Frankenstein General Hospital

I thought that Mark Blankfield was fairly amusing in horror comedy Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again (1982), but in Frankenstein General Hospital he provides about as much laughs as a children's oncology ward.

A blatant attempt at trying to mimic the madcap humour of Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein, this woeful medical mess is really hard going: Blankfield is no Gene Wilder, director Deborah Sahagun is no Brooks, and writers Robert Deel and Michael Kelly clearly recognised their lack of talent soon after and gave up the film biz.

The film sees Dr. Bob Frankenstein (Blankfield), great-great-grandson of the legendary monster-maker, continuing his ancestor's experiments in the basement of a general hospital, which provides all of the necessary equipment and body parts; aiding him in his work is his diminutive loyal assistant Iggy (Leslie Jordan). The pair continuously run the risk of being discovered by hospital boss Dr. Frank Reutgar, who wants to find out what Bob's 'secret experiment' (cue godawful running gag) is all about.

I can honestly say that I never laughed once, but I groaned more than someone with a ruptured appendix. All of the jokes flat-line; there's no injecting any life into the movie, no matter how hard the cast try. To rub salt in the wound, just when I thought the film was over, it turns out that it's not quite the end: jeez, haven't we suffered enough?

Oh well, at least there's three hot women on duty to help ease the pain, two of whom go topless for their art (including Playboy Playmate Kathy Shower).

It's alive! Not quite. Frankenstein is an often used tale. Sometimes it hit's the spot, other times it's a flat-line. "Frankenstein General Hospital" is more the latter with it taking the old age mad doctor story and setting it in modern times.

The great, great, great grandson of Baron Victor Frankenstein works under an assumed name in a general hospital. In a secret laboratory in the hospital basement he is recreating his famous ancestor's life- creating experiment.

It's goofy, low-brow and dumb comedy horror that's really on the cheap. A clever technique used is when the action is staged in the basement laboratory it's done in black-and-white. But what really kills it is its loathsome nature and mocking humour. It tries too hard for laughs that it becomes tired and unfunny with it using the same running gag over and over again. *Cue laughter*. Sure it did have its moments, just not enough with its witless script simply meandering. The farcical plot is episodic and self-knowing with it being strung along by clumsy and noisy slapstick set-pieces. The monster really doesn't come into play until the dying stages when it goes on the rampage in the hospital.

The dramatic comical performances fare up a little better with Mark Blankfield's dry, straight-up turn as Bob Frankenstein and Leslie Jordan's twitchy Igor-like character ("Who's that tiny man"?!). The combination between the two works. Jonathan Farwell is amusing, so are Kathy Shower's dominatrix doctor and Irwin Keyes in the monster role. Also showing up in minor support is Hamilton Mitchell, Lou Catell and Katie Caple in few memorable encounters with doctors.

"Everyone spoils their first monster".

Yes, this movie is stupid. It is stupid in a special kind of way, however. A sort of dry, later 1980s "Night Court" inspired stupidity that can often work if you are stoned, tired, bored, or in need of a life. I was tired and maybe a bit stoned, but honestly, after about a half an hour of one of the most obnoxious set-up periods for a horror/comedy satire/parody I have seen this actually became painless, and at times even somewhat enjoyable.

The opening passage is atrocious: I'd say maybe fast-forward to about the 10 minute mark on your first time through. It took me two watches to "get" the movie's sense of humor, though the insight I had on the second perusal is that the opening 10 minutes were SO annoying that they stilted my perceptions of the remainder of the film. Familiar 80s/90s TV & bit movie actor Mark Blankfield -- perhaps best known in the worst kind of way for his lead role in the made-for-TV abomination THE JERK, TOO -- plays yuppie doctor Robert Frankenstein, director of a TV sitcom hospital populated by people like Ben Stein, sexy redhead sexpot nurse Katie Caple (who's elevator scene steals the show) and former Playboy Playmate of the Year Kathy Shower. Right.

Ms. Shower is actually the 2nd most interesting thing in the script, playing a high-heeled glasses wearing psychiatrist hot mom type who is also a practicing dominatrix. I take it I have your attention now. The most interesting thing in the film, though, is Irwin Keyes' "Monster", who's idea of going on a rampage consists of swiping a punk's leather jacket and boombox & cruising the halls of the hospital looking for things to knock over, starting with Kathy Shower who it turns out was looking for just such a man all her life. What's even more fascinating is that Mr. Keyes appears to be playing the Frankenstein monster without any special makeup effects other than some eye shadow & greasepaint stitchmarks. He came looking like that, kudos to the casting director at any rate.

Like I said, this movie has something to it. The people who made it weren't stupid, though in spite of the movies dry sense of humor the word subtlety was not in their vocabulary. The film "looks" stupid, or was rather crafted to appear stupid on initial glance. The second time through you start to realize that Dr. Frankenstein is sort of on his own wavelength; he seems to look through people when he's talking to them, and while he doesn't have any truly memorable one-liners a lot of what he has to say is genuinely amusing. The side antics like his twisted little Igor type Iggy I could have done without, however, and the mixture of some genuinely R-rated nudity & fake gore juxtaposed against the adolescent, pin-headed humor is offbeat.

One other contributor did sum it up best, however, when stating that hospitals are not that funny once you get down to it. My guess is that the producers were more interested in updating the Frankenstein mythology without appearing to mimic YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, which isn't easy. Mel Brooks' superior parody got it's foot in the cement first so any subsequent film sending up Frankenstein will inevitably draw unfavorable comparison. I wouldn't even go so far as to say that this is an updating of those ideas for a late 1980s television comedy mindset, more a sort of quirky, half-throwaway project that appears to be too stupid for it's own good.

Until the girls rip their nurses costumes off, that is. Funny how important an element is to a movie like this, cos otherwise there really is no reason to bother with it when the whole Frankenstein movie tradition itself is so absurd as to be hilarious without any embellishments. Take any one of the Hammer Frankenstein films with Peter Cushing and watch it in a MST3K kind of environment and you'll find three times as much to laugh at, if you bother to think about how silly they all really are. If you can't, try this movie. It isn't very good but then again if you are looking to Frankenstein for your comedy you probably deserve whatever you get.

5/10, which is admittedly generous but it made me laugh; Try it on a double bill with the equally obscure DR. HACKENSTEIN.

This is a comedy movie about Frankenstein. So comedies about Frankenstein are very funny. Like Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein and Young Frankenstein. Young Frankenstein is the movie that probably influenced this movie. Unlike Young Frankenstein this movie is not funny at all. There are to many comedy is movies that are not funny. I would say that 95% of all comedy movie are not funny. And this is one of that 95%. If a Frankenstein movie it not going to be funny than is should be scary. This movie is not scary. Mind it is not met to be it met to funny. It' not. Don't wast your money. This movie as awful story line. There best joke were the ones they took from Young Frankenstein. And there were worst jokes in Young Frankenstein. And the acting is awful.

This feels like an indirect sequel to Jekyll & Hyde...Together Again(1982). It's similar that they both star Mark Blankfield and take place mostly in a hospital setting. This feels alot like Jekyll but with less drug humor and more sex humor. Some genuine light horror scenes,and some scenes are very hilarious. Love the appearance of the actress Bunky Jones,she is my favorite B-movie horror actress I think. The low budget is the only thing that hurts this,otherwise a really underrated late 80's comedy!