Harrison Bergeron (1995)

You won't be disappointed!

The Worst Film Ever

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

It's 2053 Madison, Rhode Island. The government's mandate is to make everybody average. The world exists in a 1950s Americana. Harrison Bergeron (Sean Astin) has been held back for 3 years in school because he is too smart. Everybody has an electronic headband dampening their intelligence. He gets paired up with the dim-witted Alma in hopes of having more average children. His doctor directs him to a headhouse of smart women. He is especially taken by chess-playing Phillipa. It's a setup and he is taken to the National Administration Center which is really the power behind the government. He is recruited to join.I can certainly understand what Kurt Vonnegut is driving at with his short story. However, the movie fails to think through those ideas and stretch it out fully. It's also a little smug deciding what is lowly and what is superior. I find some of the leveling devices a little too jokey. I would prefer this premise taken much more seriously and the story much more intense.

I remember my high school made us read this story and watch this movie, the whole time presenting as some shining example of free thinkers winning out against oppressive blah blah blah. At the time, I thought the dystopia society was so ridiculous and baseless that it was hard to take seriously as any kind of cautionary tale.Then, years later, I was doing research on Vonnegut and guess what? Turns out his story was actually meant to be a satire of America's reaction to socialism. Then it suddenly all made sense. The future society was intentionally so over the top and not grounded in any kind of reality that people would see how utterly ridiculous the end game logic of the "red menace" propagators was.Unfortunately, satire is always lost on reactionaries, and this story was taken at face value as a cautionary tale of what happens when Americans stop believing in Jesus and John Galt and embrace the evils of equality. Over time, the original meaning was forgotten and it is now presented as such a tale.I'm willing to overlook the background history of a movie, but even on its own this movie betrays the original intention of Vonnegut's work. Gone is the message of unfounded hysteria and in its place is some generic "wake up, sheeple!" message subscribed to by every teenager and conspiracy theorist.Poor Kurt.

This is one of my favorite movies because it makes you think of the "what if" to the nth degree. It ranks up there in my mind with Matrix in terms of challenging your imagination to think outside the world as we know it. It is too bad it was only a made-for-TV movie because I think it would have done as well at the box office as many movies that are much less interesting have. The movie puts us in the future, where the not-so-intelligent have risen up against the intelligent and forced the government to create a mechanism (a head band) for ensuring that all citizens stay at the same level of intelligence - average. Our main character, Harrison, is, much to his family's dismay, above average and, despite the band, cannot contain his intellectual gifts.

Saw it for the first time last night. Teriffic Film. Wish it was on DVD with comments by the author/screen writer and director. A great commentary on "equal rights" and the governments attempt to enforce them.A real "Must See" for all high school students.