O Grande Sonho de Simon

If you haven't seen this you are missing out on a real gem. It was an underground cult hit upon release, then vanished into obscurity. This is a clever, truly brilliant film and it's a true crime that it hasn't been released on DVD. One of Arkin's best performances, up there with Seven Percent Solution. A bizarre film that can appeal to all fans of Woody Allen films, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman TV show, etc. One highlight is the reference to the old TV program, Celebrity Bowling, which of course itself was one of the most bizarre things ever to hit TV screens. Worth the price of admission for that joke alone! Attention producers: DVD required asap please!

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!!

"Simon" is one of the strangest movies I have seen in quite some time. It's not the premise that is so strange - the bare bones of the plot read like they could be made into a typical comedy - but rather the execution. Although there are a number of attempts at humor throughout the movie (and I admit that I did find some of these attempts amusing), there is a strong serious undercurrent. It seems that the movie is trying to say something, though what that is I cannot say for sure. But there are deeper problem with the movie. It takes quite a while for it to get going, for one thing. And once it gets going, it seems to have a number of moments where key footage seems missing or wasn't filmed at all in the first place. But all the same, I am kind of glad that I saw the movie, because it's the rare major studio production to really be strange and offbeat - which is refreshing in an age of cookie cutter plots and lack of imagination. I would recommend this movie to viewers who want something different and are ready to accept something that is an interesting failure of sorts.

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.