The Initial Release (1986)
The ’80s was a time period that was lucrative with science fiction properties given the enormous reception of a little known franchise called Star Wars. With the success of this major motion picture, Influences and copycats started to sprout up throughout the decade. One such example is Short Circuit interestingly enough, a movie made due to a string of popular educational videos featuring a friendly robot who dispensed advice. A marketing guru at TriStar pictures saw an opportunity for box office potential in the concept of a human like robot that was humorous in his interactions with those around him. The Star Wars influence comes in to play with the design of Johnny 5, the chosen robot for the film. Reportedly the creators siphoned most of their knowledge on robots from the Star Wars duo C3-Po and R2D2. The formula was changed to reflect the dynamic of comedy by making Johnny Five a fish out of water protagonist. Allegedly the model for the robot itself was the most expensive part of the relatively low-budget film for its time. The pricey investment of this bot combined with the writing that was geared towards humor paid dividends as the film grossed 30 million more than its initial budget.
My Full Experience (1986-2015)
Johnny Five is alive — or so we’ve heard! A remake for this 1986 property is steadily approaching production and there is no better time to jump back to the original than right now! It’s plain to see from the premise of Short Circuit exactly how it managed to captivate young audiences upon release. A quirky looking robot from one of the men behind Blade Runner that gets up to anarchy as he curiously examines 
the world around him. The story told is a simplistic one of a robot in search of meaning in his life and a woman who felt a void in her heart for companionship.
Military unit Johnny Five comes to life when a lightning bolt strikes him, erasing his programmed military purpose in one swift motion. Left behind in the wake of his original programming is sentience and a childlike wonder of everything around him. Unwittingly, He escapes the facility housing him in a state of confusion. Curiosity leads him astray into the wide open world. Animal Carer Stephanie Spock (Ally Sheedy) happens upon Johnny Five and through much deliberation decides to let him stay. Both gain a fond friendship for one another through them both learning to break down their emotional barriers. In the case of Johnny Five, He is aware of emotions, but only grasps them through contact with Stephanie. Meanwhile, A pair of robotics designers named Newton (Steve Guttenberg) and Ben (Fisher Stevens) go in search of Johnny Five as they come to realize that their company intends to dissemble him. It’s upon Stephanie’s realization that Johnny is a military robot that she decides to call the company responsible to take him away. News traveled to the troubled bot of Stephanie’s intentions and he came to the realization of what mortality is. He discovered that death was a possibility and made haste to escape. A tale of cat and mouse ensues between all parties. Stephanie realizes her error. Ben and Newton haven’t the heart to take away a sentient life. Johnny finds a way home that allows him the freedom to be one with humanity.
Keen eyed observers will notice the substance that can be found in this plot despite my initial statement of it being a comedy. Short Circuit treads the line between screwball comedy and genuinely touching sentiments that make you question humanity. This is by no means a masterwork in regards to its storytelling, but it is a refreshingly fun family romp even to this day. The refreshing elements come from the tender moments in between the slapstick and referential humor. This tale of a robot is best appreciated as a sign of a the good in humanity ironically enough. Whilst certain jokes mired in the story fall flat now and then there is always a sense of charm to them. When laughter doesn’t come, you can chalk it up to the machine not understanding comedy properly which works quite well with the narrative. That being said there are times to chuckle in this story given the positive energy of the cast surrounding Johnny Five. A highlight of the film is the Indian robotics engineer Ben; who is so good as a likable loser that he was the lead in the second Short Circuit movie. Credit must also go to Steve Guttenberg (a sentence never uttered before) who genuinely gets into the spirit of the story and delivers a more enthusiastic performance than usual. Additionally, Ally Sheedy is perfectly cast as the heart and soul that fills Johnny Five with hope.
All in all, it’s a cornball comedy that is the movie equivalent of marmite. It can either be loved or hated; there is no in between. If you are into goofy slapstick and warm fuzzy feelings than you will probably get a good kick out of Short Circuit. Those of you who are more inclined towards acerbic wit and well-timed insults should probably look elsewhere. For me, it’s cute. It’s kind of fun. It’s kind of silly. I kind of like it.
