Brain Donors

DVD Reviews | Mar 4th, 2005

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Starring John Turturro, Bob Nelson, Mel Smith, George De La Pena, John Savident, Nancy Marchand, Juliana Donald, Teri Copley
Written By: Pat Proft
Directed By: Dennis Dugan
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Buy on Amazon.com link

Brain Donors never really got the attention it really deserved. Some people still haven’t seen the movie. It used to play on cable all the time and I used to watch it every time it was on. It’s one of my favorite comedies, and it’s finally on DVD!

Brain Donors is about 3 wacky, insane people coming together as business partners and trying to run a ballet company to fulfill a millionaire’s will. The millionaire’s wife (Nancy Marchand) is overseeing the company but needs some help. Lazlo (John Savident), who’s second in command and has been waiting a long time to run the company, wants the chance to do it. Mrs. Oglethorpe wants to consult with one of her lawyers, Roland T. Flakfizer (John Turturro). She sends her handyman Jacque (comedian Bob Nelson) to go get him. He’s the dimwitted, has many tricks up his sleeve type of guy. Jacque finds out Flakfizer “working” and tells him Mrs. Oglethorpe needs him. He jumps at the chance and thinks it’s his big opportunity. While Jacque is picking up Flakfizer, they run into an old client of Flakfizer’s. His name is Rocco (Mel Smith), who’s a British cab driver and he starts to attack Roland but then everyone comes to agreement and they decide to work together. The 3 agree to run the ballet company, but they have Lazlo to deal with. You get the idea of the story, just watch the movie damnit!

This movie was produced by the Zucker Brothers, so you can kind of figure what type of comedy this is. If you blink or don’t pay attention, you may miss a joke. That’s why I always watch this a lot because I’m always finding new things to laugh about. John Turturro is the highlight of the movie because he truly gets into character, and resurrects the character of Groucho Marx. For me, he IS the movie because his line delivery is awesome and the jokes he says are really great! There isn’t too many movies with this many great one-liners. This movie is really underrated, probably because Brain Donors wasn’t directed by the Zuckers or Jim Abrahams, it’s not as popular. Though I can see why it might not be well received. The ballet couple really brings the movie down, and they aren’t exactly the best actors in the world. I can definitely see people being turned off by those two. Plus the movie isn’t that long, coming in at only 78 minutes. Even though the movie is short, it still brings plenty of laughs, and even has a funny opening credit with Claymation of the characters in the movie. I think my favorite scene has to be when the three ruin the ballet for the Great Volare. At one point, they have a gang of bloodhound dogs, and they are dressed as hunters shooting Bob Nelson in a duck suit. Comedy doesn’t get much better than that! I remember seeing that scene for the first time, and I had tears in my eyes. Bob Nelson and Mel Smith are also great, and all three have really great chemistry. It’s a shame that these guys didn’t make a sequel because they really work well together.

Brain Donors is a laugh out loud, wacky comedy in the same realm as the Marx Brothers, Three Stooges and Abbott and Costello films, but brought to you by the Zucker Brothers team.

Features:

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 CC
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Surround CC

Video:
Widescreen 1.85:1 Color (Anamorphic)

Subtitles:

Favorite Scenes: the hospital scene, going to jail, the ballet scenes at the end
Rating: Rated PG
Running Time: 78 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: