Reed Carradine is an American actor. The youngest of the Carradine family of actors, he made his first appearances on television western series such as Bonanza and his older brother David's Kung Fu. Carradine's first film role was in the 1972 film The Cowboys opposite Roscoe Lee Browne and...
as Lewis Skolnick
- Anthony Edwards
Anthony Charles Edwards is an American actor and director. He has appeared in various movies and television shows, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Top Gun, Zodiac, Revenge of the Nerds, Northern Exposure and ER.-Early life:Edwards was born in Santa Barbara, California, the son of Erika...
as Gilbert Lowe
- Curtis Armstrong
Curtis Armstrong is an American actor best known for his portrayal as Booger in the Revenge of the Nerds movies, as Herbert Viola on Moonlighting, and as famed record producer Ahmet Ertegün in the film Ray.-Early life:...
as Dudley Booger Dawson
- Larry B. Scott
-Career:Scott's film debut was in the 1978 movie A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich. He is perhaps best known for playing Lamar Latrell, the openly gay fraternity member in the Revenge of the Nerds series of comedy films from 1984 to 1994. In the 1986 film SpaceCamp he played opposite a then-young...
as Lamar Latrell
- Timothy Busfield
Timothy "Timmy B" Busfield is an American actor and director best known for his role as Eliot Weston on the television series Thirtysomething and his recurring role as Danny Concannon on the television series The West Wing...
as Arnold Poindexter
- Andrew Cassese
Andrew Martin Cassese is an American stage and film actor and musician. Born in New York, Cassesse is perhaps best known for starring in the 1984 comedy film Revenge of the Nerds as Harold Wormser...
as Harold Wormser
- Courtney Thorne-Smith
Courtney Thorne-Smith is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Alison Parker on Melrose Place, Georgia Thomas on Ally McBeal, and Cheryl Mabel in According to Jim, as well as her recurring role in Two and a Half Men as Lyndsey McElroy.-Early life:She was born in San Francisco,...
as Sunny Carstairs
- Bradley Whitford
Bradley Whitford is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman on the NBC television drama The West Wing, as Danny Tripp on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, as Dan Stark in the Fox police buddy-comedy The Good Guys, as...
as Roger Latimer
- Barry Sobel
Barry Sobel is an American actor and comedian.-Life and career:Sobel grew up in New York City. During the 1980s, he toured the comedy circuit heavily. His routine centered around rapping in a Beastie Boys style....
as Stewart
- James Cromwell
James Oliver Cromwell is an American film and television actor. Some of his more notable roles are in Babe , for which he earned Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, Star Trek: First Contact , L.A...
as Mr. Skolnick
- Ed Lauter
Edward Lauter is an American actor. He has appeared in numerous movies and was a stand up comic before getting into acting.Lauter was born in Long Beach, Long Island, New York...
as Buzz
- James Hong
James Hong is an American actor and former president of the Association of Asian/Pacific American Artists . A prolific acting veteran, Hong's career spans over 50 years and includes more than 350 roles in film, television, and video games.-Early life:Hong was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His...
as Snotty
- Donald Gibb
Donald Gibb , sometimes credited as Don Gibb, is an American actor with an imposing 6 ft-4in frame, best known for his roles as the hulking, dimwitted fraternity brother "Ogre" in several installments of the Revenge of the Nerds film series, and as Leslie "Dr...
as Fred "Ogre" Palowakski
- Tom Hodges as Tiny
- Jack Gilpin
Jack Gilpin is an American actor.Gilpin had a recurring role on the TV series Kate & Allie, and is a frequent Law & Order guest star, having appeared in all three series – Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent...
as Mr. Comstock
This is the only
Nerds film in which Betty does not appear (although a picture of her can be seen at the beginning of the film). Stan Gable, Takashi, and U.N. Jefferson do not appear. This is the last
Nerds movie to feature Poindexter. Although he is shown on the DVD cover of the fourth film, he is not seen nor mentioned in it. This is also the last
Nerds movie to include Anthony Edwards as Gilbert and Andrew Cassese as Wormser. They are played by other actors in the third film and stay offscreen in the fourth and final film.
Reception
The film received a mostly negative reaction from critics.