Senseless Review
by David Sunga (zookeeper AT criticzoo DOT com)February 22nd, 1998
SENSELESS (1998)
Rating: 2.5 stars (out of 4.0)
********************************
Key to rating system:
2.0 stars - Debatable
2.5 stars - Some people may like it
3.0 stars - I liked it
3.5 stars - I am biased in favor of the movie
4.0 stars - I felt the movie's impact personally or it stood out *********************************
A Movie Review by David Sunga
Directed by: Penelope Spheeris
Written by: Greg Erb and Craig Mazin
Starring: Marlon Wayans, Matthew Lillard, David Spade, Tamara Taylor, Brad Dourif
Ingredients: College nerd, secret formula, girlfriend, upper crust frat boy rival
Synopsis:
Darryl (Marlon Wayans) plays a down-and-out University economics student who will do anything to win a contest in which the winning student is awarded a junior analyst position at Smith-Bytes, a prestigious Wall Street firm. The problem is, the only people who ever win are rich kids with upper class connections and prestigious positions in fraternities and school sports. Meanwhile, poor Darryl is in debt and working himself broke trying to send money back home to support his destitute, fatherless family. He has no chance of becoming a contest finalist.
As yet another way to make money Darryl volunteers himself as a human guinea pig to take an experimental drug, and suddenly finds that his five senses are ten times as powerful as before. Thus empowered he joins a fraternity, romances the girl of his dreams Janice (Tamara Taylor), conquers the hockey team, works his way into the good graces of some Smith-Bytes execs, and becomes a contest finalist. But tragedy strikes when Darryl gets power hungry and double doses himself; his five sense start disappearing.
Can the newly humbled Darryl win the contest, save his family, and win back the favor of his girlfriend using his own power without the help of the wonder drug?
Opinion:
In 1984 comedian Steve Martin did a comedy film called ALL OF ME (1984), in which the spirit of a woman took possession of one half of Martin's body. ALL OF ME was a great excuse to highlight Martin's physical comedy in the form of pratfalls and exaggerated clumsiness. Martin was different from Robin Williams - - another premier comedian of the 1980s - - in that Martin was mostly 'goofy physical' while Williams excelled in manic, mile-a-minute monologues.
In the 1990s we see a similar comedic dichotomy. On the one hand we have the fast talking Jim Carrey or Chris Rock while on the other hand there is Marlon Wayans, an expert trip and fall guy. Wayans' SENSELESS is similar to Martin's ALL OF ME in that SENSELESS is a very funny comedy about a guy losing control of his body - - and the film gives physical comedian Marlon Wayans a great vehicle for comedic falls, slobbery facial expressions, and general goofiness. If you can imagine Steve Martin or Jerry Lewis' ability to trip and fall, combined with zany facial expressions and Eddie Murphy-like enthusiasm, then you have a good idea of Wayans' comedic charm.
My only complaint is that one scene in SENSELESS - - the scene where Darryl tries to have sex with Janice's sorority sister - - doesn't match Darryl's ethical character or fit in with the rest of the movie. But there are also very good scenes. One of my favorites is where Darryl tests out his super senses playing ice hockey for the college team and becomes a 'kung fu' goalie.
SENSELESS is funny. Director Penelope Spheeris (who also directed WAYNE'S WORLD) hits the funny bone yet again with this one.
Reviewed by David Sunga
February 20, 1998
Copyright © 1998
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