Circuitry Man - Welcome to my mind

Bergerjacques · Tue Oct 23, 2001 1:35 pm

I was intending on writing this review just because I have been a long time fan of this movie. In fact, I have been involved in efforts to obtain the movie soundtrack and despaired that it would never get a treatment on DVD. In researching this review, however, I was surprised and pleased to discover that Columbia/Tristar planned to release the Circuitry Man DVD on September 25th. Unfortunately, it will be released on a double feature with its sequel, Circuitry Man II. I’ve never seen II, but with a summary that reads “if they fail to stop Plughead, the entire Earth will be under his sadistic control!” and a cast featuring Traci Lords, well, I think quality control took a nosedive on the series.
Wait a minute. TRACI LORDS!! Oh I am so there.
Circuitry Man (1990)
Directed by Steven Lovy
Starring: Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Jim Metzler, Vernon Wells
At the end of Circuitry Man, when the credits roll, the first name to appear is that of the soundtrack composer, Deborah Holland. And there is good reason for that to happen.
The first time I caught Circuitry Man on satellite, the opening title did not promise much.
There’s a desert signifying a post-apocalyptic world and a synthesizer chord swells and gathers strength as the title of the movie appears in puffy electric blue that I’m sure some neophyte computer graphics designer was convinced looked very cool. From the vantage point of my recliner at about 11:30pm on a Friday evening, the whole effect registered as just cheap and bad. I remember muttering, “Well, there went their special effects budget.”
Then something happens. Something pleasantly surprising.
A piano tinkles out the opening chords of the theme song, “You Do This to Me”, a gorgeous bluesy jazz torch number, and the rug was pulled out from under my every expectation of this movie. I MEAN, WHAT’S A GORGEOUS TORCH SONG DOING IN THE MIDDLE OF A SCI-FI PICTURE? I was irretrievably hooked for the duration.
Holland’s original compositions fit and define CM so completely, in fact, that I almost draw the conclusion that the soundtrack came first. It is easily the best part of the movie and its apparent the moviemakers, or the producers, knew it. Why else would Deborah Holland get credit above everyone else?
Of course, one can assume this attention was due to the fact this movie was made by the now defunct IRS Entertainment which any child of the eighties worth their trivial salt knows was responsible for much of the “new wave” music of the eighties*. Obviously IRS expected to market the Circuitry Man soundtrack. Except by 1990, IRS was on the brink of bankruptcy and the soundtrack, tragically, was never released**.
So, okay, Berger, the soundtrack is great. But what about the movie?
Okay, in a post-apocalyptic future, humankind, in its heedless disregard for the environment, has allowed the surface of the Earth to become uninhabitable. Therefore, the population has all moved into parking garage basements, oops, I mean underground cities. Every example of William Gibson’s now cliched vision of the cyber-punk world is recreated on a low budget scale.
In this world, Lori, (Nicholson) a street wise ex-cybermob bodyguard for hire, is trying to find a new life for herself as a fashion designer. (Yes folks, among humanity's most pressing needs after an ecological apocalypse will be quality fabrics and a canny sense of color and style.) Unfortunately for our hero, she’s forced to do one more job. Juice (played with great energy and confidence by Lu Leonard. She is a joy to watch) is a short, fast talking chip pusher who’s looking to earn a big payoff with Plughead (Vernon Wells, the guy on the box cover with his head full of -- well, plugs.) But Juice needs protection because Plughead is, of course, homicidal and Lori is one of the best bodyguards in the business.
When a pair of goofy, bungling cops bust up the deal, Lori finds herself with the chips and the opportunity to travel the underground maze from Los Angeles to New York for the big, big money. But the maze is fraught with peril. ("I'll take the peril." "Nope, too perilous.")
She enlists the aid of Danner (Metzler), a Romeo android programmed to be (1) a synthetic gigolo, (2) a chip runner familiar with the maze, and (3) a suicidal romantic in love with a woman he lost and cannot find. Unbeknownst to him, though, his lost love is just a program used to manipulate him. (He’s a low budget combo of Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law in A.I.. I’ll save that discussion for the message board.)
Of course, this all sets the plot in motion, which is a cross country chase for the chips. Danner and Lori are pursued by the crazed psychopath Plughead and his shapely and kinky blonde henchwoman, Yoyo (Barbara Alyn Woods) and they all are being followed by the bumbling, comic relief cops.
Fortunately, this movie has two things going for it: an energetic cast and well written characters. Wisely, as with many of the better b-movies, the plot I just described is merely the framework upon which the real story is told.
At its heart, Circuitry Man is a love story. It’s told with style and backed by some excellent chemistry between Nicholson and Metzler. It rarely sags or gets bogged down in sentiment and has enough quirks to satisfy b-movie lovers and their spouses. Yes, the movie wears its low budget on its sleeve. There are effects that are patently laughable they’re so bad. But you can also tell that Lovy saved money in some scenes to afford a reasonably well done sequence in the climax when Plughead and Danner confront each other.
I don’t want to set anyone’s expectations of CM too high. There are glaring flaws, the most notable of which are the cops. They are meant to be funny and all too frequently fail. In fact, I can’t really understand their presence in the movie because nothing that happens really depends on these guys. As I said before, this movie contains every cliché in cyberpunk. I don’t think it was even original for the time period. What really saves this movie is most of the writing and the characters. Besides Lu Leonard’s work, Vernon Wells does a good job making Plughead a three-dimensional character, although making him ecologically minded was a bit of a stretch. And the central characters interact well.
Overall, though, CM is a gem. It has heart and, with a powerful soundtrack, it delivers. A good b-movie lovers date movie. This is one b-movie lovers can show their friends and not get shunned socially for having a sick sense of humor. B-movie fluff, I guess, but good b-movie fluff.

*IRS was run by Miles Copeland. The label’s major band was The Police, which, not coincidentally, featured Copeland’s brother, Stewart. (The Copelands have an extremely fascinating family history. Visit ARK21 records Web site and read Miles’ lengthy bio.)
[url][url=http://www.ark21.com/aboutus.htm]http://www.ark21.com/aboutus.htm[/url] [/url]

** But for just the music alone, this movie is worth the rental. (Or you can just download the MP3 files free on Holland’s web site at
this link.

Edited By Bergerjacques on 1175184432

Circuitry Man - Welcome to my mind

Who is online