What's the biggest red flag hanging over Memoirs of an Invisible Man? John Carpenter, who put his name in the title of every movie he directed from Halloween on, declined to do so here.
H.F. Saint's novel, which the movie is based on, thoughtfully explored its premise and went places previous invisible man stories had not gone. Most intriguingly, the novel showed how disconnected and alienating modern life could be; in the wheeling and dealing world of high finance, an invisible man could slide in and make a fortune without anyone ever seeing him, but he would most crave human companionship.
The movie contains some of that, but overall, it is an uninspired, low-energy enterprise. The movie can't decide if it wants to be funny or serious, and as a result, it's neither.
Let me illustrate how the movie can't decide a tone. The clothes Nick wore at the time of the accident were also made invisible. Because he can't see his arms or the sleeves, Nick struggles to put his coat on.
If the movie embraced its comedic potential, this could have been a wild bit. I can picture an extended slapstick scene of Halloway driving himself increasingly frantic as he tries to get dressed. Or maybe, if the movie wanted to be dramatic, Nick could get increasingly frustrated over his inability to perform this simple task and break down emotionally.
We get neither. Instead, the point is acknowledged that Nick has difficulty putting his coat on, and that's it. Other than raising the issue in the first place, the movie does nothing to develop the idea, which is the recurring problem of the movie. Jokes are set up, the beginnings of gags are established, but then, nothing happens. No punchline. No pathos. Nick gives a sad voiceover about how hard life is, and the movie moves on.
Scenes that should be serious become goofy at the wrong moment. Neill is a fun villain, but his henchmen are comically inept, ruining any menace they should have. Midway through the movie, Nick sits in on his friends (who don't realize he's there) as they freely talk about him, and he learns things maybe he wishes he hadn't heard. Any poignancy the scene has is ruined when Nick throws a tantrum by spilling their drinks and pulling down their pants.
Other than Neill's performance, the only other strength of the movie is its special effects. The building where the accident occurred has parts rendered invisible, and it looks like a Swiss cheese building. We also see inside the invisible man. When Nick smokes a cigarette, his lungs fill with smoke. He chews and blows bubblegum, and it looks like the gum does it itself. In a romantic scene with Alice, the rain renders him visible, and they kiss.
But the script neglects these promising moments and ideas, focusing more on stock parts and boilerplate characters. Chase brings little joy to Nick and lacks the gravitas to pull off the hardboiled elements. There's no shortage of other actors from that period who would have provided more of the spark this movie needed.
Meanwhile, Carpenter brings little of his expected style. The potential is there, but there's no passion, little fun, and many missed opportunities.
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