DR. JEKYLL AND MRS. HYDE
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1995 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 3.8
United States, 1995 U.S. Availability: 9/1/95 (wide) Running Length: 1:30 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Nudity, crude humor, profanity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Tim Daly, Sean Young, Lysette Anthony, Stephen Tobolowsky, Harvey Fierstein, Jeremy Piven Director: David Price Producers: Robert Shapiro and Jerry Leider Screenplay: Tim John & Oliver Butcher and William Davies & William Osborne, suggested by Robert Louis Stevenson's THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE Cinematography: Tom Priestley Music: Mark McKenzie U.S. Distributor: Savoy Pictures
A fair indication of the quality of DR. JEKYLL AND MS. HYDE can be gained by looking at its release date: Labor Day weekend--where bad movies go to die. Studios never release anything good during the first weekend in September because they recognize that theater patronage will be poor, so the only new pictures are leftovers discarded on the cinematic summer scrap heap--movies destined to be forgotten immediately. Remember Matthew Broderick's OUT ON A LIMB? Or Sherilyn Fenn's BOXING HELENA? Or how about Patrick Swayze's FATHER HOOD? Those were classic Labor Day weekend pictures--just like DR. JEKYLL AND MS. HYDE.
This is about the dozenth film based on Robert Louis Stevenson's THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, and undoubtedly one of the silliest (beating out even ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE). Filled with double-entendres and other crude humor, the movie is aimed even lower than at the DUMB AND DUMBER audience. The premise of a man taking a potion and turning into a woman is tacky enough to begin with, but, in this case, very little of the shallow comic potential is translated into laughs.
It's 1995 and medical science has advanced since the original Dr. Jekyll performed his tragic experiment. Now, some 110 years later, his great grandson, Dr. Richard Jacks (Tim Daly), is doomed to repeat his ancestor's mistakes. Richard thinks he has discovered Jekyll's error, but when he drinks the potion, the transformation that takes place is unexpected--not only does this version of Hyde exhibit psychopathic tendencies, but it's a she: the voluptuous and deadly Helen (Sean Young).
A movie this dumb needs a fair share of successful comedy to make it worth anyone's viewing time. Unfortunately, in DR. JEKYLL AND MS. HYDE, the guffaws are far apart. There are some chuckles--including a hilarious cameo with actor/writer Robert Wuhl--but hardly enough to make this motion picture worth the price of admission. On top of that, the acting is uneven. Although Tim Daly is suitably likable, Sean Young plays a surprisingly weak femme fatale. Harvey Fierstein and Steven Tobolowsky, as Richard's bosses at a perfume manufacturing company, have a few amusing scenes, but Lysette Anthony gives too serious a performance as the doctor's fiancee.
Strictly speaking, DR. JEKYLL AND MS. HYDE is late-night cable TV fare. It's the kind of movie someone might willingly pause for in post-midnight channel surfing, but not the sort worth paying for. It's a poor execution of a bad take on a stale premise. The idea was interesting when Stevenson's book was first published, but, after so many adaptations and rip-offs, it has gotten as flat as Tim Daly's deflated chest.
- James Berardinelli (jberardinell@delphi.com)
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