Gracie Lou Who In simplistic terms, kid movies are cute; they can make people of all ages laugh (occasionally cry even) and they evoke a feeling of happiness deep inside that can stir up the inner-kid voice in any individuals' heart. In 1986, "Short Circuit" was released. It is the tale of a robot strictly made for military purposes who happens to get struck by lightning and afterwards develops human-like characteristics. As he becomes self-aware, the robot (named Number Five) escapes the NOVA laboratory compound, now on the run from the scientists he fears will capture and "kill" him. "Short Circuit" certainly captured my heart and it should be recommended to everyone looking for an enjoyable movie filled with many opportunities for a good laugh. Alas, besides being a "cutesy" movie, "Short Circuit" doesn't contain much depth or intricacy after that; the three main supporting characters are simple, with only a single defining characteristic to their personalities and the plot follows a very basic structural outline.Stephanie, Newton, and Skroeder are the three main supporting characters that were mentioned above; more or less, they are flat, 2-D characters. Stephanie is an animal pacifist; her only role is to show Number Five some compassion and protect him from harm. Newton is a scientist, so his character role is to track down Number Five, study him, and make sense of these human-characteristics. And finally, Skroeder is the ultimate brawn behind the capture mission so his only role is to annihilate Number Five. Each character represents a single idea and solely keeps to that lone idea throughout the entire film; thus there are no other significant characteristic differences between the characters. Likewise, the plot is quite similar: it is not overly complex by any means and really only follows an easy, skeletal outline. There's an initial event that takes place in the beginning and that event is followed by a cat-chase-mouse action sequence which lasts nearly the entire movie. It's very similar to the television cartoon, "Tom and Jerry." The cartoon is based upon a cat, Tom, chasing a mouse, Jerry; likewise, Skroeder and Newton chase after Stephanie and Number Five. Then, at the very end of the movie, there is (of course) a happily ever after resolution causing the film to leave a warm and pleasant feeling in the watchers' heart. "Short Circuit" is a simple story of the "good guys vs. the bad guys," with the moral of the story being: all life is important and it's erroneous to kill. If you happen to be searching for a movie with an overly deep plot and complex characters, you'll want to look elsewhere. "Short Circuit" is a humorous, lovable, simplistic kids' movie. Should anything more than that be expected of it?

OllieSuave-007 Another movie from my kid past, a story about a military robot named Number 5 developing self-awareness and consciousness after being struck by lightening. With the company who built him, Nova, out to get him because they think he has malfunctioned, technician Newton Crosby (Steve Guttenberg) and animal lover Stephanie Speck (Ally Sheedy) are on a mission to save Number 5 from being reprogrammed.After watching this movie in its entirety as an adult, I, unfortunately, was not impressed with the film. The movie takes a very long time to gain any steam, if any, and there is really no plot, just Number 5 befriending Stephanie while Nova is out to get him - no twists or turns and no unpredictable moments. I could live with movies with simple or no basic plot lines if there are any redeeming qualities like humor, comic relief, likable characters and action. This movie, to me, doesn't deliver on any of those. The so-called comedy is unfunny, the action is dull and the characters were extremely annoying.Ally Sheedy's Stephanie Speck character was loud, obnoxious, overbearing and developed no chemistry with lead Steve Guttenberg; Fisher Stevens' Ben Jabituya character was very lame with his dumb, stereotypical Indian accent and unfunny jokes; Austin Pendleton's Howard Marner character was overly-excited; and G.W. Bailey's Skroeder character was over-asserted as the supposed villain. Only Steve Guttenberg, Brian McNamara and Number 5, which I thought was pretty cool, had any likable qualities.Overall, though, this movie is dull and boring with pretty awful acting. Watch at your own risk.Grade F

danielbloome This is a great classic comedy. I know, I know, it's not like it's a brilliant work of cinematic history or anything, and Steve Guttenberg is hardly the greatest actor of his generation, but if you are looking for just a fun movie with some cheap laughs that won't make you think too much, this is a great pick. Especially if it's for the whole family, because Short Circuit is definitely family friendly (for the most part).One thing we didn't appreciate was that Fisher Stevens was playing a silly comic-relief character, a nerdy scientist from India who talks with a stereotypical old Indian accent and just doesn't understand things and is super socially awkward. But I guess that was okay in the eighties.Fun times!

Sue McCartin For a family title this movie is great, no profanity very little real violence and a good treatment of what might happen if a machine suddenly became self aware and had to learn about the world just as a child might. The scene with the girl's nut case boyfriend is classic (I won't ruin it for you). The scene in the yard where Johnny learns about death for the first time was very, very, well done. This is one of those situations where the sequels were as good as the first one and not just the same old rehashed stuff. I'd get this movie for my ten year old if they wanted it but even the adults will find something thought provoking in it. Very enjoyable. Must be one of the first movies where anyone tried to shoot a movie using a robot and not just stop action animation or some such.