Doing an exaggeration of his druggist character on TVs' 'Fridays' series, comic actor Mark Blankfield does a very funny job at portraying these two classic characters. Dr. Daniel Jekyll is a surgeon who wants to get out of that line of work and do pure research. He's engaged to the materialistic daughter (Bess Armstrong) of his boss (Michael McGuire). But one of his experiments goes seriously awry, and he's transformed into the garish, swaggering Mr. Hyde, a sex fiend who would rather be a total 80s party animal than terrorize the public. Naturally, Daniel is stressed out when these transformations become fairly frequent.
It's certainly true that this raunchy, ridiculous spoof often traffics in cheap 'n' easy drug and sex jokes for the sake of laughs. But unless you prefer your comedies to be much more subtle and highbrow, this *does* show people a pretty good time. Granted, it can be hit or miss with its gags. It starts strong, and its first and final thirds are the best. It marked the theatrical directing debut for veteran comedy writer Jerry Belson (one of the four credited screenwriters here), who gives this great pace & energy. And even if it is overly silly and childish at times, this viewer really didn't mind all that much. At the very least, this is not bland or boring.
Blankfield is a hoot, especially when he's playing Hyde (not that that comes as a shock). He's well supported by a rich variety of familiar faces. Armstrong and the pretty, feisty Krista Errickson are fine eye candy as the two women in Jekyll & Hydes' lives. At first, the movie would seem to be an egregious waste of the great Tim Thomerson, but he does contribute some good, funny moments of his own in the movies' second half. A bunch of familiar performers have supporting roles and bits: Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson (the nurse whose breasts threaten to burst out of her costume), Peter Brocco, Liz Sheridan, George Wendt, Michael Ensign, John Dennis Johnston, Tony Cox, Art LaFleur, and Lin Shaye. George Chakiris appears briefly as himself.
In the end, it's hard (at least for this viewer) not to have SOME respect for a movie that ADMITS that it's an abomination of the concept created many years ago by Robert Louis Stevenson. The final gag is proof of this. And that theme song is so damn catchy.
Seven out of 10.
