Simon (1980)

Director:

Marshall Brickman

Writers:

Marshall Brickman (story) &
Thomas Baum (story) ...

Release Date:

February 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

He loves you. Do what he says.

Plot:

A group of scientist take Simon, a psychology professor, as a test person for a brainwash experiment...

Plot Keywords:

Scientist | Brainwashing | Major General | General | Character Name In Title

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Alan Arkin	...	Prof. Simon Mendelssohn
Madeline Kahn	...	Dr. Cynthia Malloy
Austin Pendleton	...	Dr. Carl Becker
Judy Graubart	...	Lisa
William Finley	...	Fichandler
Jayant	...	Barundi
Wallace Shawn	...	Eric Van Dongen
Max Wright	...	Leon Hundertwasser
Fred Gwynne	...	Maj. Gen. Korey
Adolph Green	...	Commune leader
Keith Szarabajka	...	Josh
Ann Risley	...	Pam
Pierre Epstein	...	Military aide
Roy Cooper	...	General's aide
Rex Robbins	...	Army doctor

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Columbia University - Broadway & 116th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Bergman

Trivia:

Meryl Streep turned down the part of Dr. Cynthia Malloy.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the space shuttle lifts off, it promptly turns into a Saturn V.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Altered States (1980)

Counterculture Classic!

Here's an absolutely fabulous sci-fi thriller that has got to be one of the great black comedies of all time, right up there with THE LOVED ONE. SIMON is a deft combination of BRAVE NEW WORLD and THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, with a touch of the sterile, godless near-future glimpsed in SLEEPER, which makes sense as Brickman worked with Woody Allen on that film and others. Alan Arkin is fantastic as Simon, the innocent pawn of minds far greater (and nastier) than his own. Simon's only crime is being vain enough to think he is a peer of this evil think-tank. His vanity makes him the evil cabal's unwitting dupe. Arkin's performance jumps from whiny Woody Allenesque schtick to a poignant portrayal of oh-so-fragile humanity. His mime of the evolutionary progress of mankind is a breathtaking tour de force, which should be locked in a time capsule. Judy Graubart (I still think of her as the Shake 'n Bake girl: "Whaddaya do with a FRYER...?") is great as Simon's frustrated but devoted hippy wife. Madeline Kahn plays an evil anti-heroine, a scientist who's recruited to befriend/seduce Simon, and convince him that he's who he believes he is, rather than merely a sad, pathetic schlub. Simon's creation and destruction by heartless architects of fear is gripping and silly and disturbing, and ultimately draining. Simon's absorption by a TV-worshipping hippy cult, who sing TV commercial jingles as hymns and read sermons from the TV guide is a little off-center, but hey, heavy-handed satire is still alotta fun! One of the last great films of the 80s.