Simon

If you haven't seen this you are missing out on a real gem. It was an underground cult hit upon release, then vanished into obscurity. This is a clever, truly brilliant film and it's a true crime that it hasn't been released on DVD. One of Arkin's best performances, up there with Seven Percent Solution. A bizarre film that can appeal to all fans of Woody Allen films, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman TV show, etc. One highlight is the reference to the old TV program, Celebrity Bowling, which of course itself was one of the most bizarre things ever to hit TV screens. Worth the price of admission for that joke alone! Attention producers: DVD required asap please!

A nice attempt at 1980-ish social commentary, but never provides the laughs and poignance it should have given the cast and situations. I found the unsympathetic characters, zany physical humor (see the poster), and somewhat lugubrious satire at fairly easy targets just didn't mix well. But it is a movie of it's time, so if you like the movies of the late 70s - that assume an intelligent audience that wants to be challenged - check it out.

SIMON feels like a mashup of Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, and Mel Brooks. It is one of the strangest movies I have ever seen, and this is coming from someone who generally lives on a steady diet of cult oddities.

The whole thing is a satirical send-up of both intellectual snobs, low culture, consumption, and the religious mindset. The comedy is of the absurd variety, which might be too much for some tastes, but I laughed harder than I have in a long time at it. Alan Arkin is hilarious in the lead (his character's messiah complex is so well-done) and the supporting actors all hit the right notes.

I will say the film is a bit uneven in terms of pacing and biting off more material for satire than it knows what to do with (for example, I wish the TV-addicted cult had more to do). Things drag a little in around the 3/4 point, but not enough to make you sick of the movie. There is an element of drama in the last quarter which feels a bit out of tune with the previous insanity as well.

Still, this movie was fun. It's still in my brain. I can't stop thinking about (and laughing at!) it.

Alan Arkin does love mind-bender roles, doesn't he?, and this gem was a virtual playground for him!

The players are all top-notch, and it's never dull for a moment.. but to explain it... hmm, wow.. well, it's really a film you have to judge for yourself..

It's very much like Woody Allen's "Sleeper", which I could watch all day long and still laugh as if I'd never experienced it before! And also herein are wisps of Arkin's most well known work, "Catch-22", in that it does deal with the mind and all its weird wacky wonders!

It's a sort of surreal fun romp, that takes you on one velly intellesting ride.. the scenarios are all hilarious, and it's a must-see for anyone who loves Alan Arkin, Austin Pendleton, and especially (Woody)Allenesque films, that take you just a bit to the left of the center of reality~ ..Ah, but then, that's trying to describe it, and again I recommend that you find it if you can, (I believe it has been put to DVD now), and experience it for yourself, because I would be hard-pressed to whittle it down to a simple description myself!

It's a screeeam, it's got a fabulous cast, and it's got a heck of a lot of phenomenal writers and creators behind it..

A highly underrated classic! . . . Do yourself a favor and see it! :)

I love this film. A wonderful, madcap vehicle for Alan Arkin (who is brilliant), with exquisite cameos by Pendleton, Shawn, Gwynne and Kahn. Zany, but not slapstick. More than enough wit. If you're a fan of Arkin or any of the supporting cast, you'll enjoy it.

It's not on par with Woody Allen or Mel Brooks' best, but certainly better than their passable mediocre efforts. Also some fun social commentary.

I was working as a theater usher when this movie was released. Curiously (to me, anyway), I watch more than a few folks leave the theater before the film's end, saying the movie was awful.

So, obviously not everyone's cup of tea. But I remain a fan.