''Simon'' is a 1980 American

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 ol ...

written and directed by

Marshall Brickman Marshall Brickman (born August 25, 1939) is an American screenwriter and director, best known for his collaborations with Woody Allen. He is the co-recipient of the 1977 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for ''Annie Hall''. He is also kn ...

and starring

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (born March 26, 1934) is an American actor, director and screenwriter known for his performances on stage and screen. Throughout his career spanning over six decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award ...

Plot summary

The Institute for Advanced Concepts, a group of scientists with an unlimited budget and a propensity for elaborate pranks,

brainwash Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion, thought control, thought reform, and forced re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques. Brainwashin ...

a psychology professor named Simon Mendelssohn who was abandoned at birth and manage to convince him, and the rest of the world, that he is of extraterrestrial origin. Simon escapes and attempts to reform

American culture The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western, and European origin, yet its influences includes the cultures of Asian American, African American, Latin American, and Native American peoples and their cultures. The U ...

by overriding TV signals with a high-powered TV transmitter, becoming a national celebrity in the process.

Cast

In addition,

Fred Gwynne Frederick Hubbard Gwynne (July 10, 1926 – July 2, 1993) was an American actor, artist and author widely known for his roles in the 1960s television sitcoms ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' as Francis Muldoon and as Herman Munster in ''The Munsters'' ...

plays Korey, while

David Susskind David Howard Susskind (December 19, 1920 – February 22, 1987) was an American producer of TV, movies, and stage plays and also a TV talk show host. His talk shows were innovative in the genre and addressed timely, controversial topics beyond th ...

and Dick Cavett both appear in cameos as themselves.

Reception

''Simon'' received mixed reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds a rating of 60% from 20 reviews.

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...

of the

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, saying that the film is "neither a funny nor insightful film. In fact, "Simon" is a scattershot mess." Both he and

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

gave the film two "no" votes on their show

Sneak Previews ''Sneak Previews'' (known as ''Opening Soon...at a Theater Near You'' from 1975 to 1977 and ''Sneak Previews Goes Video'' from 1989 to 1991) is an American film review show that ran for over two decades on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It wa ...

Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin (; born April 24, 1976) is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for '' The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.

, in a 2012 review for ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'', rated ''Simon'' a B-, stating that the film "is riddled with moments of genius, yet shows only an intermittent interest in harnessing all that brainy inspiration into a satisfying narrative... s too scattered".

Awards

At the

8th Saturn Awards The 8th Saturn Awards, honoring the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror film in 1980, were held in July 1981. Winners and nominees Below is a complete list of nominees and winners. Winners are highlighted in bold. Film awards Specia ...

, Alan Arkin was nominated for the

Saturn Award for Best Actor The Saturn Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were dev ...

Home video availability

In 1981 and 1990, the film was released on VHS format by Warner Home Video and is now out of print. A remastered copy of the film was released via Warner Archives' Made To Order DVD-R service in 2011 in its original full-frame 16x9 (1.85:1) format.

Notes

External links

* * * * 1980 films 1980 comedy films 1980 science fiction films 1980s English-language films 1980s satirical films 1980s science fiction comedy films Films set in Columbia University American political satire films American science fiction comedy films Films directed by Marshall Brickman Films produced by Martin Bregman Films with screenplays by Marshall Brickman Orion Pictures films Warner Bros. films 1980s American films {{1980s-comedy-film-stub