Dr. Jekyll & Miss Hyde

The seventies Hammer Horror film, Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde, took the ridiculous idea of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll accidentally turning himself into a woman and ended up making a brilliant horror film out of it - David Price's film, on the other hand, takes the same idea, pretty much ditches the horror and spins it into a worthless comedy. I really wish I'd watched the Hammer film again instead of wasting my time on this garbage, but unfortunately, it's too late now. Robert Louis Stevenson would probably turn in his grave if he knew what had become of his classic story, and I wouldn't blame him for it. This film mixes gag based comedy very loosely with horror, and Dr Jekyll and Ms Hyde is, basically, just an excuse for having Timothy Daly get himself into all manner of embarrassing situations. At best, it's only ever moderately amusing. Daly plays scientist Richard Jacks; a perfume creator. One day he discovers that his grandfather was Dr Jekyll, and so sets about dabbling in his experiments; however, he soon regrets it when his alter ego, Helen Hyde, is created.

The film loosely mixes in themes of the difference between men and women both personally and career-wise into the plot; but these themes are only ever half baked, and feel as though they've been incorporated by accident due to the plot rather than because the film has anything to say. The acting is your typical over the top comedy stuff, with Timothy Daly taking the lead role. In fairness, he approaches his role with relish and is actually quite good, despite his silly voice-overs. Sean Young gets the role of his alter-ego and sleepwalks through the film, while the shining light where the cast is concerned comes from Lysette Anthony's corner. Not because of a great performance; but she is nice to look at. Comedic support from Stephen Tobolowsky, Harvey Fierstein and Jeremy Piven gives the film most of its gags, but most of them aren't funny. The way that the plot moves is largely annoying, and director David Price seems to like focusing on an object, and then cutting to the next scene. The plot is basically a series of situations, which does nothing to draw you into it; and it's not long before the film becomes monotonous. I don't recommend this crap at all, but if you like watching films where Dr Jekyll turns himself into a woman; there's always the Hammer Horror flick.

I was pretty impressed with the movie, considering it was on almost every critic's Top 10 Worst List the year it came out and did poorly at the box office. It's certainly not a first-class comedy, but it made me laugh. Many of the gags are predictable, but even predictable gags can work at times. In one funny scene, Tim Daly writes on his naked body that he slept with his two male bosses, expecting that he was going to morph into Sean Young at a certain time, the executives would see her and her reputation would be ruined. But he doesn't morph into her, the execs walk in, and he's totally humiliated. An undeniably cheap gag, but funny nonetheless. The cast is good. Tim Daly, despite his experience with comedy on the hit sitcom "Wings," is an unusual choice for this comic lead, but his low-key approach works. I read in the trivia that Jim Carrey was originally going to take on the role. I think if Carrey were to play the role, he would've hammed it up to the extreme, unlike Daly who does a fine job at keeping a straight face in each ridiculous situation. Jeremy Piven is almost always amusing, and he steals the show in the few scenes he's in. Though Sean Young's career has faded lately, she's by no means a no-talent. Not to mention she's quite easy on the eyes. Harvey Fierstein is hilarious as a gay man who suddenly starts having feelings for women, once he meets Ms. Hyde. One thing's for sure: You will never see another movie where Fierstein's in bed, having a post-coital cigarette with a woman. My only minor criticism is that the low production values are pretty obvious. And this is yet another movie that is set in New York, yet doesn't even make an attempt to disguise the fact that it was shot in Canada. Showing establishing shots of the Manhattan skyline just helps prove that it wasn't set in NY.

I'm writing at something of a remove, as I saw this movie a while ago. I watched it because I wanted to see if it was as bad as I'd heard. Well, it lived up to expectations. As well as being ill-conceived, shrill, moronic, humourless, wretched, asinine, irritating and generally amateurish, it was also incredibly misogynistic. I thought (hoped) they didn't make this sort of film any more.

Everyone involved should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves (except maybe Sean Young, who clearly has absolutely no shame). I just don't understand how these films get made. Offensive for pretty much every reason you can think of. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

A so-so film, that does have a few laffs. Basically about a chap who gets left a spell by his great-grandfather that changes him from women to man. I give this film an 8, but only because it does have the gorgeous Lysette Anthony, and she's worth watching in any film...

Richard (Tim Daly) is a descendant of the original Dr. Jekyll. Although he works in a perfume laboratory, he has bigger dreams. Rick lives with a delightful fiancé (Lysette Anthony) but no wedding date has been set. One day, Richard inherits his relatives books and notes, only to stumble upon the secret formula used to create the infamous Mr. Hyde. He mixes up a batch and drinks it. However, Richard is in trouble when his alias turns out to be a conniving woman (Sean Young). Is there a way out of this mess? Fans of romantic comedies will likely be happy to add this to their list of viewing pleasures. Daly, Young, and Anthony are all very attractive performers, with charm oozing everywhere. The rest of the cast is delightful, too, with Jeremy Piven doing his usual good turn. The plot may be silly but it is fun, too. As for the interior of Richard's apartment, it is to die for; one may want to put the VCR on pause to recreate the look. In short, if you like fast, fun films with some kisses thrown in now and again, this one is for you.