p 　　Siskel and Ebert once ran a special show entitled quot Movies I 三九 m Embarrassed to Admit I Liked quot I suppose that if I composed such a list of guilty pleasures, this one would be one of them but upon reflection, it 三九 s really a lot better than that Fifteen year-old science prodigy Mitch Gabe Jarret is recruited by ambitious college professor William Atherton in yet another of his patented roles as a loathsome character to work on the professor 三九 s prize laser project, not knowing that the prof is really developing a government weapon Along the way, Mitch is befriended by Chris Val Kilmer , another prodigy a few years his senior who teaches the Mitch how to loosen up br 　　This could have degenerated into nothing more than just another teen revenge comedy, but there 三九 s so much more: the dialogue is laced with sharp wit there are some lovely scenes that have nothing to do with the story yet are carefully set up, almost as blackouts e g , Mitch goes to a lecture at which a few students have left tape recorders instead of attending later, at another lecture there are more tape recorders than students and, in a final scene, one large tape recorder gives the lecture to a room populated by nothing but other small recorders and throw-away scenes that make you want to stop and back up the tape e g , Chris off-handedly cutting a slice off a bar of solid nitrogen to make a slug for the coffee machine br 　　It 三九 s also one of the few movies to boast the presence of the memorable Michelle Meyerink -- as Jordan, the quot girl-nerd quot who made being smart and female something to be emulated And there 三九 s Tears for Fears great song, quot Everybody Wants to Rule the World quot providing the perfect coda as the closing credits begin to roll Yes: really now, what 三九 s there to be embarrassed about p