O Grande Sonho de Simon

What a great film. I had never heard of this film before. I saw a video of this and was thoroughly entertained. If you are a Woody Allen fan, you have to seek this out! Marshall Brickman worked with Woody on Manhattan, Annie Hall, Sleeper...and it shines through this work. Alan Arkin is superb in his role...and Judy Graubart (who I was always infatuated with on THE ELECTRIC COMPANY)...oh, man, it is so nice to see her in a feature film! Austin Pendleton, Madeline Kahn, Wallace Shawn, Max Wright... They all round out a great cast! And Fred Gwynne as the sadistic army General...well that's the cherry on top!! See this if you can. PLEASE RELEASE THIS ON DVD!!

I love this film. A wonderful, madcap vehicle for Alan Arkin (who is brilliant), with exquisite cameos by Pendleton, Shawn, Gwynne and Kahn. Zany, but not slapstick. More than enough wit. If you're a fan of Arkin or any of the supporting cast, you'll enjoy it.

It's not on par with Woody Allen or Mel Brooks' best, but certainly better than their passable mediocre efforts. Also some fun social commentary.

I was working as a theater usher when this movie was released. Curiously (to me, anyway), I watch more than a few folks leave the theater before the film's end, saying the movie was awful.

So, obviously not everyone's cup of tea. But I remain a fan.

"Simon" is dated by a number of the foci of different scenes (sensory-deprivation tanks and princess phones, for example). Still, it is one of my favorite comedies despite it's flaws. I can't qualify its appeal to me as entirely rational or securely grounded in aesthetic standards. I saw it on one occasion with a close friend of mine and my house mates at that time. He and I laughed our heads off while the house mates were puzzled by both the film and our reaction. They didn't like it. It's probably a safe bet that those who like the film "Annie Hall" will like this. The introduction to the secret government scientific foundation is a gas as is the "evolution" sequence. The composition of the closing shot is almost painfully beautiful but its impact is much diminished in versions formatted for television.

A nice attempt at 1980-ish social commentary, but never provides the laughs and poignance it should have given the cast and situations. I found the unsympathetic characters, zany physical humor (see the poster), and somewhat lugubrious satire at fairly easy targets just didn't mix well. But it is a movie of it's time, so if you like the movies of the late 70s - that assume an intelligent audience that wants to be challenged - check it out.

SIMON feels like a mashup of Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, and Mel Brooks. It is one of the strangest movies I have ever seen, and this is coming from someone who generally lives on a steady diet of cult oddities.

The whole thing is a satirical send-up of both intellectual snobs, low culture, consumption, and the religious mindset. The comedy is of the absurd variety, which might be too much for some tastes, but I laughed harder than I have in a long time at it. Alan Arkin is hilarious in the lead (his character's messiah complex is so well-done) and the supporting actors all hit the right notes.

I will say the film is a bit uneven in terms of pacing and biting off more material for satire than it knows what to do with (for example, I wish the TV-addicted cult had more to do). Things drag a little in around the 3/4 point, but not enough to make you sick of the movie. There is an element of drama in the last quarter which feels a bit out of tune with the previous insanity as well.

Still, this movie was fun. It's still in my brain. I can't stop thinking about (and laughing at!) it.