Assault of the Party Nerds Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Assault of the Party Nerds Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf April 24, 2025

Richard Gabai had a dream. He wanted to work in Hollywood, participating in the great race to deliver movies to audiences, forced to use whatever means possible to complete his projects. 1989’s “Assault of the Party Nerds” represents Gabai’s filmmaking debut, at the helm of what’s meant to be a wit-free sillyfest about dumb characters working out dumb problems. It hopes to be a fun time, but one has to wonder why such a lighthearted affair would have “Assault” in its title. Additional questions arrive during the viewing experience, as Gabai launches an endeavor that’s more Ed Wood than “Revenge of the Nerds,” taking five whole days to complete an offering that’s, perhaps unsurprisingly, completely laugh-free and painfully low-budget. Acquiring a small fanbase due to early morning airings on basic cable in the 1990s, “Assault of the Party Nerds” might remain golden in the eyes of nostalgia, but, in the cold light of day, it’s mostly a slog as Gabai clearly struggles to piece together a complete picture.

At Lambda Alpha Eta, frat president Richard (Richard Gabai) is on his way to college graduation, joined by his pals Charlie (Richard Rifkin), Scott (Marc Silverberg), and T.K. (Joe Whyte). Grand Master President Sid (Troy Donahue) is concerned about the future of the fraternity, tasking Richard with recruitment to make sure Lambda House remains viable for generations to come. The request inspires a plan for “the greatest party in the world,” only the frat brothers need money to help fund the get-together, putting them to work on scams to collect enough cash and celebrate the end of the school year. Looking to block the fun are the boys at Zeta Alpha Mu, finding Bud (Christopher Dempsey) and his pals Cliff (Kevin M. Glover) and Chip (Robert Dorfmann) aiming to destroy the Lambdas, but first they have to deal with their girlfriends while managing their own mutual attraction.

“Assault of the Party Nerds” isn’t an epic understanding of frat house war. It’s mostly contained to a few rooms, including a living space at Lambda House, where Richard and his pals gather to study trash television and cook up their schemes. Sid’s desire to keep the future of the frat going represents the plot of the feature, but Gabai isn’t committed to storytelling. Instead, he’s more invested in goofballery with a cast ordered to perform so emphatically, the gesticulating could qualify as sign language. Scoring cues don’t help the cause, sounding like silent film accompaniment as silliness is declared but rarely materializes. Again, Gabai made the endeavor in a matter of days, and it shows, as there’s very little to the viewing experience besides watching characters enter a room, converse, and exit the frame.

There are women involved in “Assault of the Party nerds,” as Muffin (Michelle Bauer) has big plans for Bud, her longtime boyfriend, using her parental connections to secure their future together. Muffin has a friend in Bambi (Linnea Quigley), who has the hots for Cliff, creating more opportunities for Gabai to play into sexploitation demands, which is perhaps the only element of the feature that works as intended. The rest of “Assault of the Party Nerds” is pretty weak, following Richard as he tries to keep his hands on his girlfriend, Diane (Deborah Roush), and find money for the epic shindig. This includes putting T.K. to work assembling documents for Sid’s approval, also gathering invoices for unnecessary house repairs. Party Nerds!

Humor is present in “Assault of the Party Nerds,” but all of Gabai’s writing is uninspired, creating a leaden viewing experience with some particularly weird sight gags (Charlie is fed candy chocolates by his object of desire, who rolls them off her breast and into his mouth). Characterization is attempted with Scott, who has party phobias to conquer. Richard isn’t a good guy, happy to engage in sexual activity with Diane while his frat brothers watch. And there’s time with Zeta Alpha Mu, as Bud and his boys are closeted gay men using rage to express their faux heterosexuality. Perhaps Gabai is going for something subversive with this development, but it’s all clumsily handled, ending up a mess of tiresome gay panic jokes.

Assault of the Party Nerds Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.33:1 aspect ratio) presentation remains film-like for "Assault of the Party Nerds," with heavy grain decently resolved. Damage is detected, including some deep scratches in the final reel. Speckling is encountered, along with debris. Detail reaches as far as possible, supplying a softer sense of skin particulars as the characters frequently disrobe. Frat life is basic, open for inspection, and exteriors are decent as the picture takes a few quick tours of Los Angeles. Color is lively, working with hotter period costuming and makeup. Greenery is distinct, joined by interior paint choices and party decoration, which brings out lively hues. Delineation is satisfactory.

Assault of the Party Nerds Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA track offers a simple mix for the movie. It's not a steady listening experience, with some volume fluctuation and warped moments of damage. Dialogue exchanges are acceptable, occasionally dealing with technical limitations. However, scoring, which retains a basic synth sound, and soundtrack selections threaten intelligibility at times due to high volume.

English subtitles are provided, but misspellings and screwy interpretations (e.g. "the whore of Babylon" is turned into "the horror of Babylon") are common.

Assault of the Party Nerds Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary #1 features director Richrd Gabai and actress Michelle Bauer.

• Commentary #2 featured director Richard Gabai and actors Robert Mann and Christopher Dempsey

• Image Gallery (3:16) collects BTS Snaps, film stills, and publicity shots.

• Behind-the-Scenes (3:50, SD) is a brief look at the production, with emphasis on bloopers.

• "B-Movie Awards" (4:06, SD) is a clip from the "USA Up All Night B- Movie Awards" (the announcer pronounces it "b minus"), joining hosts Gilbert Gottfried and Rhonda Shear as they present the award for "Best Attempt to Score in a B-Movie." It's Surfer Dude from "Assault of the Party Nerds" up against the likes of John Saxton (his name is misspelled on the clip), Anthony Lewis, Steven Tash, and Ian Rose. Will Surfer Dude prevail? Well, let's just say director Richard Gabai is the only one to show up to the ceremony.

• Music Videos (12:13, SD) offers a collection of clips from Richard Gabai and The Checks.

• And a Trailer (2:04, SD) is included.

Assault of the Party Nerds Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Assault of the Party Nerds" is happy to indulge in a little padding, following Richard as he drives around Los Angeles. And there are montages to help beef up the run time, which also serve the function of promoting Gabai's music with his band The Checks. The big soiree finally arrives in the final act, and…it's about as rowdy as a movie shot in five days can get. There's a surfer dude on a motorcycle and even more warring frat house tensions, but not much else to help elevate the painfully droopy viewing experience. There should be bigness of spirit and rowdy acts of celebration as all the characters gather to go nuts. But that vibe doesn't arrive in "Assault of the Party Nerds," which elects to conclude with a sequence of timed sexual conquests, sustaining Gabai's limp sense of fun when trying to make a raucous frat comedy.