Jason

(2012-04-26 20:02:05)

One of the best MST3K episodes ever

I showed this movie to a friend of mine at my work, as she was British, andI couldn't stop laughing when I saw the part with Crow mocking the Britishguy at the check in counter. She thought that was hillarious, but commentedit was a terrible movie.Yes, I agree.I've just watched the MST3K version, and dear me, I haven't laughed so hardin a looooong time. Best part was when they were mocking Mr Fat Guy near thepool...I had to stop it twice and contain myself, I was laughing sohard.Raul Julia was wasted on this terrible movie. DO NOT watch it without MST3K,otherwise it's just...not funny, or interesting, and plainconfusing.

Anthony Ciervo

(2012-04-26 05:52:47)

I saw it on MST3K

This is the worst movie I have ever seen in my life. There was nothinggoodat all about, not even Raul Julia's performance (which at the mediocrelevelwas the least worst part of this movie, there is no such things as a bestpart for a film as horrible as this). The "special" effects were cheesyandpoorly made, the directing was atrocious, and everything else in it wasterribly and painfully bad. But the writing was by far the worst part ofit,as they make fun of anteaters (I still never figured that one out), andlittle kids running around and messing with people's brains which causestheruination of Hollywood's greatest film "Casablanca." Sure, I saw it onMystery Science Theatre, and it was a hilarious episode, but this was byfarthe worst movie they ever showed, even worse than "Prince of Space" and"Time Travellers". My rating of this movie would be -1 stars out of 5because it is the negative of artistic quality and entertainment valueinstead of just the absence of it.

cowhousewitchcrafts

(2012-04-20 10:44:42)

1983 -the gifted class of 6th graders makes a film for the annual competition

To the reviewer who misquoted MST3K as saying Mr. Julia lookedembarrassed -no, they said he should have been embarrassed as shouldall of the other participants. Nearly half of the movie was the ratherbland but inoffensive heroine sitting around with her hand to her ear.The totalitarian aspects amount to a fairly normal prohibition of usingcompany time/computers for personal use and a "required" doppelvacation. This world is too clean for a dystopia and too poorly run foran effectively threatening technarchy. Why aredevelopmentally-challenged technicians employed to keep the doppler'sbodies in their right places? Why are snotty school children allowed tovisit such a potentially disastrous location? Only so that theotherwise laughably puny plot can develop. I have seen many a stinkbomb in my time including Carnival of Souls and Red Zone Cuba but eventhey weren't as hollow and boring as this "cinema."

Victoria Gloria

(2012-04-19 19:03:09)

Prepare for the most....

.....migraine-inducing movie you've ever seen! Poor Raul Julia, he was agood actor in a very bad position. This movie is absolutely horrible Iseriously felt like vomiting. I tried to watch it a couple of times but Ijust couldn't sit through it.Funniest Things About this Movie: (Possibly spoilers)Watch for the part when Raul says to his mom, "Mom... my nuts.." He'sactually saying, "Am I nuts?" but that's not what it sounds like.He's turned into a female baboon, God only knows why. Anteaters are alsovery much disliked by the "writers".They go to a place called "The Place." Okay. Strikinglyoriginal.Raul is watching the movie Casablanca on his computer when he's supposed tobe working. He tells some girl he likes to watch cinemas. Her reply? "What'sa cinema?" Also, is a good movie allowed to be in a horrifyingly badmovie?1/10

d_malone

(2012-04-09 00:20:57)

Flat Broke at the Quality Bank

Let me begin by saying how much this movie hurt. Fortunately, ourfaithfulcompanions of MST3K helped ease that pain with some good laughs. It isparticularly painful as a science fiction fan, because I can seecreativityin the story, perhaps . . . this is a stretch . . perhaps it was a goodshort story. But many parts of that story are missing along with anysense.And we all know that Raul Julia is an excellent actor. What happened?He'strapped in a horrible film and so are we. I think there should be alawsuitagainst the public television station that funded this film. Abuse ofpublic funds? Morally and tasteless public degradation of a well knownactor? Cinematic Terrorism on an unsuspecting public television audience?I think the evidence speaks for itself.

InzyWimzy

(2012-04-08 16:50:11)

Anteaters get more respect than this film

Very bad. I watched in horror as this rip-off wannabe of Casablancaproceeded to baffle and amaze me how stupid a movie can be. Sure, it wasshown on PBS, but this was tres cheesy. I mean, it's a future worldcontrolled by a major corporation and no one watches "cinemas". Recreationinvolves doppeling which provides fro even stupider humor. Obviously,someone has extreme hatred for anteaters. Starring Raul Julia who obviouslyhad bills to pay when he made this movie as the annoying warped Aram Fingal. The fat man reminded me that it was time to eat. I thought he would keelover any minute. Plus, some lady named Appolonia who gets a tingle forFingal.A lot of bad graphics, bad imitations of Casablanca characters will haveyour mind spinning. Also, there's brains exposed, doppel fondling, annoyingbrat, cheesy PBS effects make this a movie to never remember.Best scene was Raul saying, "Mom, my nuts!!"

