Review: The Fly

Eccentric scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) meets pretty science magazine journalist Veronica Quaife (Geena Davis) at a function and after some awkward flirting/boasting, manages to convince her to come back to his lab to see his latest invention, a telepod or teleportation device initially devised as a way to get around his motion sickness. She is quickly impressed and eventually the two have moved in together as he irons out the bugs (living organisms have a way of...um...exploding during the teleportation process) and she writes an article on it. Soon they have even become lovers. Things get messy, however, when Seth decides to use a human test subject...himself. Before long he is literally falling apart and has major mood swings. It would appear that something had contaminated the teleportation process, a fly, and as a result he and the fly were rejoined at a molecular level, and he is becoming a hybrid of the two. And you think your relationship has problems! John Getz turns up as Davis’ sleazy but concerned boss and former lover.

It amazes me that the somewhat chilly David Cronenberg (“Scanners”, “Videodrome”, “Naked Lunch”) has taken a B-movie and added emotional depth to it. Indeed, that is what he does here in this 1986 remake (or perhaps reinvention), which also features idiosyncratic Jeff Goldblum’s best and most memorable performance. It’s an excellent and superior version, but Goldblum is the key, and this is the best use of his eccentric charm and dark intensity. It’s a performance where you can see that he’s clearly enjoying what the experiment is doing to him early on, but in a way that lets you know that this is like an addiction that he has no control over. Thus he is like Frankenstein and his Monster, and ultimately sympathetic. Cronenberg proves here as he did with Christopher Walken in “The Dead Zone” (his other great film) that he has a way with taking eccentric actors known for idiosyncratic tics and managing to get something human and moving out of them. And yet, with Goldblum, he has this amazing ability to be likeable and creepy at the same time, like there’s always something just a little bit ‘off’ about him. Is it just a nerdy quirk indicative of social ineptitude, or something more sinister? Certainly he’s one of cinema’s most unusual sex symbols in this regard. Goldblum is a one-of-a-kind actor who here manages to play several different traits- curiosity, fear of himself, anger, madness, obsession, pathos- all in the same scene! He’s particularly hilarious in the opening scenes, too, where he’s trying to impress/flirt with Davis. To see Goldblum in this, one laments what later became of this terrific, unusual and charismatic actor. He’s extremely talented, but hasn’t often found projects worthy of him.

Geena Davis is also terrific here. I’ve never put her on my list of top actresses, but looking at her career, it’s a bit surprising because she’s been in some great films; This, “Fletch”, “Beetlejuice”, and “Tootsie”. Then again, I didn’t think much of “Thelma & Louise”, “Cutthroat Island”, “The Accidental Tourist”, or “The Long Kiss Goodnight”. At any rate, her and Goldblum are perfectly matched in a somewhat off-beat, gawky on-screen pairing (they were also an off-screen pairing at the time, which may have helped). The romantic/tragic aspect of the film is all the more effective because of their efforts. This is a mad scientist movie, at the end of the day, but with a lot more depth than any other you’re likely to see.

I really admire Cronenberg (who, being a sick bastard, plays the doctor in a nightmare sequence) for taking this 50s concept and eschewing schlock (and I do love schlock) for something deeper. It’s also typically Cronenberg in its examination of ‘body horror’ (remember the human-VCR hybrids in “Videodrome”?), as Goldblum basically goes to pieces before our very eyes, thanks to the terrific Oscar-winning makeup of Chris Walas (“Return of the Jedi”, “Gremlins”) who brilliantly shows a fusion of man and fly. It’s a disgusting film in some ways, its gore certainly hasn’t become tame in the years since like a lot of violent films of this vintage.

John Getz is perhaps the weakest element of the film, but not really through any fault of his. He makes for an hilarious half-hearted sleaze (‘Do I have your permission to clean your body when this is all over?’), and I’m just being nitpicky in saying that his character is half-heartedly written. The film’s “King Kong”-esque finale is a tad much, I’ll admit. The film teeters on the edge of camp/melodrama throughout, but I think this was the one point where it just edged over a bit.

For those who can take it, this is simply a terrific movie that has it all- sci-fi, comedy, romance, horror, tragedy, you name it. One of the best remakes of all-time, too. The screenplay is by Cronenberg and Charles Edward Pogue (“Psycho III”, “Dragonheart”), though the former rewrote a large part of the latter’s work.

Rating: B+