Short Circuit often seems familiar, particularly if you’ve seen E.T. Some of the acting and dialogue is a bit rough around the edges. This makes it a flawed movie, not a bad one. It has charm, plenty of funny moments and genuinely sweet ones too.
Number 5 (voiced by Tim Blaney) is a military robot who, after being struck by lightning, has become self-aware. Unexpectedly, it’s not interested in whipping out the human race; it just wants to learn and make friends! After meeting Stephanie Speck (Ally Sheedy) and reading every book in her house, Number 5 learns the U.S. military plans on dismantling it. The two friends must convince the robot’s chief engineer, Newton (Steve Guttenberg), that "Number 5 is alive!" before it's too late.
There are moments where logic is ignored. At points, the dialogue and performances aren’t very good. Some might call the character of Ben Jabituya (played by Fisher Stevens, who isn't Indian despite playing one), a racist caricature. It's hard to argue against these criticisms but if we're going to be fair to the film, we have to consider all it does well too.
What determines the worth of a movie in which a critter befriends a young man or woman is overwhelmingly the creature itself. Bringing the lovable Number 5 to life are spectacular special effects. You'll be surprised at how much personality the robot is given through nonverbal communication. It has a full range of emotions in its face, down to individually articulated eyebrows. Number 5 is adorable; a robot you can’t help falling in love with. Its big friendly eyes, friendly demeanor, thirst for knowledge, and quirky speech patterns make it the most appealing droid since R2-D2. It’s only been alive for a couple of days and means well, but not having any taste buds, how could it know that to make eggs, you need to break the shells first? You want to see it escape the U.S. military. Partially because you want to see it get into more shenanigans, partially so it can be happy. As long as Number 5 is having a good time, so are you.
Many of the characters are delightfully quirky and get themselves into all sorts of amusing situations. Stephanie's love for pets and headstrong attitude; Newton's no-nonsense approach to science; Ben's pathetic attempts at flirting; and even Stephanie’s jerk of an ex-boyfriend has his funny moments, if only because you love to hate him. Even during the questionable bits, everyone's dialogue is terrific. Both the slapstick comedy bits and the spoken jokes work. They come frequently, and if one doesn't work it's followed immediately with two or even three good ones.
Even if you aren't nostalgic for Short Circuit, it's cute and fun. The laughs are consistent, the special effects terrific and overall, it fills you with a childlike warmth. It's no classic but I wager it'll become a favorite for many and if you do have fond memories of it, it (mostly) holds up. (On Blu-ray, November 28, 2014)
