Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Brain Donors Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 11, 2024

Dennis Dugan's "Brain Donors" (1992) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by Dennis Dugan and critic and author Lee Gambin; audio commentary by film journalist Staci Layne Wilson; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The only way to explain a film like Brain Donors is to state that it is a product of the 1980s, which is misleading because Dennis Dugan completed it in the early 1990s. But it is exactly what it is -- a 1980s film trapped in the body of a 1990s film. It parades the unmistakable anything-goes attitude that only the 1980s films knew how to manage properly so that the ridiculous in them would become hilarious. Some old reviews have claimed that it attempted to pay tribute to the Marx Brothers and failed miserably, but it is difficult to agree with them. The type of comedy that the Marx Brothers created covers an enormous amount of material, so any three crazy guys that go to work to make an audience laugh will end up borrowing some of it. It is simply unavoidable.

The comedic fireworks begin after the shady lawyer Roland T. Flakfizer (John Turturro), the overworked taxi driver Rocco Melonchek (Mel Smith), and the loopy handyman Jacques (Bob Nelson) team up to scam the very wealthy elderly widow Lilian Ogelthorpe (Nancy Marchand), who dreams of being associated with the greatest ballet dancer of the modern era, Roberto Volare (George De La Pena). However, even though the widow is quite easy to manipulate, especially if the manipulator is a much younger man who reveals interest in the many curves of her aged body, the scammers face serious competition from her lawyer, Edmund Lazlo (John Savident), who has developed a plan to siphon off her money, too. As the two sides begin clashing for her attention and bank account, the widow finds herself stuck in an unusually strange new environment where no one seems capable of behaving rationally. It is easy to link Brain Donors to the iconic A Night at the Opera because there are some obvious thematic similarities between the two films. But once this is acknowledged, it is even easier to see that Brain Donors has a unique identity.

Behind this identity is the anything-goes attitude that allows the leads to be as unhinged as they wish, so long as they are always funny. Are they? Well, if you compare what they do to what the Marx Brothers do in A Night at the Opera, you will probably end up being disappointed with their efforts. They are creative and a lot of what they do is attractive, but there is more over-the-top material than conventional comedy material, which is the reason Brain Donors feels like a genuine 1980s film.

The delivery of the banter is different, too. Some of it is very tight and fast, bringing tremendous energy to the comedic fireworks, and some of it is looser and more spontaneous, slowing down things and making it easier for the viewer to keep up. Most transitions are good, but it does feel like various areas could have been scripted and polished better so that there is an even supply of laughs. As shot, Brain Donors frequently creates the impression that it works extra hard to cram as much verbal and visual content as possible in situations that emerge while the widow is targeted by the scammers.

The leads do a lot and plenty of it is improvisational work. It is similar because it is supposed to be funny, but at the same time very different because each actor’s improvisational technique is unique. This is what makes Brain Donors most vulnerable to legit criticism because after a while it begins to look like some of the actors are trying to outdo their colleagues, rather than participate with them in ensemble pieces. The overlapping of contrasting material that emerges because of this development unquestionably hurts Brain Donors.

Ultimately, Brain Donors does not disappoint, but it is not the brilliant film that it could have been. It is most effective as a nostalgia fix that reminds of a time when even the silliest films could still be entertaining because they were able to develop unique identities.

Brain Donors Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Brain Donors arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a new 4K master that was supplied by Paramount Pictures. I am tempted to speculate that the 4K master was prepared by the same party that delivered the recent 4K master for The Big Bus because the work that was done on both is equally convincing and impressive. I like everything that I saw on my system. Delineation, clarity, and depth were fantastic throughout the entire film. Fluidity was wonderful, too. However, I was most pleased by the outstanding color grading job because it makes Brain Donors look as good as it could and should in 1080p. All primaries are incredibly healthy and superbly balanced, while the supporting nuances are nothing short of sensational. To be honest, most of the time I felt as if I was viewing native 4K content with an outstanding HDR grade. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks immaculate as well. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Brain Donors Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I chose to view the film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track because there is a lot of great music and entertaining action throughout the film. I thought that the 5.1 track was terrific. Clarity, sharpness, and depth were wonderful. Balance was great as well. What about dynamic activity? I was very surprised with the great range of nuanced dynamics, because while diverse, the soundtrack was not created to be a showoff piece. There is just a lot of music content that is mixed very, very well. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Brain Donors Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage U.S. trailer for Brain Donors. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Commentary One - this audio commentary was recorded by film journalist Staci Layne Wilson.

• Commentary Two - this audio commentary was recorded by director Dennis Dugan and critic and author Lee Gambin.

Brain Donors Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Once the thematic similarities between Brain Donors and A Night at the Opera are acknowledged, it becomes very easy to see that the former has a unique identity. It comes from the 1990s, but it is a 1980s film with the unmistakable anything-goes attitude only films from that decade knew how to manage properly so that the ridiculous in them would become hilarious. Certain things could have been done better, but there is still a lot to like, especially now that Hollywood insists on promoting vulgarity as comedy. Kino Lorber's release introduces an outstanding new 4K restoration of Brain Donors that was prepared at Paramount Pictures. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.