Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde (1995)

User Rating:

4.2/10   

Director:

David Price

Writers (WGA):

David Price (story)
Tim John (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 August 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Romance

Tagline:

A comedy about an experiment that got WAY OUT of control!

Plot:

In New York in 1995 Dr. Richard Jacks is a creator of perfumes. Thus he spends his days inventing new...

Plot Keywords:

Scientist | Perfume | Spoof | Treachery | Transformation

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Sean Young	...	Helen Hyde
Tim Daly	...	Dr. Richard Jacks
Lysette Anthony	...	Sarah Carver
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Oliver Mintz
Harvey Fierstein	...	Yves DuBois
Thea Vidale	...	Valerie
Jeremy Piven	...	Pete Walston
Polly Bergen	...	Mrs. Unterveldt
Stephen Shellen	...	Larry
Sheena Larkin	...	Mrs. Mintz
John Franklyn-Robbins	...	Prof. Manning
Aron Tager	...	Lawyer
Jane Connell	...	Aunt Agatha
Julie Cobb	...	DuBois' Psychiatrist
Kim Morgan Greene	...	Paparazzi Lady / Party Lady

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude sex-related scenes and humor, nudity and brief strong language.

Runtime:

Argentina:90 min | Spain:89 min | USA:90 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #33684) | Iceland:L | Netherlands:6 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Spain:13 | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Rank Organisation, The

Trivia:

Sean Young was pregnant during the filming.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In several scenes we see Richard walking into a room wearing women's clothing having just transformed back from Helen. None of the clothes in any of the scenes have torn or been even slightly stretched, a seeming impossibility given the difference in size between Richard and Helen.

Quotes:

Helen Hyde: Are you just gonna stand there and stare at me or are you gonna hand me that towel?
Pete Walston: I'm gonna stand here and stare at you.

Movie Connections:

Features Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920/I)

Nowhere near as bad as they said it was

I was pretty impressed with the movie, considering it was on almost every critic's Top 10 Worst List the year it came out and did poorly at the box office. It's certainly not a first-class comedy, but it made me laugh. Many of the gags are predictable, but even predictable gags can work at times. In one funny scene, Tim Daly writes on his naked body that he slept with his two male bosses, expecting that he was going to morph into Sean Young at a certain time, the executives would see her and her reputation would be ruined. But he doesn't morph into her, the execs walk in, and he's totally humiliated. An undeniably cheap gag, but funny nonetheless. The cast is good. Tim Daly, despite his experience with comedy on the hit sitcom "Wings," is an unusual choice for this comic lead, but his low-key approach works. I read in the trivia that Jim Carrey was originally going to take on the role. I think if Carrey were to play the role, he would've hammed it up to the extreme, unlike Daly who does a fine job at keeping a straight face in each ridiculous situation. Jeremy Piven is almost always amusing, and he steals the show in the few scenes he's in. Though Sean Young's career has faded lately, she's by no means a no-talent. Not to mention she's quite easy on the eyes. Harvey Fierstein is hilarious as a gay man who suddenly starts having feelings for women, once he meets Ms. Hyde. One thing's for sure: You will never see another movie where Fierstein's in bed, having a post-coital cigarette with a woman. My only minor criticism is that the low production values are pretty obvious. And this is yet another movie that is set in New York, yet doesn't even make an attempt to disguise the fact that it was shot in Canada. Showing establishing shots of the Manhattan skyline just helps prove that it wasn't set in NY.