Breast Men (1997)

Director:

Lawrence O'Neil

Writer (WGA):

John Stockwell (written by)

Release Date:

13 December 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Two young doctors with a dream of making it big...Really big!

Plot:

A movie about two doctors who created breast implants as it follows them over the years.

Plot Keywords:

Breast Implant | Breasts | Plastic Surgery | Stripper | Breast Massage

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

David Schwimmer	...	Dr. Kevin Saunders
Chris Cooper	...	Dr. William Larson
Emily Procter	...	Laura Pierson
Matt Frewer	...	Gerald Krzemien
Terry O'Quinn	...	Hersch Lawyer
Kathleen Wilhoite	...	Timmi-Jean Lindsey
John Stockwell	...	Robert Renaud
Lisa Marie	...	Vanessa
Louise Fletcher	...	Mrs. Saunders
Michael Cavanaugh	...	Harry
Michael Chieffo	...	Dave
Patrick Cronin	...	Committee Head (as Pat Cronin)
Amanda Foreman	...	Lola
Lyle Lovett	...	Research Scientist
Julie McCullough	...	1970's Head Receptionist

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and nudity, language and drug use.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:MA (TV rating) | Finland:K-3 | Sweden:11 | UK:18 (video premiere) | USA:R | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Galveston, Texas, USA

Company:

Home Box Office (HBO)

Trivia:

Star Drug Store has been a Galveston fixture since 1917. Its exterior, with its distinctive ceramic Coca-Cola sign, is seen in several scenes, and Schwimmer's character uses a pay phone in the back of the soda fountain. It burned in 1998, shortly after the movie was released, and was closed for several years before reopening in 2001.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the final minutes of the film the blonde woman Dr. Saunders glances at is driving a Mustang convertible in what is supposed to be the late 1980s. However, in the windshield of the Mustang there can be seen a registration and safety inspection sticker. The registration sticker had been located on the license plate until 1994 in Texas. Also, the safety inspection sticker is in the shape of the state of Texas. This also was introduced in the mid 1990s. Prior to that the safety inspection sticker was rectangular (the rectangular inspection sticker was reintroduced in 2002 with the Texas silhouette in the center). In slow motion a "7" can be seen in the sticker indicating it expires in 1997 and was issued sometime in 1996.

Quotes:

Male Interviewer: Arlene - Mary Kay Rep.
[claps board]
Arlene: Can I borrow your pencil?
[With her face out of view, Arlene receives a pencil, then opens her blouse, baring her breasts. She talks to us]
Arlene: This is called the pencil test. It's supposed to fall to the floor.
[She puts the pencil under her left breast. The pencil doesn't fall]
Arlene: I love my children, but I'm a little resentful for what they did to my breasts.
[She removes the pencil and returns it]
Arlene: Thanks. It's like someone blew up a balloon and then they let all the air out.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs "The Phil Donahue Show" (1970)

Soundtrack:

Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow

Bizarre black comedy/drama

This is a truly odd film, with a style and tone quite unlike any other I've seen; while the first two thirds is darkly comic in a quite gentle, embarrassment-not-pain kind of way, the end descends into a very sombre, serious half hour before the final shocking moment. Presented as a life-story of some (presumably at least semi-fictitious) pioneers of silicon breast enlargement, along with snippets from some "documentary" (real or otherwise, it's not clear) featuring women discussing (and exposing) their breasts, it spans over several decades in a typical up-down-up trajectory. David Schwimmer, looking youthful and a little goofy, plays the lead, a young, ambitious, slightly breast-fixated (here's most of the comedy bits) doctor who comes up with an idea for a new form of breast enhancement. The idea is followed through initial scorn, industrial manipulation, to success and popularity before the hideous problems associated with inserting silicon into the body become clear. Many of the issues involved in the topic are addressed in some form or other, from those who need such surgery due to genuine breast problems down to the question of how far such enhancement can be justified ethically, balancing the desire of women to be perceived as "normal" and attractive against the creation of circus freaks with unnaturally large bosoms. The film does give a good, balanced insight into the subject matter, but the presentation is odd, the mood of the film strangely skewed; neither Schwimmer's lead nor his mentor present particularly likeable characters, the change of tone near the end leaves the viewer with the feeling of having watched a gritty drama rather than the comedy advertised, and the portrayal of women in the piece is far from empowering; those in the film itself are rarely more than caricatures, pairs of breasts to be reconstructed, while the "talking heads" featured in the documentary snippets are more "talking breasts", the lack of faces somehow dehumanising the interviewees and turning them into the freakshow some of them so want to escape (though some are clearly quite happy that their breasts are their defining characteristic). The filmmakers have made a lot of effort here, and it is perhaps a little unfortunate that the balance between humour and serious issue-probing is not well worked. A patchy, interesting but very strange movie which could have been a lot better, it is still worth a watch, but perhaps more as education than entertainment.