The Man with Two Brains (1983)

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 | Medical | Murder | Pearl Necklace

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

Color:

Color (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:

When Steve Martin gets the bottle of window cleaner from the trunk of the car, the brand name is listed on the bottle, too small and too briefly to be seen without pausing the film. If you pause it, you can see that the label says "Pane in the Glass" window cleaner.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the credits, Stepfanie Kramer's first name is misspelled "Stephanie".

Quotes:

Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr: You. You're the elevator killer. Merv Griffin.
Merv Griffin: Yeah.
Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr: Why?
Merv Griffin: I don't know. I've always just loved to kill. I really enjoyed it. But then I got famous, and - it's just too hard for me. And so many witnesses. I mean, *everybody* recognized me. I couldn't even lurk anymore. I'd hear, "Who's that lurking over there? Isn't that Merv Griffin?" So I came to Europe to kill. And it's really worked out very well for me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Kathleen Turner/John Waite (#10.10)" (1985)

Martin's second most wackiest comedy

This is most indeed Steve Martin's second most wackiest comedy after "The Jerk". Everything about this movie has zip, craze and certain kind of frantic in the pace, which makes for an absouloutley lovable comedy. The story centers round Dr Michael Hfuhruhurr (Steve Martin), spelt Haf-far, he is most probaly the worlds greatest brain surgeon, he is rich and famous. But Michael has emotional problems and his wife died some time ago, though lucky Michael ends up meeting the evil, sexy and seductive Delores (Kathleen Turner), who is a gold digging "Scum queen". They supposedly fall in love and get married, though Michael sensing some problems thinks it is going down hill and thinks a honey moon to Europe would help and so he and Delores go. The Man With Two Brains has two stories, one involves what I said above and another takes place around Europe where Michael ends up falling in love with his research, a human brain! It is Romeo and Juliet as their love is forbiden and Michael goes to extreme lengths to ensure they remain in each others arms, okay that was a bad excuse. What makes The Man With Two Brains so great is the colourful, eighties, eneergetic look that adds the crazy wack to the movie. There are many comedic sets in the movie e.g the condo, scenes in Hfuhrhurr 's hospital. Any movie in which Steve Martin stars is bound to be watchable, but what Martin did back here was he would overact a lot more, he would not do his everyman thing, he is indeed crazy, his eyes in this movie shows a locked up genius with a crazy edge. The character of Hfuhruhurr is a very unlikeable person, but with Martin playing him he is the good guy, he makes you want to come out of this with his loved one. Kathleen Turner is also a comic delight as she does a little micky take of "Body Heat". Screen play wise this is also one of Martin's best as it is witty and full of excellent scenarios. As with any classic comedy there has to be a funny scene that stands above the rest, the scene at the beginning in the car is excellent, Hfuhrhurr: "Can you tell me what you wrote, I believe I may have sounded snobbish?" Interviwer: "My research is the some of the greastest the world has ever seen and in that way will proably so ever plant my reputation as a great proffesor for all eterntity" Hfuhrhurr:"No it didn't sound snobbish... Take out the probably though. Makes me sound wishy washy." Now that is excellent Martin, he does it with every film, not everyody would get that. Another hilarious thing about this movie is it's music, it is so corny and cheesy but without sounding annoying it is just plain funny. Bottom line is, this is one of Martin's landmark films, a film which has visula look, brilliant pacing, trademark manic peformance by Martin and memorbale scenes that stick in the mind. Absoloutley wack, crazy, wild, funny and hilarious.