I had to sit down and really watch the trailer to figure out what it was that made me think of the classic Anthony Michael Hall film. High school setting? Check. Two nerdy friends who have no girlfriends? Check. Magical hot chick who makes wishes come true and takes our heroes on a magical night of adventure, regularly flashing her cleavage and even stripping to the buff on one occasion? I guess that'll do for a start. Panettiere's Beth already seems to be the perfect girl, which makes her calm acceptance (if not reciprocity) of Dennis' declaration of love seem almost saintly. Meanwhile, LeBrock's Lisa, being a genius and nigh-omnipotent, instantly understands that she had been made to be Gary and Wyatt's dream girl, and serenely tolerates that adoration like a goddess.

Then, Beth seems to take it upon herself to educate Dennis for the evening of festivities, and introducing him to the world of awesome parties and real girls, just like how Lisa takes the nerds to a club, throws them a huge party and hooks them up with actual women. (Lisa, by the way, never seems to do the actual deed with her creators. Does Beth? I haven't read the original book, but I doubt it.) Both women also take on a protective stance towards their charges; Beth protects Dennis from an aggressive, air-conditioner-throwing ROTC soldier and his two goons, while Lisa similarly protects her charges from Chet, Wyatt's older brother and an ex-Army goon himself (Bill Paxton in his finest role). Of course, the women also have wild sides: Beth is a reckless driver, careening down streets dangerously and actually hitting Dennis with her car at one point, and Lisa brandishes a gun at Gary's parents before unleashing a mutant biker gang on Wyatt's party.

These parallels are tenuous, but for some reason, they click in my head somehow. I guess the biggest link is that both are total male wish-fulfillment fantasies, where designing a woman on a computer makes her real and telling a girl "I love you" means you get to see her naked. And while Panettiere and LeBrock are total physical opposites, the look of Dennis' kitchen somehow reminds me of Wyatt's home, and the cartoonish hurling of air conditioners (while probably realistic for the more physically gifted) verges on fantasy for a 98-pound weakling like myself, which places the two movies on more equal footing. See the kitchen in question -- and a young Bill Paxton -- in the Weird Science clip below.