SINUS

SIMON (1980)
dir: Marshall Brickman

SINUS
Sick Special #1, Fall 1980
w & a: Adam V. Kane (Dave Manak)

Instead of the usual trailer, here's the whole film for you this time.

Another film parody from Sick that makes you wonder "Why this one?". It made no impact at the box office and wasn't expected to, it didn't have a big name director or huge stars, and didn't have references they would have swiped from other magazines. This was their final issue so maybe the issue was just made up of inventory.

At The Institute for Advanced Concepts, a non-profit science organization, Carl Becker (Austin Pendleton) and his cohorts (Max Wright, Wallace Shawn, Jayant, William Finley) decide to convince the world that an alien exists, and look for someone at random that can be brainwashed into thinking they are one. They settle on Simon Mendelssohn (Alan Arkin), a physics professor. He's in the midst of performing experiments on himself to the dismay of his wife Lisa (Judy Graubart).

Dr. Becker approaches Simon and he's brought to the institute, where he's treated like a king. Cynthia Mallory (Madeleine Kahn) is a scientist who will study him, Which includes getting fluids from him through sex.

Simon is immersed in an isolation tank and given an alternative origin story of himself. After a few days, he emerges, evolving slowly from a blob to a humanoid. (I know evolution is a controversial subject, but just go with it). Now convinced he is from another planet and brought to earth, he has a manifesto he shares with the public.

Lisa comes to visit Simon as the military visits, wanting to know what kind of experiments are going on at the institute. They end up chasing Lisa and Simon away.

In hiding, Simon and Lisa are found by a cult that worships television. They consider him a prophet and their leader's ability to cut into broadcast channels gives him the opportunity to spread his message over the airwaves. His wife tells him she's pregnant, which he initially thinks is impossible, since humans and aliens can't mate, but realizes he's been fooled all along and has always been human.