I saw this film in the theatre in 1990 and have recently purchased and watched the dvd. I would have swon that they mentioned Visine by name. Not said a house hold product as they did in the dvd. Also during the science fair scene the box was obviously visine which they had whited the name out of. Does anyone who saw this film in the theatare remember this. Did visine want their product to be removed or something. weird.
I just watched this film on tape, and they say "tetrahydrozoline" where they used to say "Visine." You can tell that their lips don't match the words.
I saw this in the theater 16 years ago, and I'm certain they said "Visine." Maybe they didn't have the legal right to name if for home video, or maybe Visine sued after they saw the movie. It actually seems like Visine would want the free advertising, especially when it's another use for a product people use only a couple of drops at a time!
On the DVD commentary, Lucas Riener talks about how they were afraid of getting sued by various companies. He comments on lines like where they say "is that the kind of car I think it is?" rather than saying "pinto" and "It puts the white back in" rather than saying "Gets the red out" (Visine's slogan).
He also talks about how the peoples names were based on different products but changed slightly so as to avoid lawsuit... Chanel 6, Adam 11... but for some reason they kept Heinz 57 as a character name. Anyway I'm pretty sure in the commentary he goes on about how they were careful not to say "visine" but maybe that's something they changed later and he didn't remember...
I have the VHS version which I got in 1994, and I just got the DVD (2008).
I love this movie
When they bring out the snacks they raided from the refrigerator "(the "Artifacts") they demonstrate "Pringles" , and "Cheeze-Whiz" ("It's Chese - but in an spray paint can!" ) and Spam ( "It's...........SPAM !")
This is tacked on the end of the credits.
I guess it was the product / trademark owners who they felt were probably going to object - so they stuck it on at the end, so it's not really "in" the movie .........So if anyone complained, they scould snip it out, and not affect anything. You would think they would like the free advertising (Like "Tang" - which was left in.)
That's too bad that the producers got skittish about mentioning the product names, because I'd be surprised if any trademark owners would object. This film is a minefield for kitschy products that have survived the tastes and trends of the '80s and beyond -- as well as those that haven't.
I still eat Spam, and I still buy Pringles occasionally, but I haven't touched Cheez-Whiz or Tang in years. Remember those Moon Sticks? They were chewy, nougaty treats that came in a tube in chocolate and vanilla flavors, which the astronauts supposedly took to the moon.