Memoirs of an Invisible Man

Starring: Chevy Chase

Directed by: John Carpenter

RS: Not Rated Average User Rating: 2of 4 Stars

1992 Sci-Fi

Chevy Chase gets serious, sort of, in this expensive-looking adventure, based loosely, very loosely, on the far more incisive 1987 H.F. Saint novel of the same title. Yet for all the fancy trappings, including a name director, John Carpenter (Starman), and a name coscreenwriter, William Goldman (The Princess Bride), the film fares best with sight gags. Have you ever seen a piece of gum seemingly unwrap and chew itself? Well, you haven't lived.

Chase plays Nick Halloway, a vacuous stock analyst who enjoys goldbricking and picking up babes like Alice (Daryl Hannah). Ducking out of a meeting at a high-tech office building, a hung-over Halloway grabs a snooze in the men's room only to wake and find that a freak explosion in the building has rendered him invisible. The bad guys, led by Sam Neill, want to use Halloway for nefarious purposes like spying and assassinations, but he leaves them clutching at thin air.

Actually Halloway spends most of his time trying to figure out the logistics of boffing Hannah while he's transparent. There are funny bits, especially a trick Halloway plays on a purse snatcher. But scare director Carpenter can't sustain a farce, and during the few dramatic moments, Chase can't keep a straight face. Try to recall this movie a day after and you'll find it's disappeared without a trace.

PETER TRAVERS
RS 626