Man of the Century (1999)

Fantasy-comedy about a young man who lives as if it is 1928 or so, and his encounters with modern-day women and modern-day criminals.

Director:

Adam Abraham

Writers:

Adam Abraham, Gibson Frazier

Stars:

Gibson Frazier, Cara Buono, Ian Edwards

5 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gibson Frazier	...	Johnny Twennies
Cara Buono	...	Virginia Clemens
Ian Edwards	...	Clarence
Brian Davies	...	Victor Young
Susan Egan	...	Samantha Winter
Yul Vazquez	...	Brooding Artist
Dwight Ewell	...	Richard Lancaster
Brian Kite	...	Messenger
David Margulies	...	Mr. Meyerscholtz
Anthony Rapp	...	Timothy Burns
Alfred Hyslop	...	Public Official
David Anzuelo	...	Degenerate
Sean Patrick Reilly	...	Reporter
Alan Davidson	...	Tyrus
Kevin Weisman	...	Squibb

Storyline

Johnny Twennies, a newspaper columnist in present-day New York, is a jauntily cheerful, very friendly, totally honest and upstanding young man who happens to be completely oblivious to any technological or social changes in the past 70 years. He routinely uses telegrams, a manual typewriter, and a manual toaster, and to the pleasure and despair of his girlfriend conducts his personal life in correspondingly anachronistic style. One day he's threatened by criminals who want to plant a false news story. But they've never met anyone like him before...

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Plot Keywords:

typewriter | telegram | newspaper | reference to eliot spitzer | reference to houdini | 

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Taglines:

He's Yesterday's Answer To Today's World.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Former Official site for the film - site no longer active. [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

Italian Chinese English

Release Date:

24 January 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Johnny Twennies

Filming Locations:

Soho Pharmacy - 3 Walker Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,724, 31 October 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$33,031, 14 November 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jubilee Pictures Corporation, Sun-Telegram Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Feature film debut of Ian Edwards, who portrays Clarence.

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Goofs

Johnny promises his editor that he will scoop the Journal American. Johnny's character is set in the 1920s, but the New York Journal American, a Hearst newspaper, did not exist until 1937, after the merger of two Hearst newspapers, the New York Journal, and the New York American.

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Quotes

Johnny Twennies: Oh, I see. You think the world owes you a living. Well you fell for that one, hook, line and sinker.

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Connections

References The Maltese Falcon (1941)

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Soundtracks

Vesti la giubba
from 'Pagliacci"
Written by Ruggero Leoncavallo
Performed by Frank Gorshin

User Reviews

A New Cult Classic

I chanced to see this on a Blockbuster shelf and in the dearth of anything else worth seeing, decided to take a chance. How glad I am! This is the funniest movie I've seen in years. In spite of being the original tightwad, I've ordered the DVD and have even sent one to my son whose humor runs in the same crooked gully as mine. The gimmick of a living anachronism is a powerful one indeed but to someone like myself who was raised on reporter movies of the 20s, who saw Cagney, Raft and Powell play these kinds of roles, using the same slang and expressions, now so out of date, I literally howled with delight. The acting is wonderful. As one reviewer here noted, everyone seemed to be having a delightful time. The film is just great, from the scratchy opening credits to the final scenes. Also, if you get the DVD, be sure and check out the reference section and scene set-up after the film is over. They are just delightful. Plot? What plot? The story is an eternal one: Virtuous young man in the face of chaos struggles to maintain the fabric of order in a basically disorderly universe while falling in love and being too virtuously shy to declare his feelings to the girl he loves, beating up bad guys and defending the honor of helpless young women and, revealing to the world the archvillain at the root of the evil in the empire. And, he does it all without getting dirty, mussed or messed up and losing sight of his goal. Wow. Get this. See it. Share it. It's just too damn good to miss. You'll be glad you did, kiddo.