Main Cast: Chevy Chase, Patti D'Arbanville, Mary Kay Place, Nell Carter, Brian Doyle-Murray
Release Year: 1981
Country: US
Run Time: 91 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
An air-traffic controller (Chevy Chase) is having the worst luck: first his girlfriend leaves him, and then he experiences a nuclear disaster. His life begins to pick up after he realizes that the radiation fallout has given him magical telekinetic powers. He decides to settle a few scores with his new-found power. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
Review
This Chevy Chase vehicle is hardly his finest moment but is interesting despite its flaws. Modern Problems is an odd proposition: it offers a clever premise and some surprisingly trenchant commentary on the attitudes of the early '80s but undercuts those attributes with some strange artistic choices. The biggest mistake is casting Chevy Chase -- a comedic actor known at the time for his effortless cool -- as a depressed, antisocial schlub. The intense mood swings of his character make him tough to sympathize with. Even worse, said mood swings seem to serve the plot more than any kind of common sense and they constantly derail the film. Still, Modern Problems has enough inspiration to avoid being a total loss. Ken Shapiro's direction might falter during the quiet moments, but he makes up for it with some inspired set pieces, including a ballet recital that comes undone due to Max's powers and an extended parody of The Exorcist during the finale. Modern Problems also benefits from a great supporting cast: Patti D'Arbanville is fetching as the love interest, Mary Kay Place and Brian Doyle-Murray are subtly funny, and Dabney Coleman steals the show as the egotistical psychologist who becomes Max's arch-nemesis. In short, Modern Problems is an extremely mixed bag, but there are enough golden moments to make it worth a rental for comedy addicts. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
Dabney Coleman - Mark; Mitch Kreindel - Barry; Sandy Helberg - Pete; Luke Andreas - Tough Guy; Frank Birney - Man in Lobby; Henry Corden - Dubrovnik; Jim Hudson - Doctor; Carl Irwin - Controller; Buzzy Linhart - Tile Man; Jan Speck - Brunette; Lynn Stalmaster; Ron House - Vender; Pat Proft - Maitre d'; Reid Olson - Principal Dancer; Toni Howard; Nancy Klopper; Neil Thompson - Controller #1
Credit
Ken Shapiro - Director, Michael Jablow - Editor, Dominic Frontiere - Composer (Music Score), Jack P. Wilson - Makeup, Jack Senter - Production Designer, Edmond Koons - Cinematographer, Douglas Kenney - Producer, Alan Greisman - Producer, Michael Shamberg - Producer, Ira Anderson, Jr. - Special Effects, Petur Hliddal - Sound/Sound Designer, Ken Shapiro - Screenwriter
Max Fielder (Chevy Chase) is an air traffic controller whose life is slowly going down the drain. His girlfriend, Darcy (Patti D'Arbanville), has just left him because of his jealousy. Now, everywhere he goes he seems to run into her with another man, driving him nuts. One night while he's driving home from a party, a truck spills nuclear waste onto his car and through his open sunroof, covering him with glowing green goo. The next day, he notices that he has developed telekinetic powers.
He is asked to spend the weekend at the house of a paraplegic friend (Brian Doyle Murray), who has also invited some other friends, including Max's ex-wife (Mary Kay Place) as well as his ex-girlfriend, plus self-confidence author and womanizer Mark Winslow (Dabney Coleman) who has designs on Darcy. Winslow constantly demeans and derides Max, while trying to seduce Darcy (although his egomanical bragging and unabashed nudity just seems to alienate her).
Max gets his revenge by using his powers to humiliate his rival, meanwhile freaking out the other guests. Finally, he sees himself becoming a monster, and by a fortuitous stroke of lightning his powers are transferred to the voodoo-practicing maid (Nell Carter). Max's girlfriend forgives him and he realizes that she truly does love him.
Trivia
Chase narrowly escaped death during the filming of Modern Problems in the summer of 1980. During a sequence in which Chase's character wears "landing lights" (as he dreams that he is an airplane), the current in the lights short-circuited and arced through Chase's arm, back, and neck muscles.
The house Chase stays at is the Bates mansion from Psycho.
