Brain Smasher... A Love Story (1993)

I love this movie so much

Pretty Good

Just perfect...

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Albert Pyun just may be the most talented of the "no budget" directors (who include the likes of Charles Band, Stuart Gordon, David Schmoeller, Ted Nicolaou, Don Jackson- that whole crowd) and this just may be his best movie to date. Clearly boasting a bigger budget than anything else he'd done up to that time, BRAIN SMASHER gives us two very fine (and very funny) performances, by Andrew Dice Clay and Teri Hatcher, and some truly great action sequences. At the time of this movie's release, there was talk that there might be a GREEN HORNET movie in the works; if so, that might explain the masks sported by the villains herein. (If not, it's one whale of a coincidence.) If BRAIN SMASHER was Pyun's bid to prove to The Powers That Be that he was capable of helming a big screen version of THE GREEN HORNET, it should've sold them. Pyun has shown flashes of brilliance in the past (in what many consider "lesser fare," like CYBORG, DOLLMAN, KNIGHTS, and NEMESIS), but has rarely been given a real chance to shine. I, for one, would be very interested in seeing his take on THE GREEN HORNET.

There is a base enjoyment to be had with an Albert Pyun film. It's so dumb and insulting that you can't help but stare at the screen. Brain Smasher is about a bouncer, who can smash brains with a single punch, who falls for a model and helps her fight off a band of ninjas, I mean monks, who want the rare flower that her sister has, which will give them ultimate power. Andrew Dice Clay is the bouncer and he isn't lead material. He is a stand up comic playing himself and he was never funny or likable. His one expression of toughness, reminiscent of Vanilla Ice or Mark Whalberg, isn't much to look at. Teri Hatcher, the model, plays vapid like her name is Barbie, but she is the one we should like. Instead, her whining makes you wish Clay would punch her. Also, Their chemistry as a couple is non-existent. As for the movie itself, it's full of racist jokes and blah violence. Pyun sets out to lambaste the genre, but the joke is on him. He has made an action movie every bit as simple as the ones that come out of the big studios.

Well I know I'm in the minority here because all of the friends I've shown this movie to think it's awful. In fact a friend lent me the movie and when I told him I liked it he told me to keep it! But I love this movie. I've watched it maybe a dozen times and it just grows on you.The plot is great, the humor is funny, the action is cool, even the soundtrack and score are amazing (unfortuantly it's unavailable and the band that wrote a bunch of the songs is impossible to track down). The only reason I can see why someone (ie. 90% of people) would not like this movie is if they take it too seriously. It's supposed to be funny and there are a bunch of scenes where things are exaggerated but in a ridiculous funny way that makes me laugh.Keep in mind I don't particularly like Andrew Dice Clay or Teri Hatcher (I don't have any of their other movies), but they are both perfect for the roles in the movie. I mean at times it's hard to tell if they're acting or just being themselves.Anyway, like I said most people will not like this movie BUT if you're looking for an action- comedy movie with a cool plot that isn't meant to be taken seriously then I'd try it out.

The Diceman must rescue a supermodel, smash some brains along the way and ultimately save the entire world.Sounds like a comic book, huh? Guess what, it's a lot funnier than it sounds. First of all, Andrew Dice Clay is no slouch when it comes to acting and brings his unmistakable style to any project he's in. Sometimes it's all in the delivery, and Dice wrote a book on that. Also, there's great chemistry between him and fellow co-star Teri Hatcher. This alone is enough to make this movie worth a look. But there's more...The film's director Albert Pyun, who also wrote and produced it, brings a style and integrity often lacking in big Hollywood movies that are pulled apart by a dozen of writers, directors that are changed half-way through the shooting, and producers imposing crazy ideas on writers (let's not mention any names). Brain Smasher may not have the special effects of Armageddon and lead showers of Commando, but the comic book-like story flow is incredibly smooth and the acting will surprise you, considering the movie practically went straight to video, which to me doesn't make any sense. I mean, look at all the crap that is released on the big screen. The only logical explanation is that Hollywood put Andrew Dice Clay on their black list and won't give him a break.Back to the story. The Diceman doesn't exactly play his on-stage persona here. (So if you're looking for off-color humor and women bashing, you won't find them here. Not a hue, not a slightest tint of the onstage bully we all admire. :-) It's more of a Stallone-type action hero. His name is Ed Molloy, professional bouncer. He's the best in the business, with lethal fists and Zen-like manners that have earned him the nickname Brainsmasher.Teri Hatcher stars as Samantha Crain, international supermodel, whose botanist sister, played by Deborah Van Valkenburgh, finds a red lotus flower in the snows of Tibet and thus becomes the target of a gang of fanatical Chinese monks who think that this flower can give them the key to world domination. With me so far? Yuji Okumoto, who heads the gang of killer Ninjas (but don't you call them Ninjas or they'll break your nose!), has certain plans he hopes to realize with the help of the lotus flower, and must be stopped at all costs. This where the fun begins.Running from killer Ninjas, the swashbuckling sisters decide to split. That's when Samantha runs into Ed. The bouncer and the model team up to stay alive. With little in common except being in this mess together and a growing mutual attraction, the romance sparks and spectacular street combat sequences provide the wall-to-wall action while the laughs keep flying! Like all great love-on-the-run movies it will leave you breathless as the unlikely superhero saves the world while he gets the girl -- and the laughs.In short, Brain Smasher is the hippest action/comedy ever!