RIP Val Kilmer
Many news articles are listing his appearances in more mainstream movies, like "Top Gun", "Batman Forever", "Tombstone", etc., but I would like to talk about his appearance in one of my favorites, "Real Genius".
This 1985 movie is about a bunch of smart kids at an academically rigorous college.
This movie resonates with me on several levels. I went to one of those colleges, Rice University, in the mid-80s. These characters are my classmates.
Val Kilmer's character, Chris Knight, is a wacky, irreverent fellow, with a severe case of senioritis, and he is the foil to our 15-year old main character.
Of all of the characters I have ever seen in movies, Chris Knight is the one that I identify with the most. He is bright, cocky, quirky, and can be quite fun, but there is a hint of self-loathing, and he is arrogant as can be, and has severe problems with authority.
I am all of those things.
Of course, Knight is smarter and sexier that I was or will ever be, and Val Kilmer's looks have a lot to do with that. But his performance showed that subtle, soft underbelly of doubt extremely well.
This movie, and Wayne's World, captured my generation of white people in the USA extremely well. They are two of the classic Generation Jones/Generation X movies. I can watch this thing over and over again.
Anyway, RIP, Chris Knight/Val Kilmer. I hope you are wearing your styrofoam antenna balls in heaven right now.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/02/entertainment/val-kilmer-death/index.html
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