The Man with Two Brains (1983)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Carl Reiner

Writers:

George Gipe (written by)
Steve Martin (written by)

Release Date:

3 June 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Steve Martin Is A World Famous Surgeon. He Invented Screw Top, Zip Lock Brain Surgery. Trust Him.

Plot:

Steve Martin comedy about brain transplantation.

Plot Keywords:

Brain | Transplantation | Murder | Medical | Telepathy

Cast

Steve Martin	...	Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr
Kathleen Turner	...	Dolores Benedict
David Warner	...	Dr. Alfred Necessiter
Paul Benedict	...	Butler
Richard Brestoff	...	Dr. Pasteur
James Cromwell	...	Realtor
George Furth	...	Timon
Peter Hobbs	...	Dr. Brandon
Earl Boen	...	Dr. Felix Conrad
Bernie Hern	...	Gun Seller
Francis X. McCarthy	...	Olsen (as Frank McCarthy)
William Traylor	...	Inspector
Randi Brooks	...	Fran
Bernard Behrens	...	James Gladstone
Russell Orozco	...	Juan

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | Norway:15 (TV rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Castle Green Apartments - 99 S. Raymond, Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Aspen Film Society

Trivia:

Steve Martin drops a small note into the trunk of the car and excitedly says that he's gotten Merv Griffin's autograph. The note says, "Best Wishes, Merv Griffin", and it is indeed Griffin's actual autograph.

Goofs:

Continuity: The third time Dr. Hfuhruhurr climbs out of the elevator (when it's too low instead of too high), he has his satchel. A moment later, when he opens the door to his hotel room, the satchel is gone.

Quotes:

Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr: Ladies and gentlemen, I can envision a day when the brains of brilliant men can be kept alive in the bodies of dumb people.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Middleman: The Sino-Mexican Revelation (#1.3)" (2008)

Murmur!

Policeman: "That woman's not drunk, she's dead!" Dr Michael Hfuhruhurr: "Oh, i better get her to a cemetary right away!"

Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr: The only time we doctors should accept death is when it's caused by our own incompetence.

Shameless madcap farce from Director Carl Reiner (The Jerk, All of Me, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, That Old Feeling) is part romance melodrama, part sex comedy, part thriller, part medical drama, and all silliness. Yet it uses this silliness to touch on a fairly risque philosophical issue - what exactly makes us human? Kathleen Turner is in temptress mode as Martin's new wife who lives to torment men, and forces Martin to seek comfort elsewhere... with a brain in a jar!

Anne Uumellmahaye: I don't think there's a girl floating in a jar anywhere who's as happy as I am.

You have to admire the over-the-top and on-the-edge comedy pairing of Reiner and Martin which produces genuine hilarity, letting-loose fun and general enjoyment for a nice friday night hour and a half (good length too!).

Two thumbs way-up!