Creator (1985) Universal/Comedy-Drama RT: 107 minutes Rated R (language, nudity, sexual content/conversation, thematic elements) Director: Ivan Passer Screenplay: Jeremy Leven Music: Sylvester Levay Cinematography: Robbie Greenberg Release date: September 20, 1985 (US) Cast: Peter O’Toole, Vincent Spano, Mariel Hemmingway, Virginia Madsen, David Ogden Stiers, John Dehner, Karen Kopins, Kenneth Tigar, Elsa Raven, Lee Kessler, Rance Howard, Ellen Geer, Ian Wolfe, Mike Jolly, Burton Collins, Judith Hansen, Doug Cox, Anthony Peck, Crawford Binion, Byrne Piven, Vincent Cobb, Gary Bayer, Jordan Charney, William H. Bassett, Sandy Ignon, Jeff Corey, Michael McGrady, Eve McVeagh, Al Fann, Michael Greene. Box Office: $5.3M (US)
Rating: *** ½
Creator is a movie ahead of its time. In ‘85, DNA research was in its infancy and cloning was something you only saw in sci-fi movies. This is one of the first films that took the subject seriously and made it seem possible. Not too many people have heard of it; it went almost completely unnoticed when it played in theaters. It’s one of those movies that audiences don’t know how to react to when they see the newspaper or TV ad. What type of movie is it exactly? Is it sci-fi, comedy, drama, romance or what? Actually, it’s a little of each.
The always great Peter O’Toole (My Favorite Year) stars as Dr Harry Wolper, a brilliant and eccentric scientist attempting to clone his dead wife. Although she died in childbirth 30 years ago, Wolper is convinced he can bring her back. The Nobel Laureate, also a research professor at a small SoCal university, takes on grad student Boris (Spano, Baby It’s You) as his new assistant. Together, they embark on a journey Harry calls “The Big Picture”.
In order for Harry’s experiment to succeed, he needs a female egg. Luckily, he bumps into Meli (Hemmingway, Star 80), a self described “19-year-old nymphomaniac” who agrees to help Harry with his experiment by giving him one of her eggs. After that, she basically moves in and falls for him in short order. Harry can’t see it because he’s obsessed with bringing back his late wife or a reasonable facsimile. At the same time, Boris is smitten with Barbara (Madsen, Electric Dreams), a beautiful lab assistant who needs a place to stay. She accepts his offer to share his place on the condition he doesn’t try to make a move on her. Of course, they quickly become more than roommates.
Harry has an archrival in the form of Dr. Sid Kullenbeck (Stiers, M*A*S*H), an arrogant colleague who wants to see him transferred to another university, one where they send older scientists, so he can take advantage of a sizable grant. He’s always trying to get the goods on Harry.
O’Toole is one of the best actors to ever grace the big screen with his presence. I’ve never seen him turn in a bad performance. Hell, I even liked him in the not-so-funny ghost comedy High Spirits. He’s the perfect choice to play an offbeat scientist whose theories make him a joke among his colleagues. O’Toole is the epitome of charm, class and dignity; it shows in every role he’s ever played. Creator is no exception. It’s always a pleasure to watch him act. Hemingway’s bold, outspoken Meli is one the most interesting characters in the film. She has a way of getting to the heart of the matter (whatever it is) and telling it like it is.
Spano and Madsen’s relationship is the sweetest aspect of Creator. It definitely helps that the two actors have great chemistry. As such, it’s especially sad when Barbara suddenly comes down with one of those mysterious, seemingly incurable diseases that only seem to affect characters in romantic tearjerkers like Love Story. There’s some debate over whether or not she should be taken off life support after Sid declares her brain dead. This is the melodramatic portion of the picture, folks. Expect scenes of Boris sitting tearfully at her bedside holding her hand while trying to talk her back to life. Hey, it works!
Sometimes it’s difficult to reconcile the different elements of Creator. It raises serious issues- e.g. should Harry be playing God?- then gives us a humorous scene like a football game between research teams where Meli gains the upper hand in a most unique way. It gives you dual love stories, each touching in its own way. That’s in addition to the sci-fi angle of the whole thing. Each of these elements is good in its own way, but the overall result is uneven. Director Ivan Passer (Cutter’s Way) struggles with tone quite a bit. It’s a bumpy ride at times. HOWEVER, I really like Creator. Chalk it up to me being a sucker for a good tearjerker. It is quite moving, a feeling augmented by a beautiful melodramatic score by Sylvester Levay.
I understand that not every movie can be a box office hit. For every one that succeeds, a few invariably fall through the cracks. In 35 years, I’ve never heard Creator come up in conversation. I don’t know anybody else that saw it with the exception of a girlfriend I showed it to in ’87. I’m hoping this review will entice a few of you to seek it out. It’s worth it.
