“Hey laser lips, your momma was a snow-blower.”
Newton Crosby (Steve Guttenberg) is a civilian who works for NOVA Laboratories as a robotics expert. His job is to create robots for various military purposes. Newton, along with his associate, Ben Jabituya (Fisher Stevens), is responsible for the development of a robot called S.A.I.N.T., or Strategic Artificially Intelligent Nuclear Transport. The robot is adaptable to various combat situations. During a demonstration of the robots’ capabilities a power surge caused by a lightning strike causes one of the robots to become self-aware. The robot, called No. 5 (voice of Tim Blaney), wanders away from the facility and into the countryside. Since the demonstration was to show the military capabilities of the machine, it is wandering around fully armed with a laser cannon strapped to its shoulder.
While showing the robots off to political big shots Dr. Howard Marner (Austin Pendleton), the president of Nova Laboratories, notices that No. 5 is missing. A full-scale panic ensues and Captain Skroeder (G.W. Bailey), NOVA’s security chief, is sent to find and retrieve the machine. Crosby and Jabituya take another transport and begin their own search for the wayward robot.
No. 5 ends up in a food truck owned by animal loving free-spirit Stephanie Speck (Ally Sheedy). Stephanie thinks that No. 5 is an alien from outer space. No. 5, still trying to figure out what happening just keeps saying the word “input”. Stephanie, wanting to be a good Earth representative, sets up No. 5 in front of the television and goes to bed. All night long the robot is amassing information, both good and trashy, via television shows and commercials.
Stephanie and No. 5 begin a friendship until she learns that No. 5 is not an alien but is the property of NOVA. She calls NOVA and they direct Crosby and Jabituya to pick up the robot. In the meantime, No. 5 finds out that NOVA plans on disassembling him once he is back at NOVA. To No. 5 disassemble means dead. In a panic the robot flees in Stephanie’s truck with her aboard. No. 5 convinces her that he is no longer a robot but is in fact alive. Stephanie, in order to save No. 5, must convince Crosby that his robot is actually sentient. Convincing Crosby is easier than convincing the war department which is out to destroy him.
“Short Circuit” was released in 1986 and was directed by John Badham. It is an American science fiction comedy film. A sequel “Sort Circuit 2” was released in 1988.
It is a cute family friendly movie that happens to involve explosions and nuclear laser weapons. For the most part, the humor is engaging and light. The robot is very child-like in its beliefs. It is not a deep or philosophical film. It shows an innocence of thought and wonder and has a feel-good vibe. The main drawback of the film is the very white Fisher Stevens being cast as a South Indian. Other than that, slightly cringe-y aspect, the movie is, well, adorable, especially the naïve and childlike robot.
Tim Blaney reprised his role as the voice of No. 5 in “Short Circuit 2” as well as being the voice of Frank the Pug in the “Men in Black” films. The voices of the other robots were Jack Angel as Number 1, Cam Clarke as Number 2, Don Messick as Number 3 and Seth Peters as Number 4. Director John Badham has a cameo as a news cameraman when the reporters are at Stephanie's door.