Electric Dreams (1984)
An 80s romantic comedy with a guy, a gal and a self-learning computer. This movie is equal parts 80s computer galore, hilarious, sweet and with some food for thought about our relationship with computers that are very much relevant here almost 40 years later.
A geeky, but not computer savy, architect was just trying to buy a Casio Pocket Organizer but ending up with a complete computer instead. Enter montage and he has the whole apartment setup as a smart home. But after he pours champagne into it (how many movies show a closeup of motherboard being flooded with cheap champagne?), the computer becomes a bit too smart and starts to learn by itself. Through various random events he gets acquainted with his new female neighbor who plays the cello, and with some help from the computer, they form a romantic relationship. But the computer wants to know about love too, so things escalate.
I was grinning from ear to ear the entire movie. It is super kitsch but charming and funny with 80s computer vibes turned to 11. It is not trying to be a super deep and philosophical movie, but I still think it has some interesting takes on our relationship and reliance with computers, who is controlling who and what do we really need in life. Also, the computer here writes better love songs than ChatGPT.
Rating: 3.5