''Modern Problems'' is a 1981 American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

black comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the old ...

written and directed by Ken Shapiro and starring

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of '' Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

Patti D'Arbanville Patricia D'Arbanville is an American actress known for her appearance in Andy Warhol projects. Career After ''Flesh'', D'Arbanville performed in Warhol's '' L'Amour'' (1973), and as the title character in the David Hamilton film '' Bilitis'' ...

, and

Dabney Coleman Dabney Wharton Coleman (born January 3, 1932) is an American actor. Coleman's best known films include ''9 to 5'' (1980), '' On Golden Pond'' (1981), ''Tootsie'' (1982), '' WarGames'' (1983), '' Cloak & Dagger'' (1984), ''The Beverly Hillbillies ...

. The film grossed $26.2million on an $8million budget (about $million on a $million budget, in today's currency) in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. A DVD release of the film was issued in 2005.

Plot

Max Fiedler (

) is an air traffic controller at New York's Kennedy International Airport whose life is slowly going down the drain. His girlfriend, Darcy, has just left him because of his jealousy and negativity. Now, everywhere he goes he seems to run into her with Barry, her narcissistic friend who wants her to be his girlfriend, which drives Max crazy. One night while driving home from a party that turned out to be held at a

gay nightclub A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term '' gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities. Gay bars once serv ...

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, a tanker truck spills nuclear waste onto Max's car. Some of it splashes onto him through his open sunroof, temporarily making him glow green before absorbing into his skin. The next day, he notices he has developed telekinesis. Max decides to use his new power to ruin Barry's attempts to woo Darcy. With newfound optimism & confidence, he slowly begins to win back Darcy's love. Things come to a head, however, when Max is asked to spend the weekend at the summer

beach house Beach House is an American musical duo formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 2004. The band consists of Victoria Legrand (vocals, keyboards) and Alex Scally (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals). Their self-titled debut album was released in 2006 t ...

of Brian (

Brian Doyle-Murray Brian Murray (born October 31, 1945), known professionally by his stage name as Brian Doyle-Murray, is an American actor, voice-actor and screenwriter. He has appeared with his younger brother, actor/comedian Bill Murray, in several movies, i ...

), a paraplegic friend and publisher, who is now living with Max's ex-wife Lorraine. Brian has also invited self-confidence author and womanizer Mark Winslow (

), who immediately has designs on Darcy. Winslow constantly demeans and derides Max, while trying to seduce Darcy (although his egomaniacal bragging and unabashed nudity alienates her). Between no one believing his claims that he can move objects and Winslow's onslaught of insults, Max grows increasingly depressed until he cracks, proving his telekinetic power to all present at dinner by humiliating Winslow. Finally, despairing that he is a monster, Max climbs onto the roof of Brian's house during an approaching thunderstorm. Max is fortuitously struck by lightning, causing the transference of his powers to Dorita (

Nell Carter Nell Carter (born Nell Ruth Hardy; September 13, 1948 – January 23, 2003) was an American singer and actress. Carter began her career in 1970, singing in the theater, and later crossed over to television. She was best known for her role as Ne ...

), the voodoo-practicing maid. Now understanding his odd behavior, Darcy forgives Max and he is finally convinced that she truly loves him.

Cast

as Max Fiedler *

as Darcy Carson *

Mary Kay Place Mary Kay Place (born September 23, 1947) is an American actress, singer, director, and screenwriter. She is known for portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series '' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'', a role that won her the 1977 Primetime Emm ...

as Lorraine *

as Dorita *

as Brian Stills * Mitch Kreindel as Barry *

as Mark Winslow * Tom Sherohman as Waiter

Production

Michael Shamberg Michael Shamberg (born 1945?) is an American film producer and former Time–Life correspondent. Life and career His credits include '' Erin Brockovich'', ''A Fish Called Wanda'', '' Garden State'', ''Gattaca'', ''Pulp Fiction'' and '' The Bi ...

and

Doug Kenney Douglas Clark Francis Kenney (December 10, 1946 – August 27, 1980) was an American comedy writer of magazine, novels, radio, TV and film who co-founded the magazine ''National Lampoon'' in 1970. Kenney edited the magazine and wrote much of its ...

had a deal with Ken Shapiro to make a film—Kenney had a title, ''Teenage Communists from Outerspace'' and Shapiro wanted to make a film about telekinesis. This led to ''Modern Problems''. Filming started in July 1980. It was Chase's fifth movie in two years following ''

Caddyshack ''Caddyshack'' is a 1980 American sports comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis and Douglas Kenney, and starring Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe and Bill Murray with supporting ...

'', '' Seems Like Old Times'', ''

Oh Heavenly Dog ''Oh! Heavenly Dog'' is a 1980 American fantasy comedy film written by Rod Browning and stars Benjean, billed here as Benji (she was the daughter of Higgins, who originated the role of Benji), Chevy Chase, Jane Seymour, and Omar Sharif. The fi ...

'' and ''

Under the Rainbow ''Under the Rainbow'' is a 1981 American comedy film directed by Steve Rash and starring Chevy Chase, Carrie Fisher, Eve Arden, and Billy Barty. Set in 1938, the film's plot is loosely based on the gathering of little people in a Hollywood hot ...

''. "There were problems doing the film," said Chase later. "There were times when I wasn't happy at all with the way things were going. Though I'm bound to say considering it was Ken Shapiro's first film as director he's come up with a very funny film." Chase was nearly electrocuted while filming a flying scene involving wires and had to spend several weeks in hospital. The film's release was complicated by the 1981 air traffic controller's strike. The film was recut prior to release to avoid an R rating, which upset the writers, who felt the film's best laughs were lost.

Reception

The film was released on Christmas Day without advance screenings to the press. "I'm really happy with ''Modern Problems''," said Chase prior to release. "I don't pretend to know why Fox isn't showing it to the press. I can only suppose it's because they don't want to take the chance of getting bad reviews.""NO HOOPLA FOR CHASE'S NEW MOVIE". Mann, Roderick. Los Angeles Times8 Dec 1981: G1. ''The New York Times'' said "it's not that ''Modern Problems'' is so bad, though it is incredibly sloppy, but that it's the kind of movie that doesn't need reviews to find its audience. The members of that audience, whose inner clocks are set by their television habits, don't worry much about consistency or point of view. And, having short attention spans, they immediately forget the long dull patches that separate the truly funny sequences.""CHEVY CHASE, TRAFFIC CONTROLLER"
eviewCanby, Vincent. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 28 Dec 1981: C.16.

References

External links