The Man with Two Brains (1983)

A brain surgeon marries a femme fatale, causing his life to turn upside down. Things go more awry when he falls in love with a talking brain.

Director:

Carl Reiner

Writers:

George Gipe, Steve Martin

Stars:

Steve Martin, Kathleen Turner, David Warner

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Martin	...	Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr
Kathleen Turner	...	Dolores Benedict
David Warner	...	Dr. Alfred Necessiter
Paul Benedict	...	Butler
Richard Brestoff	...	Dr. Pasteur
James Cromwell	...	Realtor
George Furth	...	Timon
Peter Hobbs	...	Dr. Brandon
Earl Boen	...	Dr. Felix Conrad
Bernie Hern	...	Gun Seller
Francis X. McCarthy	...	Olsen (as Frank McCarthy)
William Traylor	...	Inspector
Randi Brooks	...	Fran
Bernard Behrens	...	James Gladstone
Russell Orozco	...	Juan

Storyline

Recently widowed Doctor Michael Hfuhruhurr, the world's greatest neurosurgeon, injures Dolores Benedict in a car accident. He operates on her and saves her life using a technique of his own invention: cranial screw-top brain entry. As Benedict recovers, Hfuhruhurr falls in love with her and they are soon married. However, Benedict is only interested in Hfuhruhurr's money and Hfuhruhurr still yearns for his previous wife. They travel to Vienna to attend a medical conference where Hfuhruhurr finally divorces Dolores, meets a mysterious Doctor Alfred Necessiter and becomes entangled in a series of murders committed by The Elevator Killer.

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Plot Keywords:

brain | serial killer | female frontal nudity | prostitute | brain transplant | 

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Taglines:

DANGER: HEALTH WARNING: Watching This Movie May Cause Severe Brain Damage

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kathleen Turner's character Dolores Benedict was a play on her screen persona from her then recent performance as "femme fatale" Matty Walker in Lawrence Kasdan's film noir thriller Body Heat (1981). This film was only Turner's second movie.

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Goofs

The painting is torn before the cat scratches it.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr: [in surgery] Check the art line. You're hyperventilating the patient.
Anaestheseologist: No doctor.
Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr: Ready the bone wax. Metzenbaum scissors.
Surgery Nurse: Metzenbaum scissors.
Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr: [meowing] Get that cat out of here.
Anaestheseologist: Yes sir.
Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr: Ready to close. Remove the Wietlander Retractor.
Surgery Nurse: Pre-closure doctor.
Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr: Remove the rating clip, for God's sake!

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Crazy Credits

At the end is shown: Merv Griffin did not turn himself in and is at large. If you have any information as to his whereabouts, call your local theatre manager

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Alternate Versions

The VHS version is missing the scene where the realtor is leading Michael around the cottage with Ann in the cat carrier, and he's repeating everything the realtor says so Ann will know what is being said.

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Connections

Referenced in L.A. Story (1991)

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Soundtracks

Under the Bamboo Tree
(uncredited)
Music by James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson
Lyrics by Bob Cole
Performed by Steve Martin and Sissy Spacek

User Reviews

Murmur!

Policeman: "That woman's not drunk, she's dead!" Dr Michael Hfuhruhurr: "Oh, i better get her to a cemetary right away!"

Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr: The only time we doctors should accept death is when it's caused by our own incompetence.

Shameless madcap farce from Director Carl Reiner (The Jerk, All of Me, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, That Old Feeling) is part romance melodrama, part sex comedy, part thriller, part medical drama, and all silliness. Yet it uses this silliness to touch on a fairly risque philosophical issue - what exactly makes us human? Kathleen Turner is in temptress mode as Martin's new wife who lives to torment men, and forces Martin to seek comfort elsewhere... with a brain in a jar!

Anne Uumellmahaye: I don't think there's a girl floating in a jar anywhere who's as happy as I am.

You have to admire the over-the-top and on-the-edge comedy pairing of Reiner and Martin which produces genuine hilarity, letting-loose fun and general enjoyment for a nice friday night hour and a half (good length too!).

Two thumbs way-up!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 June 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Man with Two Brains

Filming Locations:

Castle Green Apartments - 99 S. Raymond, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,498,931, 5 June 1983

Gross USA:

$10,353,438

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,353,438

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aspen Film Society, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1