Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr (that's Hfuhruhurr) is a brilliant neurologist and brain surgeon, who owing to a car accident, runs into the conniving, femme fatale, Dolores Benedict. Rushing her to the hospital, Michael performs life-saving surgery using his revolutionary screwtop method of entering the brain which saves her life. Falling in love with her, the two of them marry, with Dolores having her own scheming intentions in doing so. An eventual business trip abroad sees Michael crossing paths with a fellow neurologist, Dr. Necessitor who introduces his own revolutionary brain experiments. As a result, Michael in doing so meets Anne, a disembodied human brain being kept alive by Dr. Necessior, and comes to have a big impact on his life greatly.
The comic creation of both Steve Martin and fellow comedian and co-writer Carl Reiner, who took up directing duties. 1983's The Man of Two Brains holds up pretty well, forty years after its theatrical release as a fun, albeit unremarkable parody of old 1950s comedies, and the tropes utilized by the historical genre of its ilk (a neat little reference to the 1953 B-movie, Donovan's Brain, acting as a knowing wink to this). It potentially owes a debt as well to screwball comedian Jerry Lewis, and his renowned Screwball comedy, the Nutty Professor. At times hilariously OTT, Martin finds the right balance at times to play it straight, while retaining the right amount of absurdity. A trademark of movies like Jerry and David Zucker's classic, Airplane, along with Kentucky Fried Movie. With Kathleen Turner on hand, who is in deliciously malevolent and manipulative form as his beautiful but cold and calculating wife. The movie rolls along at a brisk pace, as Martin and Turner both chew the scenery at times with some panache. It's really, as it enters into its final act, that laughs proceed to get a tad less thin on the ground and the movie comes close to derailing itself, but Martin just manages to keep the momentum going well enough so that it doesn't completely derail itself. With veteran actor, David Warner lending, some further solid, deadpan support as Dr. Necessitor, and an uncredited Sissy Spacek, of the 1976 Oscar-winning, Carrie fame providing the voice of Anne, The Man with Two Brains is a fun, zany romp that hits the mark, more than it misses. Look out as well for actor James Cromwell as well, as B-movie Horror icon, Jeffrey Combs of Re-Animator and From Beyond fame in brief cameos.
The comic creation of both Steve Martin and fellow comedian and co-writer Carl Reiner, who took up directing duties. 1983's The Man of Two Brains holds up pretty well, forty years after its theatrical release as a fun, albeit unremarkable parody of old 1950s comedies, and the tropes utilized by the historical genre of its ilk (a neat little reference to the 1953 B-movie, Donovan's Brain, acting as a knowing wink to this). It potentially owes a debt as well to screwball comedian Jerry Lewis, and his renowned Screwball comedy, the Nutty Professor. At times hilariously OTT, Martin finds the right balance at times to play it straight, while retaining the right amount of absurdity. A trademark of movies like Jerry and David Zucker's classic, Airplane, along with Kentucky Fried Movie. With Kathleen Turner on hand, who is in deliciously malevolent and manipulative form as his beautiful but cold and calculating wife. The movie rolls along at a brisk pace, as Martin and Turner both chew the scenery at times with some panache. It's really, as it enters into its final act, that laughs proceed to get a tad less thin on the ground and the movie comes close to derailing itself, but Martin just manages to keep the momentum going well enough so that it doesn't completely derail itself. With veteran actor, David Warner lending, some further solid, deadpan support as Dr. Necessitor, and an uncredited Sissy Spacek, of the 1976 Oscar-winning, Carrie fame providing the voice of Anne, The Man with Two Brains is a fun, zany romp that hits the mark, more than it misses. Look out as well for actor James Cromwell as well, as B-movie Horror icon, Jeffrey Combs of Re-Animator and From Beyond fame in brief cameos.