The Lawnmower Man, then, is quintessentially 90s.
Theyve got to understand, says the voice.
My treatments are making him smarter at an incredible rate.
Its more important than training him for war.
Its then that we realise that the opening sequence is largely seen from the perspective of a chimpanzee.
And that the chimpanzee feels like dressed in aRoboCopoutfit.
Its Timms the colleague says.
Falling, floating, flying?
Larrys wife Caroline scolds, clearly irked by the pleasure he takes in his lone VR pursuits.
Too impatient to wait, Caroline throws the script down, grabs her coat and disappears forever.
Come back to reality reality, Larry.
Not this artificial reality.
Watch Norris eyes throughout the film he never blinks, not even once.
This particular lawnmower belongs to Jobe Smith (Jeff Fahey).
Its Jobes incessant mowing of lawns that attracts the interest of Dr Larry.
During Jobes course of mind-expanding VR treatments, however, things begin to change.
Want to go pick up some comics?
Nah, I gave them up, Jobe says.
But then again, there could be an alternative explanation.
The cautionary message, surely, is to never stop reading comic books.
Instead, heres a picture of some rabbits.
Mind you, Jobes new girlfriend Marnie Burke doesnt seem to notice his burgeoning powers, either.
I can read your thoughts Jobe tells her.
Yeah right, she replies, failing to spot that hed just said that without even moving his lips.
Its an impressive demonstration, but a terrible waste of toothpaste.
Thinking about it, female characters dont fare very well in The Lawnmower Man.
Horror writer Stephen King wasnt best pleased about this big-screen non-treatment of his short story of the same name.
King sued to have his name taken off the films credits, and New Line Cinema eventually relented.
Remember the nasty priest we mentioned earlier?
Hes stripped of his cassock and set on fire.
Jake, the bullying guy who works at the garage?
He has his mind turned to a pulp by Jobes VR lawnmower.
Peters violent, alcoholic dad?
Its a busy digital stew and no mistake.
Schizo-fuckin-frenia all over town last night.
Someone torched poor old Father McKeen with a flamethrower.
Probably a Satan cult or something.
Either that or that weird spontaneous human combustion.
Thats been known to happen, you know.
And Marnie Burke was found roaming the streets this morning, buck naked, laughing her ass off.
I dont believe shell ever stop laughing.
Helluva thing…
Wheres the rest of Mr Parkettes body?
a second cop asks as he wanders by.
The first cops reply is little short of brilliant.
Oh, hes in the bird bath.
and I am God here!
hes been set to evil.
Ill become pure energy, Jobe says.
My birth cry will be the sound of every phone on this planet ringing in unison!
It has something to do with science, we suppose.
I have things to do, Jobe explains, evasively.
I have people to see.
A billion calls to make.
It all sounds a bit nebulous to us.
Were guessing that Jobe wants to live in the internet because he really, really likes porn.
Jobe quickly changes the subject.
I sense your thoughts, he says to Larry accusingly.
What are you hiding?
Youre thinking of a brick wall!
One of the brats memorably says, seconds before the bomb goes off.
Then millions of them, all over the world.
Jobe has successfully annexed the internet no doubt with a triumphant, All your porn are belong to us!
The Lawnmower Man,then, is a proper 90s relic.
I had a bad nightmare.
This is something, and we havent had something in a while.
God damn it, Caroline.
Never unplug a program when Im engaged.
I have a game in my house you might like to play.
He absorbed Latin yesterday in two hours.
Took me a year to learn the alphabet.
I cant fly to fucking Washington tomorrow.
Youre trying to get inside my head.
I can feel you pushing!
