A lack of star power is probably why this teen science fiction action comedy is not remembered outside of cult fans who saw it in 1985 or on its initial VHS release. John Stockwell is a teenager desperate to find something to present to his science class as a project, and goes where no teenager should go, falling into a pit where he discovers this machine that creates a lot of havoc out of its electrical powers. In the first scene, whatever this is supposed to be is being investigated by the military and quickly buried because they don't know what to do with it. Stockwell and his girlfriend Danielle von Zerneck go to the military junkyard, and he promptly falls into a pit, bringing this thing with him and finding out that it is filled with electricity which soups up his car and eventually case him into a world of wonders with the creatures and visuals it creates.

Not making much sense, this film still keep the audience entertained with a fast pace and wacky teen characters, including a wisecracking kid who seems to have taken lessons from Don Rickles and Rodney Dangerfield in the yard of the sarcastic rhetoric. Fisher Stevens from "Short Circuit" and Raphael Sbarge provide amusing moments, but it's the weirdness of what this contraption does that makes the audience wonder what's going to happen next. Several weird creatures as well as a dinosaur threaten the kids with danger, and the film just basically ends in a abrupt manner that I found didn't really complete the plot. But for 90 minutes, there are some good moments, even though along with the project, it has probably ended up in the dustbin of 80's adventures.

When I saw this movie, way back when I was 13 years old, I wondered when every other kid would embrace it and treat it like the blockbuster I was sure that it would be. Then, it never happened.

In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower is brought to Area 51 in the middle of the night to see a UFO. He orders them to get rid of it.

28 years later, it's found by high school gearhead Michael Harlan (Christine), who is searching through an airplane graveyard for something to turn in for his final science project so he can graduate. He's brought along Ellie (Danielle von Zerneck, La Bamba), his nerdy friend who wants to be his girlfriend, and along with her and his friend Vince (Fischer Stevens, not playing an Indian as he did in Short Circuit or a Hollywood style hacker as he did as Eugene "The Plague" Belford in Hackers) he has to figure out how the device works and how to not destroy the world.

Hippie science teacher Dr. Roberts (Dennis Hopper, in one of his first mainstream return roles) realizes that the gizmo is actually a portal to another dimension before he is teleported away. The machine goes out of control, helped by the meddling of jealous nerd Sherman (Raphael Sbarge).

All ends up well and good, despite a dinosaur attack, post-apocalyptic mutants attacking the school and the police searching for our heroes. Dr. Roberts even comes back, getting to see Woodstock one more time (Dennis Hopper is wearing the same outfit he wore in Easy Rider). Our hero gets an A and the girl. All is well.

Known as TimeBusters in Sweden, this is an 80's film about time travel. And no, it's not Back to the Future. It's interesting, though. And pretty much forgotten. It's worth revisiting.

I stumbled upon the 1985 movie "My Science Project" from writer and director Jonathan R. Betuel here in 2021. And oddly enough I had never even heard about the movie prior to now, as I had the opportunity to watch it.

And with the likes of John Stockwell, Ann Wedgeworth, Dennis Hopper and Barry Corbin on the cast list, I figured that this couldn't be all bad.

But I was wrong.

"My Science Project" utterly failed to entertain me. I just had such a difficult time submerging myself into the storyline and take it seriously. The storyline was just so far out there and cluttered that it offered next to no entertainment or enjoyment to me.

Sure, this movie bears signs of being made in 1985 with the special effects and such. But it actually worked well enough in favor of the movie, as it added that classic and retro charm to it. Just a shame that the storyline itself was utter rubbish.

I am rating "My Science Project" a generous two out of ten stars. This was not a grand moment in the Hollywood cinema history. Nor is it a movie that I would return to watch a second time, much less recommend to anyone to waste their time, money or effort on.