Dr. Benderfax (1997) Steve Gouveia, Merodie Patterson, Nicholas Berry, Caroline Hazeldine, Nigel Hazeldine, Sylvia Novider, James A. Howard, Joe Ivers, Jeffrey Blumberg, Diane M. Jaffari, George A. Ryan, Chuck Young, Robert T. Nanninga. Music by Hans Jorgen Fjellestad. Produced by Tom Hosler and Kata Jacobson. Written and directed by Tom Hosler. 85 minutes. NR, 2.5 stars (out of five stars)
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Edward+Johnson-ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to pbbp24a@prodigy.com
The pacing is uneven, the story has enough holes to fill the Albert Hall and the ending is a let down, but "Dr. Benderfax" is simply too damned likable to resist. The ultra low-budget independent feature is one of the oddest black comedies to come down the pike in quite some time. During its best moments, the movie plays like a freaky hybrid of "Andy Warhol's Frankenstein" and an episode of "The Kids In The Hall."
Dr. Benderfax (Nigel Hazeldine) is an unusually chipper mad scientist determined to prove his theories about a neuro-psychic phenomena called the telefaximial field (don't ask). With the assistance of ruthless Nurse Clench (Caroline Hazeldine), he heads a psychiatric hospital, harvesting mental patients for his experiments, which generally prove fatal. Unfortunately for Benderfax, his newest employee, idealistic Dr. Andrew March (Steve Gouveia), stumbles onto the truth, enlisting the help of Nurse Carmen (Merodie Patterson) and schizophrenic stalker Farance (Nicholas Berry) to thwart Benderfax's scheme.
The mad scientist story, of course, is straight from "Overworked Plotlines 101." The fun in "Dr. Benderfax" comes from the details. Writer/director Tom Hosler packs his debut feature with loads of odd performances and engaging quirks that kept me occupied even when the story sagged. For example, the film opens with an elderly chain smoker watching a faux production of "Robot Monster" on TV, while brow-beating his wife into going on a cigarette run for some Delta 100's. I've no idea whether the brand is obscure or invented (I suspect the latter), but the incessant product references were funny either way. Later, characters drink beer out of generic white cans labeled "Beer."
Hosler gives his actors a lot of leeway, with varying results. As a detective with a personal grudge against Benderfax, Jeffrey Blumberg adopts an extremely grating New York accent. If he was shooting for credibility, he should have toned it down, and if he was trying for comic stylization, he should have turned it up a notch or two. As is, he just comes off like an amateur. Likewise, Caroline Hazeldine's work as Nurse Clench uncomfortably veers between humorous caricature and community theater.
As Farance, the schizophrenic sidekick, Nicholas Berry is effective, especially when his character tries to keep cool even as he hallucinates disembodied creeping arms in his backpack and refrigerator. One particularly inspired scene has him displaying exceptionally good manners when introduced to a headless body. At times, Berry reminded me of a young Eric Idle. Merodie Patterson is also good as Nurse Carmen, the most well-adjusted member of the cast.
Steve Gouveia does a wonderful job playing young Dr. March, exhibiting a gloriously manic peppiness. Bruce McCulloch of "The Kids In The Hall" used a similar approach for many of his characterizations of overly wholesome types with an undercurrent of obsession, and Gouveia excels at capturing that rare spirit. When he delivers a line like, "Ah, Froom's room, I presume," he manages to be funny and earnest simultaneously, quite a mean feat.
Best of all is Nigel Hazeldine, hilarious as the jaunty, very British and quite insane Dr. Benderfax. Hazeldine's finest moments come during his experiments, as he directs a constant stream of peppy chatter at his mute, terrified subjects. When poor Mr. Froom's body begins to twitch wildly, Benderfax casually says "What was that all about?" with a cheerful smile on his face. Later, he glances at the man's crotch and enthusiastically chirps "Looks like you're getting a stiffie there, Mr. Froom!" Great stuff.
While Dr. Benderfax the man is consistently delightful, "Dr. Benderfax" the movie often falters. The extras portraying various mental patients look painfully like extras playing mental patients. As for the script, even Hans Jorgen Fjellestad's exceptionally buoyant score can't prop up the numerous droopy spots. And the film's "shocking" climax is anything but climactic.
Still, the positives in "Dr. Benderfax" outweigh the negatives. This is one fun little movie, and an impressive debut for Tom Hosler. It will be interesting to see what the promising filmmaker does next. In the meantime, I look forward to spending another evening with "Dr. Benderfax" in the near future.
© 1998 Ed Johnson-Ott
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