The Man with Two Brains

What ever happened to Steve Martin's talent? In the name of becoming a Hollywood "Player", Mr. Martin sold his soul to the suits in the business and thereby squandered his true talent: wacky, irreverent comedy. The fact that "The Man with Two Brains" didn't do well at the box office probably made the studio heads decide that Martin's talents were not selling. Mr. Martin therefore may have panicked in some way and decided to "sell-out" and do the dreadful treacle that he did later and keeps on doing like "Parenthood", "Roxanne" (a particularly pretentious entry of his), "Leap of Faith" (the most blatant of of bids for the ridiculously overrated "Oscar") and the forthcoming (as of this writing) "Cheaper by the Dozen". In "The Man With Two Brains", Steve Martin is so on target in virtually all his scenes that the movie becomes truly inspired. Like the great Marx Brothers' movies of the early to mid 30's, he creates a universe all his own. The movie has it's own unique rhythms and is consistent throughout. He and the rest of the great cast never get sentimental. They keep the whole thing amazingly light and truly (God forgive me for using this word, but it applies )Zany. The entire cast has to be noted for keeping up with Steve Martin including Kathleen Turner giving a great comic-villanous performance, Sissy Spacek as the voice of his beloved "brain" complete with a bizarre name and, most notably popping up COMPLETELY unexepectedly, MERV GRIFFIN! His entrance into the movie simply pushes the whole thing into comic overdrive. There's a number of great comic set pieces and almost all of them work brilliantly. My favorite has to be Martin's meeting up with a knockout blond prostitute. Let's just say that she's got a great body but her voice is....well, just wait and see. A truly great comedy from a man who could've been one of the great enduring comic geniuses of our time but who instead sold out and lost his calling. A tragedy...