Weird Science (1985)

Confidence can't be programmed, but sometimes it helps to have someone who believes in you before you believe in yourself. John Hughes' "Weird Science" follows Gary (Anthony Michael Hall) and Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith), two awkward, perpetually picked-on high school nerds who, in a burst of teenage imagination, use Wyatt's computer, a Barbie doll and a lightning storm to conjure up Lisa (Kelly LeBrock), a glamorous, magical woman who seems to be able to do anything. Rather than granting their wildest fantasies, Lisa becomes a kind of fairy godmother, helping the boys stand up to the popular kids who torment them, including a young Robert Downey Jr., and find the courage to talk to girls their own age. Bill Paxton steals scenes as Wyatt's bullying, militaristic older brother, Chet. Hughes gives his fantasy full rein, for better and occasionally worse, but mostly for the better. It's aimed squarely at a hormone-fueled teenage sensibility, but who doesn't have a little of that left in them? Oingo Boingo's catchy title song became an '80s staple.