The ‘90s cult classic comes to Blu-ray with a vengeance.
Let’s face it, no matter how much we love certain titles, there are a number of films which are bound to not age so well. Case in point, the beloved 1992 sci-fi thriller The Lawnmower Man. So much about the once-revolutionary film now feels like outright parody. From early introductory scenes with a chimp, to a lemonade seduction worthy of every howl of laughter that it draws, to leading man Jeff Fahey’s portrayal in the film’s first act, The Lawnmower Man retains very little of what made it such a diverting and almost groundbreaking watch back in the early-‘90s. Yet thanks to Scream Factory’s unearthing of director Brett Leonard’s original cut, the movie manages to overcome its flaws for a thrilling tale that’s almost epic.
In The Lawnmower Man, brilliant scientist Dr. Lawrence Angelo (Pierce Brosnan) has been pushing the boundaries of virtual reality under the careful watch of an organization known as “The Shop.” When his experiments have hit a wall, Angelo decides to enlist the help of a simple-minded gardener named Jobe (Fahey) as a human subject. The tables soon turn as Jobe’s newfound role gives him powers beyond Angelo’s control, making him more intelligent and dangerous than any other man around.
Like so many films, The Lawnmower Man was hacked to death by the studio behind its release in order to appease test audiences and maintain an under 2-hour runtime. While a good number of films which suffer such a fate come out the other end more or less intact, the same can not be said for this futuristic fairy tale. Not only does the film have an incredibly slapped-together feel (easier to ignore when certain audience members were much younger), but it seems that the more cutting the film underwent, the more glaring its flaws became. There’s a rapid fire flow and pace which makes for a totally unengaging experience that’s all but impossible to shake. Certain scenes and characters have too much of a cut and paste feel that by the end, all anyone cares about are the effects. The film also does no favors for its characters. In the studio’s version of the film, Jobe goes from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye with little time in between to fully note the changes happening to him, while Angelo is shown to be a depressed alcoholic and a straight up opportunist, taking advantage of his mentally challenged gardener just like most everyone else. While the effects remain fun, if a bit dated in today’s world, the film’s illustration of mental illness and domestic and child abuse must’ve been seen as irresponsible even back in 1992.
When watching the more than 2-hour long director’s cut of The Lawnmower Man, the differences become so visible and effective that they make it seem like you are watching the film for the first time. In order to fully understand The Lawnmower Man, it is absolutely essential to try and put yourself into the era in which it was made, a time when the idea of virtual reality was a frightening and imaginative concept that defined the notion of larger than life. The director’s cut knows this and actually takes the time to explore the different possibilities and consequences that can arise with such a powerful form of computer science. Meanwhile, certain sequences, including a later one with Angelo’s wife (Colleen Coffey), pepper the film with genuine thrills. The characters as well as both their shortcomings and motives are paid more attention to here, bringing forth a kind of understanding absent from the studio’s theatrical cut. The effects meanwhile are given even more of a platform than before and convey a hyperreal feel which remains somewhat impressive on a small level, especially in the age of cyberpunk.
The two leads give the film their all, even if certain scenes and pieces of dialogue don’t deserve it. While Brosnan’s work is able to (just barely) survive the studio’s version with something of a performance, Fahey’s work doesn’t fully register as acting until seeing the director’s version and the arc he is allowed to take Jobe on. Apart from Fahey and Brosnan, the only other actor whose presence here is worth noting belongs to Dean Norris, who, in a supporting role, boasts a questionable British accent, yet still manages menace as the head of “The Shop.”
If there was one thing more famous than the film itself, it was the lawsuit its producers and studio incurred from Stephen King as a result of putting his name above the movie’s title and trying to sell it as an adaptation of one of his stories. Yes, the studio did own the rights to a couple of King’s works, one with themes very similar to those in the film. However, the two properties had almost nothing in common (despite a hasty effort from the studio to try and incorporate tiny aspects of the author’s story into theirs), and King walked away victorious.
Aside from all of this, there are parts of The Lawnmower Man which remain just plain corny, no matter which version you see. The flying lawnmower is pure comedy, while the final explosion looks painful in terms of quality, even by the day’s standards. Yet the film’s underlying themes of the abused fighting back, coupled with vibrant and glorious visual effects which are almost kaleidoscopic, make The Lawnmower Man a bona-fide ‘90s classic.
The Package
Aside from the director’s cut, a handful of promos, commentaries, and makings-of can be found on The Lawnmower Man’s Blu-ray release. There’s also a retrospective look back at the film featuring Fahey and other key players.
The Lowdown
More than two decades on, The Lawnmower Man is simultaneously as bad as you fear and better than you think.
The Lawnmower Man is now available on Blu-ray from Scream Factory.
