Heartbeeps
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| Heartbeeps | |
|---|---|
.jpg/200px-Heartbeeps_(1981).jpg) Theatrical release poster. |
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| Directed by | Allan Arkush |
| Produced by | Michael Phillips |
| Written by | John Hill |
| Starring | Andy Kaufman Bernadette Peters Randy Quaid |
| Music by | John Williams |
| Cinematography | Charles Rosher Jr. |
| Editing by | Tina Hirsch |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | December 18, 1981 |
| Running time | 79 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Heartbeeps (1981) is an American comedy film about two robots who fall in love and decide to strike out on their own. It was directed by Allan Arkush, and starred Andy Kaufman and Bernadette Peters as the robots. The film contains extensive scene-specific original music by the legendary John Williams, music of an electronic & experimental form unlike his memorable works[1].
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Val Com 17485 (Andy Kaufman), a robot designed to be a valet with a specialty in lumber commodities meets Aqua Com 89045 (Bernadette Peters), a hostess companion robot designed to assist at poolside parties. They are at a factory awaiting repairs. They fall in love and decide to escape, stealing a van from the company. The story takes them on a journey as they look for a place to live, with the more immediate need to find a way to get a fresh electrical supply. They assemble a small robot, Phil, built out of spare parts, who they treat as their child. The Crimebuster robot follows them, but with the help of humans who run a junk yard, and using Catskill's battery pack, they come to a happy ending. (Catskill, as the name implies, is a comic in the Catskill quip and one-liner mode.)
[edit] Cast
- Val — Andy Kaufman
- Aqua — Bernadette Peters
- Charlie — Randy Quaid
- Catskill — Jack Carter --- voice
- Phil — Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead --- voice
- Crimebuster — Ron Gans --- voice
- Max — Kenneth McMillan
- Susan — Melanie Mayron
- Calvin — Christopher Guest
[edit] Crew (selected)
- Theadora Van Runkle — costumes for Ms. Peters
- Zoltan Elek — makeup artist-Aqua
- Vince Prentice — makeup artist-Val
- Stan Winston — special makeup effects
[edit] Production
Because of a strike by the Screen Actors Guild, filming was shut down in July 1980 (along with numerous other motion picture and television series). The strike ended at the beginning of October 1980. (Filming had started in June.) (The New York Times, July 31, 1980)
The film was aimed at children & was a failed experiment: Universal Pictures gave Andy Kaufman a blank check to make this film after focus group testing indicated that children liked robots, apparently in the wake of R2-D2 and C-3PO.[1]
The box office gross was $2,154,696, with an estimated budget of $10,000,000. (Data from Internet Movie Database)
[edit] Response
Vincent Canby wrote, in a negative review, that it was "unbearable" and a ..."dreadfully coy story." (New York Times, December 19, 1981).
Because this movie did not do well at the box office, Andy Kaufman's "The Tony Clifton Story," a movie about the life and times of his alter-ego Tony Clifton, was scrapped by the movie studios. (Internet Movie Database)
The male lead actor, Andy Kaufman, felt that the movie was so bad that he personally apologized for it on The David Letterman Show, and as a joke promised to refund the money of everyone who paid to see it (which didn't involve many people).[citation needed]. Letterman's response was that if Kaufman wanted to issue such refunds, Kaufman had "better have change for a 20 (dollar bill)".
There are fans who hold that the movie was a clever, entertaining presentation of benevolent renegade robots, as were the movies Short Circuit (1986) & Short Circuit 2 (1988). Others confess that it is "nowhere near as bad as some claim"(sic). [2]
[edit] Awards and nominations
Heartbeeps was nominated for an Academy Award in 1982 for Best Makeup (Stan Winston). It should be noted, however, that this was the first year the award was offered, and it was actually created because the Academy was impressed by the makeup effects in An American Werewolf in London, which was the winning film (Rick Baker).
[edit] Also see
- Short Circuit, 1986 film by unrelated production team
- Short Circuit 2, 1988 film
[edit] External links
[edit] Notes & Sources
[1] http://www.jerrydroberts.com/brokedowncinema/Reviews/Heartbeeps.htm
