Alchemy (2005)

Absent-minded professor Malcolm Downey has just invented the sure thing that will lead to the academic easy street of tenure: a computer that can register human emotions.

Director:

Evan Oppenheimer

Writer:

Evan Oppenheimer

Stars:

Michael Ian Black, Tom Cavanagh, Sarah Chalke

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Ian Black	...	Jerry (voice)
Tom Cavanagh	...	Mal Downey
Sarah Chalke	...	Samantha Rose
James Barbour	...	Dr. Troy Rollins
Illeana Douglas	...	KJ
Nadia Dajani	...	Jane
Logan Marshall-Green	...	Martin
Wil Horneff	...	Dave (as Will Horneff)
Celeste Holm	...	Iris
Shannon McGinnis	...	Barbara
Anna Belknap	...	Marissa
Tovah Feldshuh	...	Senior Editor
Daphne Rubin-Vega	...	Belladonna Editor
Susan Misner	...	Associate Editor
Erik Palladino	...	Groom

Storyline

Mal is a New York computer scientist about to lose his university job. He posits that a woman can fall in love with a responsive computer program as easily as with a real man. He finds a subject for the experiment, not telling her what's actually going on. She's Samantha, an actress, and a he finds a rival who calls himself Dr. Love. A women's magazine wants to report the story, but its editor changes the game, insisting that Mal dress up like "Jerry," the personality the computer creates, wear an earpiece, and spout the computer's words. Samantha plays along until her feelings for both "Jerry" and Dr. Love get serious. What's a scientist to do when his hypotheses goes awry?

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Plot Keywords:

women's magazine | computer | university | computer scientist | rival | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

The opening of the film shows a group of students interacting with the computer, and one girl laughs when the computer says, "The Aristocrats!" That is the punch line to a famous, dirty joke that reportedly was Johnny Carson's favorite joke and was the subject of the Penn Jillette documentary The Aristocrats (2005).

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Crazy Credits

One of the additional set P.A.'s is "Mike the PA"

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Connections

References Electric Dreams (1984)

User Reviews

Not as bad as everyone is playing it to be.

I happened to enjoy this flick. Although the plot-line was somewhat predictable, it's still good for some laughs. Tom is probably one of the best actors in his time and I think the character he had to portray in this movie fit him perfectly. Some may say that the movie looks like it was recorded from a TV show but come on, not every film maker can get the funding that some movies like Titanic and Troy and Lord of The Rings got. I think that we are all too used to the exaggeration of love. Chick flicks like "Serendipity" (I still love that movie but it's true) and adaptations of different Shakespeare pieces like "10 Things I Hate About You"... while they're excellent movies, their portrayal of love is mostly fictitious. I think this movie is somewhat refreshing. It simplifies the matter of love. Love can be too complicated some times and these fictitious movies fuel that complication. Sometimes you just need to sit back, relax and enjoy a movie that's simple. I think that is exactly what Alchemy is.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 April 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Love Is...

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Black Sand Pictures, Enlightenment Productions, Alchemy Productions LLC

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1