By the time this fourth entry in the Revenge of the Nerds franchise arrived the series was so disconnected from the raunchy, T&A infused R-rated original that it's hard to believe that the writers behind the first (Steve Zacharias, Jeff Buhai) were responsible for this juvenile and mostly unfunny effort that resorts to cheap slapstick and watered-down humour. If you need proof of these two things then all you need to know is that there's a food fight moment desperately trying for laughs and they've even toned down the shirts Booger (Curtis Armstrong) wears having it say "Who Pooted?" instead of the obvious pun.

It's a sort of family reunion when our nerd heroes are brought back together to celebrate the impending marriage of Booger. At the same time, Lewis (Robert Carradine) and Betty (Julia Montgomery) are soon to be having a baby (or, "Unborn fetal son", as he calls it). These two events are wedged into a whole lot of comedic set pieces as Booger deals with resistance from fiancée Jeanie's (Corinne Bohrer) father who has issues with his future son-in-law's general uncouthness and believes his daughter's association with nerds will affect his political aspirations. Meanwhile, Lewis has to try and get ready for family life. Everything comes to a mediocre finish as Booger ties the knot and a newborn nerd is born - one attempted joke has the fetus cheering the arrival of pickles and ice cream.

Generally a batch of junky slapstick moments, Nerds in Love is pretty pathetic. Despite the presence of Buhai and Zacharias (who also directs), as well as a lot of returning cast members, this fourth entry is pretty much dead on arrival right out of the gate. Sure, it was nice to see even more of the cast reunited and Donald Gibb makes a welcome return as the dunderheaded Ogre, but there's very little here for you if you're over the age of twelve. Hell, even the third entry wasn't this lame.

As a huge fan of the 1984 original, the fact that each successive sequel became more-and-more vanilla flavoured just didn't sit well with me. It's bad enough the 1987 sequel, Nerds in Paradise, stepped down to a PG-13 rating (not one utterance of "We've got bush!" in sight!), but when the Fox network decided to make two made-for-TV follow-ups since their planned sitcom was so miserable it didn't even air, they had to do something with the series, all hope was lost. It even looks like the planned remake, which I don't agree with but should at least go back to the series' R-rated roots, has stalled.

Veteran cast members Carradine, Montgomery, and Armstrong feel like they're just going through the motions. Familiar B-movie/television actress Bohrer (Zapped!, Stewardess School) does her best as Booger's upbeat future wife and Stephen Davies gets the best moments as the smarmy, wimpy jerk Chip, but I had more fun seeing all the characters I'd become so familiar with appear on screen. It's unfortunate that most of them end up being wasted in minor roles.

Revenge of the Nerds is in my top five favourite T&A teen comedies of the 1980s right up there with Porky's and Screwballs, which is why it's somewhat upsetting to see just how badly the franchise stumbled. Simply bringing back characters we loved in the past doesn't work when everything surrounding them is so uninspired and unfunny. Watch the original for the joyful lowbrow raunch it supplies, chuckle at the amusing second one, be curious about the admittedly okay third, and avoid this lame fourth entry like the plague. (Chris Hartley, 10/17/12)

Directed By: Steve Zacharias.
Written By: Steve Zacharias, Jeff Buhai.

Starring: Robert Carradine, Curtis Armstrong, Julia Montgomery, Corinne Bohrer.