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27 out of 31 people found the following review useful:
Great film about what it would REALLY be like to be invisible., 13 September 2000

Author: Justin Lloyd (justin.m.lloyd@gmail.com) from Idaho, USA

One of the best points of this movie is what it seriously would be like to be invisible. I'm sure everyone, at least once in their life, has wanted to be invisible, but how few of us really thought about the negative side effects? This movie shows them. Nick (played by Chevy Chase, whose great in a serious role,) gets turned invisible in a lab accident. As soon as the CIA find out about this, they stop at nothing to obtain him. And if they can't have them, no one can (including himself.) Although the film has a large amount of funny parts and an overall light tone, it isn't necessarily a comedy. There is a serious over tone to it that makes it very interesting as well as funny and can be enjoyed almost purely for it's story line and insight on what it would really be like to be invisible. Definitely worth a look for anyone who's up for a good movie.

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19 out of 24 people found the following review useful:
Being Invisible Isn't What It's Cracked Up To Be, 13 January 2007

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from United States

There are some interesting lessons to learn from this film....not that any of us will ever get to learn this since we'd have to be able to turn invisible. However, when we think about all the fun we could have being invisible, we don't think of all the problems it would cause us. This movie brings some of those to light, so to speak.

I enjoyed Chevy Chase and Daryl Hannah in here and I am not fans of either of them. Chase is funny in this film and does an outstanding job playing the role not just with humor but drama, romance and suspense. You get all of that in this movie. Hannah provides the beautiful face and someone for Chevy to chase.

This is another PG-13 movie that really should have been rated R with the language, for one thing. Overall, it's a film whose title may sound hokey but the story is done well. It''s actually though-provoking. Being invisible would not be all fun and games.

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17 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
Surprisingly good..., 20 July 1999
Author: Brad L. Wooldridge (HulkSmash@windstream.net) from Barry, Texas USA

Memoirs of an Invisible Man tanked in 1992, and was seen by many as a dismal failure, and a sure sign of Chevy Chase's film career demise. However, I, a life-long Chase fan, was pleasantly surprised by the film, and enjoyed it thoroughly.

It is fast-paced, quick-witted, and features a terrific dramatic turn for Chase. While the story is somewhat muddled, and the other performances, especially Darryl Hannah's, remain a bit stoic and wooden, the eye-popping special effects are truly top notch.

Chevy Chase has never been respected in Hollywood, and his movies are always deemed as failures, but to me, and others, he is a comedic genius, either as the familiar buffoon, such as Clark Griswold of the superb Vacation series, or as the aloof wisecracker, such as Irwin Fletcher, in the Fletch films.

Highly recommended.

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14 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Memoirs of an Invisible Fletch? :(, 27 August 2002
Author: Spider-Lou from Bristol, CT

This John Carpenter movie is actually a really good spin on the entire invisible man concept. Chevy Chase is a little too large of a man to pull off the invisible man role. He does do physical comedy well and is okay at drama here. Unfortunately, he's not at his "Fletch" level in the movie either; something I'm sure everyone expected to happen, because there's his completely unnecessary voice-over/narration. Basically, this seems to be a casting mistake, and a part probably intended for a non-comedic actor?

The fx are excellent, as we see an invisible man see himself eat, then vomit; he smokes and we see a very short but stunning effect. And the building where it all began is quite a feat of computer and chroma-key engineering. There are a lot of fx here that predate every fx the stinkfest "Hollow Man" gave us 8 years later. The chase (pun not intended) and "Fugitive"-like story is hardly original, though Carpenter does move things along for the most part. The very last scene during the closing credits doesn't lend credence to the semi-serious tone which preceded it.

Although "Memoirs--" is no classic, this invisible man movie is far superior to the aforementioned dog "Hollow Man". And at least it has a friggin' point.

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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Being unseen can been helpful or hurtful, 26 February 2008

Author: Brian T. Whitlock (GOWBTW) from WILMINGTON, NC

Chevy Chase is at it again. This time he plays a yuppie who become totally transparent after a freak accident. In "Memoirs of an Invisible Man", Nick Halloway(Chase) becomes both victim and pawn of the CIA. Halloway becomes invisible following an explosion in a laboratory which, makes him a perfect weapon against the enemy. However, someone in the CIA wanted him for more than that. So Nick escapes, and goes to the woman he loves dearly, Alice Monroe(Darryl Hannah). She thinks that Nick is dead, but when she sees the truth, it's out of sight. Literally. Nick's personality and wit gives him the edge when Jenkins(Sam Neill) would give him a promise to give him back his molecules so he can be living a normal life again. So far, Nick finds his condition a bit of a plus so far. He can play practical jokes, without getting caught. The only way you can get caught is to misuse the ability of stealth. It's a lot of fun, it's too bad it didn't do well at the box office. This movie is perfect for home viewing I believe. It wouldn't hurt to be invisible, just get used to it. 4 out of 5 stars!

