Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (1984)

Boring, long, and too preachy.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

I've shown this film to friends WITHOUT the MST3K commentary and they LOVED IT!!! There was a time when I watched this film over and over because I was so addicted to it.Raul Julia really carries this film. His acting is charming and fun and it's probably my favorite performance by him! Yes the special effects are campy and the computer art is cheap but that only makes it better and more hilarious :)The perfect made-for-TV camp Sci-Fi movie. I really love what people are able to accomplish with a little imagination on a budget, and I also love the cheap 80's vision of the future that makes me want to visit.Love love love! This film also makes me want to read the short story it came from.Seriously, I really love this movie and so do many of my friends :) PS. I like the MST3K version as well, but one of the reasons it's such a great episode is because this film already stands on it's own.

Actually, the core concept at the center of OATMB is a good one: in an future fascist society, one "creative thinker" is punished for his "subversive" follies-- watching old Hollywood films-- by being given "rehabilitative" treatment-- being sent on vacation in the brain of a baboon. By a deus ex machina (the establishment misplaces his brain) he gets the chance to mess around with the computer that controls the world (including the weather and the financial system) and eventually brings down the head brain in charge of it all. It wants to be a more optimistic version of "Harrison Bergeron", basically.And it fails horribly. It's the textbook example of a good idea that was handled by deeply inept people (kind of like FEMA). Much speculation has been made over how they got Raul Julia to star in this thing. I'm guessing he read a (very early) first draft of the script, thought it was a great idea, signed on, then couldn't get out. The end result is like a staging of "Hamlet" by a troupe of high school freshmen-- which MST3K also got a hold of, by all accounts.And as far as all the slams against the use of video vs. film-- get over it. Everything PBS showed in the 80's was filmed on video, as I recall.

Dull! Ohmigawd, dull, dull, dull. This movie is so painfully slow-moving, you'll long for the action scenes in "Monster-A-Go-Go" Here's a tip, there aren't any.) Two things first: One, this movie was financed by your public dollars. Two, it was originally aired on P.B.S. And all I can say is, for Gods sake guys, stick to "Antiques Roadshow" or civil war documentaries, or..or..ANYTHING BUT THIS!!Rial or Raul or whatever the Hell his name is (I'm damned if I'm going to go through this thing again to find out)is "The Desk Jockey Of The Future!!" who is being punished for basically being a day-dreamer. So, his brain is put into an anteater to "give him some rest" Thats right, forget the verbal warning, we'll just transplant your brain! Only, a kid on a school field trip (Through a "brain-transplant" facility? We just went to the Hostess Twinkie factory.)swaps his tag, and wackieness ensues. Or, it would in a real movie. In this case, painful, skull-crushing, mind-numbing boredom ensues.Now, since God knows I wouldn't want to spoil the plot(?) for you...many homages are made to "Casablanca", his dead mother shows up, he robs a major corporation of millions of dollars (I'm sorry, "flavo-fibes" or whatever)and many poorly executed 80's computer effects are used.(All done on a Commodore-64, I think)And yet, through all of this, NOTHING HAPPENS!!! You'll find yourself wondering if you remembered to feed the dog, or wash out a clean pair of socks for work tomorrow, because your poor brain will be hiding in the back corner of your skull to escape the relentless tedium onslaught of this film.MST3K took on this film, and even they were beaten. Mow your yard then watch it grow, have a new drive-way poured and watch it set, paint a wall and watch it dry...If you can find a duller way to kill an hour and a half than this film I don't even want to know what it is.

This is a pretty amusing flick for sci-fi fans. I like movies with computers and stuff, like Tron and Wargames and Brainscan. So this is far out too. The best thing about it is the story which is very original and creative. There are no totally unlikely stuff like in another sci-fi, if you know what I mean. There are also no plot holes or dumbing down. Well some bad things then. First, the main actor -- Raul Julia -- is not very sexy really. I think he looks more like a janitor than a computer hacker. Hackers maybe aren't very sexy, but he is none the less not only a hacker. Ok enough of that. Secondly, it looks cheap, and sometimes it looks idiotic. I don't know why it looks idiotic, it just does. I give the movie a 5 / 10.