BEFORE: This title is sort of a misnomer, now that the film is 20 years old. But this will wrap up my chain of films featuring industrial accidents - we had pesticides in "Michael Clayton", hexavalent chromium in "Erin Brockovitch", and plutonium in "Silkwood". Linking from "Silkwood", Craig T. Nelson was in "Private Benjamin" with Goldie Hawn, who of course was in "Foul Play" with Chevy Chase (last seen in "Christmas Vacation").
THE PLOT: Jealous, harried air traffic controller Max Fielder, recently dumped by his girlfriend, comes into contact with nuclear waste and is granted the power of telekinesis.
AFTER: See, I blame Stan Lee - a lot of people of my generation, if they happened to get doused with toxic chemicals or radiation, might be disappointed to learn that they weren't going to get super-powers out of the deal, like the Fantastic Four or the Hulk. Stan Lee made it cool to be bitten by a radioactive spider, or hit by gamma rays, cosmic rays - if you were a nerd like Peter Parker or Bruce Banner, suddenly you'd have super-strength, or the ability to stick to walls, and you wouldn't need those pesky eyeglasses any more...
But this movie doesn't even seem to want to show any wish-fulfillment, or adhere to any internal logic, even comic-book logic. What, exactly, is the main character's flaw at the beginning of the film - the reason why his girlfriend (and previously, his wife) have left him? An answering machine message suggests that he's too jealous - hiring people to spy on her, he put a bug in her purse...but when we get to know him a little better, we realize that he's not aggressive enough, and he tends to let people walk all over him. Which sort of fits with his job - air traffic controller - aren't they all stressed-out, depressed and suicidal?
But he doesn't seem to have any stressed-out behavior, his personality doesn't seem to extend far in ANY direction - and it's unclear how the power of telekinesis ends up helping him with his problem. Even the 80's teen comedy "Zapped" made more sense - teen wants to get laid, teen gets hit on the head and gets telekinetic powers, teen mentally removes girls' clothing. See, very logical, and the audience ends up having a good time.
So, therefore, this film is worse than "Zapped". Which is sad. I also have to factor in that the movie can't seem to make a distinction between someone having mental powers, and demonic possession. I think those might be two different things.
Also starring Patti D'Arbanville, Dabney Coleman (last seen in "The Man With One Red Shoe"), Mary Kay Place (last seen in "New York, New York"), Brian Doyle-Murray (last seen in "Sixteen Candles"), Nell Carter.
RATING: 2 out of 10 ballet dancers
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