Comedian turned actor and screenwriter Steve Martin and director and co-writer Carl Reiner reunited after the success of The Jerk and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid for a third collaboration. The Man with Two Brains (1983) stars Martin as brilliant brain surgeon Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr (the pronunciation of his name is a running gag), who falls for scheming sexpot Dolores Benedict (Kathleen Turner) after saving her life in a risky operation. Dolores has driven one husband to a heart attack and takes delight in tormenting her new hubby Michael, who soon falls in love with a disembodied brain in a jar (voiced by an uncredited Sissy Spacek) that was preserved by fellow brain surgeon Dr. Alfred Necessiter (David Warner). Like Dead Men, which took on old detective movies and film noir thrillers, this comedy drops the wild and crazy humor of Martin's standup comedy act into a spoof of old Hollywood sci-fi/horror films (from Frankenstein to Donovan's Brain), femme fatale melodramas, and impossible love stories. Reiner is a good directorial fit for this kind of humor—mixing deadpan absurdity and cartoonish visual gags—and he guides the supporting cast to play straight man to Martin's broad physical humor and Turner's over-the-top vamping. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)
The Man with Two Brains
Warner, 90 min., R, Blu-ray: $21.99 Volume 33, Issue 1
The Man with Two Brains
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