Senseless (1998)

A student gets his senses enhanced by an experimental drug. But abuse is not an option.

Director:

Penelope Spheeris

Writers:

Greg Erb, Craig Mazin

Stars:

Marlon Wayans, Brad Dourif, Esther Scott

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marlon Wayans	...	Darryl Witherspoon
Brad Dourif	...	Dr. Wheedon
Esther Scott	...	Denise Witherspoon
Debra Jo Rupp	...	Fertility Clinic Attendant
Mark Christopher Lawrence	...	Wig Shop Owner
Matthew Lillard	...	Tim LaFlour
David Spade	...	Scott Thorpe
Tamara Taylor	...	Janice
John Ingle	...	Economics Professor
Rip Torn	...	Randall Tyson
Ernie Lively	...	Coach Brandau
Jenette Goldstein	...	Nurse Alvarez
Kenya Moore	...	Lorraine
Constance Zimmer	...	Zestfully Clean Woman
Ken Lerner	...	Dean Barlow

Storyline

Darryl Witherspoon is a young black college student who wants to win annual junior analyst competition, which can land him a job in a big brokerage company. He becomes a guinea pig for the drug developed at the college which is promised to heighten all senses by ten times.

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Plot Keywords:

college | drugs | medical experiment | business | sensory deprivation | 

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Taglines:

A secret experiment gave him super senses. Then came the side-effects.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexual content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 February 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Az érzékek borzadalma

Filming Locations:

Royce Hall - 340 Royce Drive, UCLA, Westwood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$5,337,651 (USA) (20 February 1998)

Gross:

$13,035,599 (USA) (8 May 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dimension Films, Mandeville Films, Gold/Miller Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the scene where Matthew Lillard's character thinks that Darryl has suffered an over dose, his friends that follow him in the room suggest that he needs a shot of adrenaline to the heart. This is a reference to _Pulp Fiction (1993)_ where Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) suffers an overdose and is given a shot of adrenaline to restart her heart. (Side note: this method would not actually work if someone suffered an actual overdose)

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Goofs

When Darryl is in the clothing store he is supposedly nude, but in the close shots you can see he is wearing black underpants.

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Quotes

Tim LaFlour: You may not have faith in fate but, my man, fate has faith in you.

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Connections

Spoofs The Jeffersons (1975)

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Soundtracks

"The Unexplained"
Written by A. Berkeley and A. Hamilton
Performed by Gravediggaz
Published by Ancient Entitles/PolyGram International Publishing, Inc. (ASCAP) and Black Lordz Publishing/Songs of PolyGram International,
Inc. (BMI)
Courtesy of Gee Street Records

User Reviews

Very funny and also touching

Darryl Witherspoon is a senior economics major whose mother has been raising several children on her own in a bad section of New York City. He is very bright and has a good chance of getting out of that neighborhood. But he has bills to pay and may get kicked out of the apartment he shares with hockey player Tim.

Darryl has a good chance at being the one junior analyst hired that year by the prestigious Wall Street firm Smythe-Bates. But his competition includes Scott Thorpe, whose father works for the firm. Scott belongs to the fraternity Darryl wants to join, and he thinks he is better than everyone else and that Darryl isn't good enough to be one of them. Darryl also can't make it as a hockey player.

Impressing Smythe-Bates becomes less of a priority as Darryl looks for work just to keep his apartment. The university is testing an experimental drug which heightens the five senses. Despite the potential side effects, Darryl is determined to do whatever it takes to make the money he needs. One possible problem with the drug he is not told about: at too high a dosage, one of the five senses shuts down, followed by another, and another. It's not possible to predict which of the senses will go or when, but you can bet this will happen at the worst possible time.

Darryl also wants to meet girls, and Janice is attractive, pleasant and intelligent. Can he win her love? Can he find a way to impress Smythe-Bates?

This was very funny. I liked the concept--as in "Smallville", a shiny green liquid can give an ordinary person super powers, and it can also cause all sorts of trouble.

But the movie wasn't just funny. The romantic scenes were also warm and touching.

The writing was quite intelligent. Someone must have known how Wall Street operates and the economic principles that guide the financial industry.

I'm surprised we haven't heard more from Marlon Wayans. Although he seemed like a silly clown at times, he really demonstrated comic abilities when Darryl struggled with the drug's problems. And he showed superior talent for both comedy and drama when the drug did what it was supposed to do.

David Spade was somewhat less of a loser here than he usually is. He excels at playing jerk loser characters, but Scott had more dimension than the usual Spade type.

Richard McDonagle was quite good as one of the top men at Smythe-Bates. And Tamara Taylor impressed as Janice. Esther Scott had a brief but effective performance as Darryl's determined mother.

This was really worth seeing. Don't be misled by the title.