Character Analysis
David Levinson is Jeff Goldblum. Character analysis: complete.
Well, not exactly. But David Goldblum is 100% Jeff Levinson—er, David Levinson is 100% Jeff Goldblum. The adorkable stammering. The glasses that can't quite conceal the fact that this dweeb looks exactly like a movie star. The morphing from nerd-with-plaid-shirt to cool-nerd-with-a-cigar-in-his-mouth.
Yeah: he's pretty much the Jeff Goldblum you know and love from Jurassic Park—except, of course, he doesn't try to seduce anyone with sexy, sexy chaos theory. (Our loss.)
He's A Genius with An Asterisk
But let's begin at David's humble beginning.
David's father, Julius, is super peeved that his son works at a cable company, since he thinks David isn't living up to his brainy potential. Julius drives home his disappointment early on, when David is trying to convince everyone that he knows something about the aliens that the U.S. government has yet to realize:
JULIUS: Yeah, so, tell me something, huh, you're so smart, how come you spent eight years at M.I.T. to become a cable repairman?
DAVID: Dad...
JULIUS: All I'm saying is they've got people who handle these things, David. They want HBO, they'll call you.
Ooh. We hope David has enough aloe vera to soothe that burn.
And no, we don't think David was at M.I.T. for that long because he was failing and retaking courses. Nope, it's probably because he was doing a graduate degree.
So yeah, he's probably just a little book smart, and his job working in the back office of a cable company might not be using his full skill set. We can understand how Julius (and David) might be a little frustrated by all that unused potential.
He's Got Love Issues, Too
On top of his professional issues/shortcomings, David apparently has some trouble in the love department. We quickly learn he has an ex-wife named Constance, who works for the President. They apparently broke up because she was pursuing a demanding career; while David wasn't really, well, pursuing anything. Midway through the film, they chat about how their different levels of ambition broke them up:
CONNIE: David! David, you could have done anything that you wanted. Research, development.
DAVID: Oh! Honey, I was happy where I was.
CONNIE: Haven't you ever wanted to be part of something special?
DAVID: I was part of something special.
CONNIE: Well, if it makes any difference, I never stopped loving you.
David never stopped loving her, ether (aww, dysfunctional cinematic love)…which is why he refuses to sign his divorce papers and why he still wears his wedding ring around. Poor dude.
Oh, and adding to the problems between them: David once punched Connie's boss—you know, the President—when he thought she was having an affair with the guy. Not a great move, guy.
Save the Planet, Save Yourself
Luckily for David (and everyone), David is able to save the planet and, in the process, clean up his life.
He puts his brains to good use figuring out how to disable the alien shields long enough to destroy them, and demonstrates a lot of bravery in the process—you know, since he has to fly up into space and into the heart of the mother ship in order to do his fancy computerizing tricks. (We're pretty sure they called it "computerizing" back in the '90s.)
After working with him throughout that whole ordeal, and seeing him be all brave and smart, Connie seems to realize she still has feelings for him.
Also, David and the Prez are able to bury the hatchet, since David helps POTUS clear up his little alien problem. So David finds his happy ending, having realized fixed up his love life and proven to everyone that he's just as smart as everyone always thought he was.
Not that we ever thought he was anything less than a Hawkins-level genius. After all, he's played by Jeff Goldblum.
David Levinson's Timeline