The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes

This film was purchased... by mistake. Let me explain. This all goes back to a Simpson's episode titled "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes" in which Homer purchases a computer for the first time then begins spreading gossip around Springfield via the internet. However, when Homer starts making up stories he accidentally reports upon a real crime syndicate that leads him to be imprisoned on this mysterious island where the world's smartest men are held captive by an evil man set to remove all possible threats to his global takeover - you remember this, right? Anywho, the scenes of Homer's capture briefly reminded me of a similar movie I had seen growing up. In specific: A moment where a man is slowly stalked down by a giant floating bubble that eventually entraps him. It's weird; it's cool - and I wanted to watch it again.

Naturally, based on the title of the episode I assume this movie would be what I was looking for. It was not.

What I got was this cheesy Disney flick starring Kurt Russel as a young teen playing a college student. While fooling around with his university's new computer (you know the old ones that took up an entire room) Dexter - Russel - accidentally steps in a puddle of water while holding some power cords and somehow has the computer's CPU implanted into his brain. I like how they illustrate this. When his professors checks inside his ears they just see a bunch of flashing lights and hear beeping. Well, what ends up happening is that Dexter becomes the smartest person on the world with a computer for a brain, which then inevitably causes him to loose touch with all his small-town friends as he becomes this big-shot Einstein. But when he has a computer-like stroke and accidentally blurts out a bunch of institutions for illegal gambling under this crime boss, Dexter is captured by said crime boss and its up to his friends to save him. Yes. It's a Disney film so in the end we all learn a valuable lesson of what it is to have friends (with one always being black... just one) and keep the ones we trust closest to us.

All-in-all it was pretty boring and dated. Then again, it's a kid's movie by Disney so what should I expect. I will say this, I laughed pretty hard during the last scene where Dexter has been rescued just in time to aid his shitty school as they enter the championship round in this college vs. college quiz show. Of course he's been carrying the team the entire way, but in the last game Dexter's smarts begin to ware away - apparently this whole computer-in-the-brain thing was only temporary. As Dexter struggle for brain power his speech slows way down and well... he acts as though he's in the middle of taking the biggest shit of his life. Gasping for air while intermittently blurting out the next word he's trying to say as all the blood runs to his head. Oh, it's excellent. At the final question Dexter passes out and - for once - one of his dumb ass friends knows the answer in true Slumdog-style.

To be honest with everyone, I'm kind of pissed with this movie. Not so much that I watched it, but disappointed I didn't purchase the right movie. So now I'm throwing it out to you other Back-Bloggers. Help me find this movie (the one with the bubble trapping people), the one I truly wanted to see. I know I could just check the internet myself, but I like getting comments.