Diario de un hombre invisible

My Take: It' ain't great, but its funny and interesting, and packed with wildly imaginative special effects.

Part-Hitchcockian manhunt thriller, part-James Whale and part-screwball special effects comedy, John Carpenter's 1992 misunderstood MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN is a delightful although not entirely great comedy. Or was it really meant to be a comedy? Although it's obviously a Chevy Chase vehicle pumped up by (for-the-time) groundbreaking special effects. But was it really a comedy? John Carpenter refuses to tell us exactly what the identity of, not the character, bu the movie. It was both a thriller, a comedy and a love story at the same time. And, although Carpenter wasn't able to balance all three genres together and make them mesh together completely, he does provide an interesting and skillfully-made little film. The special effects are dated compared to today's standards (By the following year, these kind of special effects would be extinct and would make way for CGI with JURASSIC PARK) but they are still quite convincing at some scenes. As a matter of fact, they're actually quite funny in some scenes (The scene where Chase sees the food he just ate digesting was pretty hilarious). The performances are decent at best, with Sam Niell in fine form as the antagonist, a ruthless undercover agent, and Daryll Hannah as a fine damsel-in-distress. Chase is pretty good too, although due to his comedic screen presence, it's quite hard to take him seriously during his scenes that are meant to be serious.

Although flawed, MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN is a skillfully-paced and hilarious film. It might be an overstatement to say Carpenter was in control here, but no one can say he didn't at least do a passable job.

Rating: *** out of 5.

Nick Holloway (Chevy Chase) is a self-centered businessman who, somehow, ends up in a scientific experiment gone awry. As the sole inhabitant of a building at the wrong time, Nick is rendered invisible by a glitch in a research project. Almost immediately, he is tracked by a nefarious government agent (Sam Neill) who insists that Nick become part of the United States spy program...or else. Yet, Nick is clever and manages to escape, time and again. At last, Nick takes refuge at an empty summer house on the California coast, where he orders the delivery of groceries and tries to plan his next move. Visitors arrive unexpectedly, and one of them is a beautiful woman named Alice (Darryl Hannah), whom Nick has romanced before. Can Nick somehow communicate to Alice his troubles and garner her help? This is just one of those "nice little films" that can entertain in a big way for an evening. Chase is terrific, Hannah is beautiful, and Neill looks like he is having a ball as the designated bad guy. The rest of the cast, although unknown, are a complete joy as well. The sets are very special, including the city of San Francisco and the lovely-beyond-compare summer house on the coast. Costumes are likewise very fine, with Hannah looking like a dream most of the time. As for the production values, they are top notch but, the film does pose some problems. Chase is the star, therefore, he can't be "invisible" all of the time. Very often, the viewer sees Chase, but if a mirror or window is nearby, the reflection shows us nothing...except a toothbrush or a hat, for example. The end result is an inconsistency in the realm of invisibility but, in truth, it doesn't matter, not really. For those who love amusing films, with intrigue, romance and funny characters, this is a movie to consider. Although the flick is totally unassuming, it delivers a "good show" for almost any audience out there.

One of the best points of this movie is what it seriously would be like to be invisible. I'm sure everyone, at least once in their life, has wanted to be invisible, but how few of us really thought about the negative side effects? This movie shows them. Nick (played by Chevy Chase, whose great in a serious role,) gets turned invisible in a lab accident. As soon as the CIA find out about this, they stop at nothing to obtain him. And if they can't have them, no one can (including himself.) Although the film has a large amount of funny parts and an overall light tone, it isn't necessarily a comedy. There is a serious over tone to it that makes it very interesting as well as funny and can be enjoyed almost purely for it's story line and insight on what it would really be like to be invisible. Definitely worth a look for anyone who's up for a good movie.

Eventually there comes a time when actors who usually specialize in comedy decide that, for at least once, they'd like to be taken seriously. And so it goes with this Chevy Chase vehicle in which he largely plays it straight. He's cast as Nick Halloway, a securities analyst who is rendered invisible after a freak accident at a laboratory. This makes things difficult as he attempts to romance a documentarian (a radiant Daryl Hannah) whom he's just met, and tries to avoid a sneaky Federal agent (an appropriately smarmy Sam Neill) who wants to exploit Nicks' situation.

At the least, "Memoirs of an Invisible Man" offers an interesting look at a person who has to accept invisibility as a fact of life. In addition to the benefits of not being visible, he must deal with the realities. For example, HE may be invisible, but the food and drink he ingests won't be as they enter his system. All the spy stuff is pretty standard-issue, and one has to presume that the source novel by H.F. Saint was somewhat more nuanced.

Still, this is reasonably entertaining. It was clearly just work for hire for the celebrated veteran director John Carpenter; because it's among the least "Carpenter-esque" of his filmography, it may not be very satisfying to his fans.

Chase is very earnest. You have to respect his restraint; at no time do you get the indication that he wants to crack wise. Hannah is appealing and of course gorgeous. Neill is an effective villain, although he doesn't really try to suppress his natural Kiwi accent for the role. Familiar faces like Michael McKean, Stephen Tobolowsky, Patricia Heaton, Donald Li (From JC's "Big Trouble in Little China"), Rosalind Chao, and Sam Anderson also turn up. JC himself has a cameo late in the picture as a helicopter pilot (billed as "Rip Haight").

But the real stars of the movie are undoubtedly the visual effects team at ILM. If a viewer is otherwise bored with this, they can't deny that the invisibility gags are effective.

Overall, good for some chuckles and thrills.

Six out of 10.

There are some interesting lessons to learn from this film....not that any of us will ever get to learn this since we'd have to be able to turn invisible. However, when we think about all the fun we could have being invisible, we don't think of all the problems it would cause us. This movie brings some of those to light, so to speak.

I enjoyed Chevy Chase and Daryl Hannah in here and I am not fans of either of them. Chase is funny in this film and does an outstanding job playing the role not just with humor but drama, romance and suspense. You get all of that in this movie. Hannah provides the beautiful face and someone for Chevy to chase.

This is another PG-13 movie that really should have been rated R with the language, for one thing. Overall, it's a film whose title may sound hokey but the story is done well. It''s actually though-provoking. Being invisible would not be all fun and games.