Simon (1980 film)

Simon is a 1980 American comedy film written and directed by Marshall Brickman and starring Alan Arkin.

Simon
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMarshall Brickman
Screenplay byMarshall Brickman
Story byMarshall Brickman
Thomas Baum
Produced byMartin Bregman
StarringAlan Arkin
Madeline Kahn
Austin Pendleton
Judy Graubart
William Finley
Wallace Shawn
Jayant
Max Wright
CinematographyAdam Holender
Edited byNina Feinberg
Music byStanley Silverman
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • February 1980 (1980-02)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$6 million

Plot summary

The Institute for Advanced Concepts, a group of scientists with an unlimited budget and a propensity for elaborate pranks, brainwash a psychology professor named Simon Mendelssohn who was abandoned at birth and manage to convince him, and the rest of the world, that he is of extraterrestrial origin. Simon escapes and attempts to reform American culture by overriding TV signals with a high-powered TV transmitter, becoming a national celebrity in the process.

Cast

In addition, Fred Gwynne plays Korey, while David Susskind and Dick Cavett both appear in cameos as themselves.

Reception

Simon received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 60% from 20 reviews.[1]

Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, saying that the film is "neither a funny nor insightful film. In fact, "Simon" is a scattershot mess."[2] Both he and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two "no" votes on their show Sneak Previews. Nathan Rabin, in a 2012 review for The A.V. Club, rated Simon a B-, stating that the film "is riddled with moments of genius, yet shows only an intermittent interest in harnessing all that brainy inspiration into a satisfying narrative... [i]ts too scattered".[3]

Awards

At the 8th Saturn Awards, Alan Arkin was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actor.

Home video availability

In 1981 and 1990, the film was released on VHS format by Warner Home Video and is now out of print. A remastered copy of the film was released via Warner Archives' Made To Order DVD-R service in 2011 in its original full-frame 16x9 (1.85:1) format.

Notes
  1. "Simon". Rotten Tomatoes.
  2. Siskel, Gene (1980-03-14). "Simon: Woody Allen sidekick flies low in first solo effort". Chicago Tribune. p. 45. Retrieved 2022-04-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Rabin, Nathan (2012-02-22). "Simon". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2022-08-28.


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