Simon

I remember 'Simon' fondly for two reasons. First, it was simply a wonderful comedy with a deeper message. Second, I knew many people in the cast personally. For example, the head of the Church of Television was played by Adolf Green who lived in the same elevator line in the building where I grew up. And this is the same man who co-wrote 'Singin' In The Rain'. Everyone of a certain age remembers Judi Grobart from 'The Electric Company'. Among other characters, she was Jennifer of the Jungle ("OYOYOYOYOYOYO!).The film itself is about a man named Simon who is doing sensory deprivation research. An exclusive think-tank of the four most brilliant minds in the world invite him to become one of them, but with a sinister motive. They leave him in the tank for a full week and he emerges with a mind regressed to that of "a bacterium". Alan Arkin re[evolving to the human level is one of the funniest sequences ever filmed. While his mind is still maleable, the think-tank members brainwash Simon into believing that he is actually the child of extraterrestrial parents who are machines. After waking up from hypnosis, Simon tearfully declares "I'm a toaster!!". Simon is then used to start a kind of peace movement which gets way out of hand. His wife eventually breaks him out and things get really interesting. There is so much more to this film but I don't want to ruin it for you. The last thing I will say is Austin Pendleton stroking a computer shaped like a gigantic Princess phone with a sexy voice.It has been a real disappointment to me that this film has yet to be released on DVD. Maybe if we all ask nicely? Or do we have to imitate Simon doing an impression of a jungle cat? Either way, this gem really ought to be transferred. And with as many extras as possible!!!Pretty please with sugar, whipped cream, ten cherries and a pile of gummi bears!

This is a great movie, a satire of the type not often made today (society has gotten so weird that many people cannot tell when something IS satire, or it's so heavy handed that it's no longer funny). The production values were decent for the time, but wouldn't stand muster in today's hyper CGI environment. That some of the special effects were a little clunky even for the time is part of the joke. Some of the academic types resembled people I knew in the '70s and '80s -- the culture is different today, but I doubt whether academics and science has changed all that much. Would like to see a better mastering of the original film, but I doubt it will happen.

Oddly forgotten debut film by Woody Allen’s long time collaborator. Yes it’s an uneven film, but the highlights are great, including an often hysterical performance by Alan Arkin, with excellent support by Austin Pendelton, Madelline Kahn, Wallace Shawn just to name a few.The concept: a bunch of brilliant but twisted minds who run a think tank with unlimited government money fill their time with odd schemes, like mating a man and a cockroach to build a super race, One bored day they get the idea of unleashing an ‘alien’ on America, just to see what happens. So they bring in small time collage professor Alan Arkin, and proceed to brainwash him into thinking he’s from outer space. Of course it gets out of hand, and they decide to have Simon killed, and the film becomes an odd long chase.There are sequences that don’t work, the social satire feels a little soft, like it’s pulling its punches, and the ending just sort of peters out without making a lot of sense. But along the way there are some very, very funny lines from Brickman, and brilliant physical comedy bits from Arkin (including enacting 500 million years of evolution in 3 minutes).Not really a ‘success’ as a film, but still better and smarter than 90% of the comedies Hollywood makes today, and certainly worthy of a better fate than it’s obscurity.

A very smart biting little cult comedy about the absurd and pernicious side effects of mass media, science and celebrity with a terrific titular turn by Alan Arkin. The highlight: hjis evolution-of-man emergence from the regression tank. an inspired piece of extended physical comedy. For a longtime fan like me 'Simon' is a long-unseen but well-remembered and now most welcome must. Neat supporting cast too incl the crafty Austin Pendleton and the much-missed Madeline Kahn.

This movie is hilarious XOXO and also mounts an interesting critique of contemporary culture without taking itself too seriously. A difficult balance to strike!

It was terrible. Not the DVD it worked fine. I wouldn't recommend the movie though...

It's a quirky satire with brilliant comics that surprises you in every scene.