The Philadelphia Experiment (1984)    New World Pictures/Sci-Fi-Adventure    RT: 102 minutes    Rated PG (language, violence)    Director: Stewart Raffill    Screenplay: Michael Janover and William Gray    Music: Kenneth Wannberg    Cinematography: Dick Bush    Release date: August 3, 1984 (US)    Cast: Michael Pare, Nancy Allen, Eric Christmas, Bobby Di Cicco, Louise Latham, Kene Holliday, Joe Dorsey, Michael Currie, Stephen Tobolowsky, Gary Brockette, Debra Troyer, Miles McNamara, Ralph Manza, James Edgcomb, Glenn Morshower.    Box Office: $8.1M (US)

Rating: ***

 I’m asking myself if I would have liked The Philadelphia Experiment as much if it were made today. Is my fondness for this convoluted time-travel flick based solely on nostalgia? I guess I’m going to have to answer no to the first question and quite possibly to the second as well.

 I didn’t see The Philadelphia Experiment at the movies. I had a chance to see it on a double bill with Red Dawn, but I opted for something else that weekend. I caught it on HBO the following summer and didn’t much care for it. I actually fell asleep on it. I tried watching it again about 20 years later and liked it better even though it’s sort of confusing if you’re not paying attention.

 So what exactly are its good points? Well, aside from its nostalgic value, it’s also a New World release. The special effects are pretty good, non-CGI usually is. It’s always great to see Nancy Allen (Blow Out) in a movie. It’s hilarious how horrible an actor Michael Pare (Eddie and the Cruisers) is although he wasn’t too awful in Streets of Fire earlier that summer. I suppose it’s natural to feel affection for movies from one’s teen years and so it is that I’m giving The Philadelphia Experiment a positive write-up even though it’s a bad movie. It’s one of those bad movies that you can enjoy even though common sense says otherwise.

 The story opens in 1943 with sailors David Herdeg (Pare) and Jim Parker (Di Cicco, 1941) taking part in a Navy-sponsored experiment at the Philadelphia Naval Base conducted by Dr. James Longstreet (McNamara). The idea is to make Allied ships invisible to enemy radar, but something goes horribly wrong and our two heroes find themselves in a Nevada desert in the year 1984. They land in a small town that mysteriously disappears. They manage to escape the secure site and make their way to a diner where all hell starts to break loose when Jim causes an arcade game to blow up. The guys were affected by the experiment.

 Needing a quick escape, David takes Allison (Allen) hostage and forces her to drive them away from the scene. It’s at this point the guys learn that they’re in the future and things aren’t what they used to be. Meanwhile, Dr. Longstreet (Christmas, Porky’s) is conducting another experiment using the same technology that was used in the ’43 experiment. That’s why the small town vanished. Somehow, the two experiments have linked together across time. Aware of David and Jim’s existence, Naval Security has been chasing them, trying to bring them back to the base. A lot of other crazy stuff happens, but I’ll leave that for you to see for yourself.

 So I’m trying to figure out what else to say about The Philadelphia Experiment that I haven’t already said. Okay, here’s something. Despite the title, none of it was actually filmed in Philadelphia. I should know, I live right outside the City of Brotherly Love. It would appear that The Philadelphia Experiment was primarily filmed in California and Utah. The title is actually based on the urban legend of “The Philadelphia Experiment”, an alleged military experiment that was carried out at the Naval Shipyard. It also involved “cloaking”; that is, rendering ships invisible to enemy radar. The Navy denies any such experiment took place, but it does make for an interesting sci-fi flick.

 Given that it’s a New World flick, it’s a low budget job, but the special effects look damn good. Of course, this is coming from somebody that doesn’t really like CGI all that much. For whatever reason, the old school stuff looks more real to me. So maybe I like The Philadelphia Experiment for its retro look. At least director Stewart Raffill (The Ice Pirates) keeps things moving at a rapid clip. He doesn’t let it get boring. He has an interesting filmography, this guy. He also made The Sea Gypsies (1978), a family film that was a mainstay on HBO in the early 80s. He also did The Adventures of the Wilderness Family (1975), Across the Great Divide (1976), High Risk (1981), Mac and Me (1988) and Mannequin: On the Move (1991). Okay, not exactly an impressive resume, but interesting if you dig cheeseball flicks.

 So let me get to the main point of the review. The Philadelphia Experiment is a fun bad movie. It’s a decent B-movie and would make a great bottom half of a double bill. Even Pare’s bad acting is enjoyable by today’s standards. I can’t help it; I like this movie despite all the signs pointing to a failure. In my book, it’s kind of a win.