Simon

1980
PG
1h 41m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

A group of scientists takes Simon, a psychology professor, as a test person for a brainwash experiment. After that they try to convince him that he is a being from another planet.A group of scientists takes Simon, a psychology professor, as a test person for a brainwash experiment. After that they try to convince him that he is a being from another planet.A group of scientists takes Simon, a psychology professor, as a test person for a brainwash experiment. After that they try to convince him that he is a being from another planet.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 nominations total

Photos19

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The Space Shuttle seen in this film is the Columbia in its STS-1 configuration --- the only one with a white external fuel tank. The spacecraft had arrived at Kennedy Space Center in March of 1979 and was scheduled to launch late in that year, but was delayed until April, 1981 due to engine and thermal protection system problems. Hence, the production was forced to use shots of the Shuttle on the launch pad, but an Apollo-era Saturn V rocket for the lift-off shots.

Goofs
When the space shuttle lifts off, it promptly turns into a Saturn V.

Quotes
Prof. Jerry Milstein: It's a distinct possibility. We can make viruses now. An advanced civilization, they could make a perfect human.
David Susskind: A real, three-dimensional human? A human human? There's a dichotomy in this...
Prof. Jerry Milstein: If he's indistinguishable from you or me, what's the difference?
Hemling Grotowsky: Where is his soul? This is the basic question.
Rabbi Chaim Glassberg: How can he have a soul? His mother was a blender! The most he can have is a warranty.
Priest Babcock Beastly: I think that this event is clear proof that there is a God in the universe.
Hemling Grotowsky: This is clear proof that there is no God!
Rabbi Chaim Glassberg: You're both wrong. This is proof that there is a God but He doesn't know what the hell He is doing.

Connections
Featured in Sneak Previews: Little Darlings, Simon, Little Miss Marker, The Black Stallion, Hide in Plain Sight (1980)

Soundtracks
Aria
From "Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5"
Written by Heitor Villa-Lobos

User reviews26

Review

Featured review

6/10

odd satire

The Institute for Advanced Concepts is a group of five powerful scientists led by Dr. Carl Becker (Austin Pendleton). They are so brilliant that they have secured unfathomable government contracts to give them unlimited resources. Leon Hundertwasser (Max Wright) changes Nielsen ratings. Eric Van Dongen (Wallace Shawn) is trying to cross breed humanity with cockroaches. Then they read that over 60% of Americans believe in ET. They decide to hypnotize Prof. Simon Mendelssohn (Alan Arkin) with the help of Dr. Cynthia Malloy (Madeline Kahn) into thinking that he was an alien at birth and then abandoned. Lisa is his girlfriend and assistant.

Alan Arkin belongs to an early iteration of Second City. That's probably where he met Judy Graubart. She may be a good performer on the small stage but she's not one on the big screen. Madeline Kahn would be an infinitively more charismatic lead. The whole movie feels like a smartly written exercise that is too smart for its own good. Writer/director Marshall Brickman has an extensive resume which includes a lot of early work with Woody Allen. It's a satire but of what exactly is not clear. Is it a satire of scientists? Is it a satire of the media? Is it a satire of the military? It may be simply a satire of the modern world in general. Instead of becoming an overnight media sensation, I would be more interested if the group released him into the wilds of his own life. He starts acting crazy. His class becomes popular. He abandons Lisa for hot coeds and then he becomes a media sensation. Alan Arkin is a terrific performer. The story needs to figure out its heart and its soul to bring out the humanity in the alien. There are strange little lines that strike me as hilarious. "Lisa, a lady is dancing with a potholder." It's completely random and the movie probably needs more of that. It's a high concept comedy that is a little too high.