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
A movie with a serious Chevy Chase - I liked it, 30 April 2008

Author: waldwuffel-1 from Ger

I've seen this movie a couple of times, and I like to watch it ever since I saw it the first time when its on TV. The plot is moderately original, the settings are good, and on top of all, we see great acting from all three leads: Sam Neill, Daryl Hannah and - to my surprise - Chevy Chase. My main memories about him the time I saw the movie for the first time was him sitting behind the wheel of an estate car, playing is undoubtedly most famous Clark Griswold character, which I really do not like. The more astonishing that it just takes a darker setting, some good co-actors, and the fact that he is visible only about half the time of the movie, and there you go, some fantastic Chevy Chase acting over there. He played his character very authentic, although maybe a little too cool later on during the movie. Maybe this movie cannot hold up to more popular Hollywood movies of its time, but it is a quite decent story with good acting and some very nice ideas. 7 outta 10, with a +1 star understatement bonus.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Outta sight., 18 October 2008

Author: vip_ebriega from Philippines

My Take: It' ain't great, but its funny and interesting, and packed with wildly imaginative special effects.

Part-Hitchcockian manhunt thriller, part-James Whale and part-screwball special effects comedy, John Carpenter's 1992 misunderstood MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN is a delightful although not entirely great comedy. Or was it really meant to be a comedy? Although it's obviously a Chevy Chase vehicle pumped up by (for-the-time) groundbreaking special effects. But was it really a comedy? John Carpenter refuses to tell us exactly what the identity of, not the character, bu the movie. It was both a thriller, a comedy and a love story at the same time. And, although Carpenter wasn't able to balance all three genres together and make them mesh together completely, he does provide an interesting and skillfully-made little film. The special effects are dated compared to today's standards (By the following year, these kind of special effects would be extinct and would make way for CGI with JURASSIC PARK) but they are still quite convincing at some scenes. As a matter of fact, they're actually quite funny in some scenes (The scene where Chase sees the food he just ate digesting was pretty hilarious). The performances are decent at best, with Sam Niell in fine form as the antagonist, a ruthless undercover agent, and Daryll Hannah as a fine damsel-in-distress. Chase is pretty good too, although due to his comedic screen presence, it's quite hard to take him seriously during his scenes that are meant to be serious.

Although flawed, MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN is a skillfully-paced and hilarious film. It might be an overstatement to say Carpenter was in control here, but no one can say he didn't at least do a passable job.

Rating: *** out of 5.

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7 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Chevy Chase's finest performance in fun comedy, 29 November 2004
Author: TheNorthernMonkee from Manchester

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

SPOILERS

Since Ralph Ellison wrote "The Invisible Man" in the 1950's, the notion of the individual with the unique hiding ability has been well in the minds of teenage boys the world over. Every male on the planet will at one point or another have dreamt of being invisible and sneaking into the girl's changing rooms. Often when people create their own films on a similar premise, they always create the man as your well meaning individual who wants to fix himself. Ultimately he's never your average guy though. In 1992 though, John Carpenter directed Chevy Chase in arguably the most unique aspect of this story ever.

In "Memoirs of an Invisible Man", Chase plays yuppie Nick Halloway. Having a doze at a conference as a result of a nightmare hangover, Nick is genetically altered and awakes to find himself transparent. Now chased by Government agent David Jenkins (Sam Neill), Nick finds himself an invisible fugitive.

This film is a great laugh for late night entertainment. With Chevy Chase in his finest role, the film has a charismatic leading man who manages to play the part superbly. Adding to this an eerie performance by Sam Neill, and your on to a winner.

Yes, OK admittedly this film is never going to win any awards, except perhaps for it's clever effects, but it's well worth watching. With great performances, a decent script and a few good jokes, "Memoirs of an Invisible Man" is a clever little film well worthy of praise. Enjoy

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
an underrated and good bad movie, 22 March 2008

Author: jean-no from Paris

There is always "something" in a John Carpenter movie. In this one, the great "something" is a really great nonsense humor. Lots of sequences are, in my opinion, unforgettable. Like the moment when the invisible Chevy Chase manipulates a guy he knocked to use a taxi. I love the way the CIA guys do every mistake possible (acting as treaters and villains) or the way Nick Halloway tries hard to have a quiet and normal life - no invisible man had wished that before, I think. It is definitely not a great movie and even not the average John Carpenter movie, but it still is fun. The french-subbed dialogs are very funny, I don't know how accurate they are to the original dialogs.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Consummate craftsmanship..., 14 June 2009

Author: poe426 from USA

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

One of the many things that distinguishes John Carpenter's movies from many others is his consummate craftsmanship. To wit: MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN. Chevy Chase plays it straight (more or less) for once and Carpenter crafts yet another in a long line of memorable movies. (In fact, one would be hard-put to cite another director with half as impressive a resume.) Carpenter is as capable in any genre as any of the past masters- and, quite often (as MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN makes clear), he outshines them one and all. Hyperbole? Hardly: take a look at his credits. Or the movies themselves. I was there, in a crowded theater, the day this one opened and its subsequent box office disappointment was mystifying: everyone seemed to "get it" from beginning to end and, as we filed out, people were chatting enthusiastically about what we'd seen. There are filmmakers whose movies do big box office, and then there are filmmakers whose movies stand the test of Time. Carpenter's movies will outlive us all.

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