The Fly

Among the list of foods you should NEVER eat while watching this film is cherry pie. I'm not one to get squeamish while watching make-believe (although I may shake my hands or make a face during a particularly grody scene), but David Cronenberg takes the cake. The film only reveals itself as horror halfway through, so there you are enjoying mid-80s costuming and amusing repartee between the leads, Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis, when the full effect of Cronenberg's special effects masters splatters across the screen. Blechy. Although I don't recommend eating while watching, I wouldn't avoid it in the video store because it deserves a viewing. Goldblum delivers, well, himself, and there are soulful moments that mesh nicely with his halting speech patterns and spazzy mannerisms, as bizarre as that may sound. Perhaps Cronenberg chose him because the actor is so obviously himself even under pounds of fake-fly makeup. Davis does good counterpoint, although it's not one of her best films, and the writing is often funny and always clever. But the soul of the picture lies in the recognizably human emotions evident in this fly-man even as he becomes something unrecognizable and disgusting to us. For that alone, it's worth peeking between your fingers and relegating the cherry pie back to the kitchen for the time being.

year: 1986
length: 95 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091064/combined