The Invisible Man Whom No One Saw

Every now and then I catch of bit of Memoirs Of An Invisible Man (1992) on TV. There are a lot of good things about it--decent pre-CGI effects, a solid plot, even interesting twists on the concept of being invisibile. But it doesn't really work. Mostly because of the star, Chevy Chase. This isn't a comedy, but a thriller with touches of comedy, and he's not up to it. His tough-guy narration, for instance, is laughable (in a bad way).

Screenwriter William Goldman has written about the struggles behind the scenes. Ivan Reitman had planned to produce the film and Goldman wrote a few drafts. But Reitman and Chase fought over the style. Reitman wanted an out-and-out comedy, while Chase--perhaps hoping to grow as an actor--preferred to stick to the H. F. Saint novel (which I've heard is quite good) and have it be about the loneliness of invisibility.

At the time, Chase was a major comedy star, and Reitman a top comedy producer. Reitman dropped out of the project and Chase got his way. Even then, he allegedly wasn't happy with director John Carpenter, and thought, ironically, Carpenter didn't know how to make the comedy work.

By the time Memoirs came out, Chase's career was on a downward arc, and its failure only confirmed to Hollywood that he could no longer carry a film. Still, for all its flaws, it's an odd little piece that's worth checking out.