With the help of student assistant Boris and stolen university equipment, Dr. Harry Wolper plans to clone his dead wife. But then he meets Meli, an egg donor for his experiment, and they fall in love. Faced with choosing between his deceased wife and Meli, Dr. Wolper sees his situation in a new light when Boris' own new love, Barbara, falls into a coma. Meanwhile, another professor tries shutting down the cloning project.
Acting
O'Toole fully commits to unhinged grieving genius
Writing
Bizarre tonal tightrope between slapstick and genuine melancholy
Direction
Passer treats the absurd premise with surprising tenderness
Director
Ivan Passer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was one of three 1985 films about cloning, beating The Fly and Brazil to theaters by months. The 80s were OBSESSED with genetic anxiety.
O'Toole reportedly took the role specifically because he'd never played a 'mad scientist' and wanted to wear ridiculous glasses while delivering Shakespearean monologues about DNA.
US