Howard Sauertieg

(2012-04-03 13:30:06)

caution: this film may be hazardous to your credit rating

This might have been an intriguing, memorable film about the usefulness of avivid imagination. The storyline is so confusing that there's virtually noplot development or drama. The best way to get through this picture is toread 1984 (by Orwell) or see a film version of that anti-utopian novel, andthen pretend that this film is somehow related to Orwell's classic. Themain idea of a "dreamer" living in a futuristic/totalitarian society with"thought police" and institutionalized brainwashing therapy was Orwell's;Overdrawn, Etc. adds computers and "virtual reality" hijinx, and that'sabout it... It's obscene even to mention the film Casablanca whilediscussing Overdrawn at the Memory Bank, but it's necessary to do so. MoreI won't say on that score. I haven't seen this film anywhere except inconjunction with Mystery Science Theater 3000, where it's treated with alldue respect.

bobolikesbananas

(2012-04-03 02:43:55)

Not the worst cinema you could scroll up, but close...

From the very start, this movie attempts to be some perverse remake ofCasablanca if it was written by George Orwell and directed by theWachowski brothers' retarded nephew. Attempts, but fails. What we endup with is special effects that remind you of "Land of the Lost" and adistant future that looks like a small shopping mall in Japan from theearly 70's. This movie does deserve credit for one thing: they managedto make the big fat evil white guy in this movie was even less likablethan the big fat evil white guy in the real Casablanca.Of course there are plenty of worse movies. This one actually has somefun points, and the late Raul Julia (RIP) gave an incredibleperformance. Overdrawn is funny enough on its own that you can watch itwithout MST3K and/or friends, but if you have either of those it's awhole lot more fun. Worth seeing at least once, even sporting a T-shirtthat reads "I survived Overdrawn at the Memory Bank" if you're soinclined, and nobody should miss RJ's Bogart.

thehardyboyz2043

(2012-03-28 02:23:21)

..mmm....huh?

I didn't really understand the movie when I saw it on MST, and I'm not sosure anyone involved in the film's production understood the concept either. There's something here about Raul Julia, getting lost somewhere in acomputer program, where he must go into the past to get out, at least Ithink that's it. The movie's point is never really clear or ever fully explained, but afterthe first 30 mins. it didn't really matter. The acting is pretty bad, butthe whole execution of the plot is what sinks this one. MST had some funwith this one, with mixed results in my opinion. 7 stars for that, none forthe flick.

mike palmiter

(2012-03-27 15:44:01)

Watch only the MST3K version

Without the MST3K (Mystery Science Theater 3000) trio making fun ofthis movie it is completely worthless. Raul Julia, who was otherwise agood actor is totally wasted in this movie. As for plot line, thereisn't one which is why the MST3K crew had a field day with it. Visualize a really bad dream, turn that into a screenplay mock of agood movie which becomes a film, then you have the general idea of"Overdrawn At The Memory Bank."The only redeemable features of this movie are two of the cast memberswho characterize Lorre and Greenstreet from the 1941 classicCasablanca. Mike Palmiter, Williams, IN (written 9-5-06).

lemon_magic

(2012-03-19 23:58:04)

Takes a brilliant John Varley short story and trashes it beyond redemption

I actually had some hopes for this adaptation. The original short storyon which this adaptation is based was from John Varley's creative peakperiod, and was funny, clever, inventive, and even moving. It is, infact, a classic of the Sci Fi genre, which why PBS ranked it along with"The Lathe Of Heaven" as deserving of exposure to a wider audience. Andthe PBS adaptation of "Lathe" was actually decent - not mind blowing oranything, but watchable and understated and patient in the way itdeveloped and used the ideas from the story. And Raul Julia was a brilliant actor. There are movies in which theJulia shines like the surface of the sun ("Kiss Of the Spider Woman"),and he is (was) almost always the most interesting actor in any moviehe appears in. So I had hopes that this wouldn't suck. But ODATMB takes this potential and wastes it. While the story is funnyand smart-mouthed and satiric and gets in and out quickly afterriddling its targets with dozens of sharp-witted barbs, the videoadaptation just lumbers along like a bad soap opera. Lines of dialogand exposition that seemed so clever on the printed page just fall flathere. Blame for this falls squarely on the director, who doesn't seemto be able to keep up the snappy pace and rhythms of the story, or getthe supporting actors to inhabit the characters or invest them with anycharisma. Especially egregious are some really crappy performances byminor actors, walk-ons and extras that simply drag the movie downseveral notches. Don't know if the blame rests with them, or (again)with the director for not insisting on keep doing takes until they cameup with better readings of their lines. Julia himself is still alive-wire and a fire-hose of energy, but he's out there all alone withno acting support. Also to blame are the dreadful video and special effects - especiallylame are the documentary stock film sequences which have Julia'svoice-over trying to tie the grainy footage with the sci-fi elements of'doppling'. It's a cheap trick and a cheap attempt to do an end-runaround the need to depict the central concept of 'doppling' into aspecially prepared animal as a vacation from the pressures of life in'the future', and it doesn't work at all. And the whole 'Casablanca' tie in just lies there. The one good thingabout it is that if any modern actor could do Bogart properly, it mightwell be Julia. The thought of him actually being in a remake of'Casablanca' generates practically the only good-will I felt for themovie.I can't bear to give anything with Raul Julia in it a '1' (not even themovie version of 'Street Fighter'), so I give it a '2' out of 10. Maybea 2 1/2 for making the attempt in the first place, and for recognizinga great story. Poor John Varley. Maybe there is something in his style of storytelling that just doesn't translate well to movies andscreenplay..."Millennium" was another great story that completely fellapart in the film version. Who can say???

WILLSKILEE

(2012-03-19 05:10:30)

bad film script+ bad video quality=DISASTER!

Back in the 80's, it wasn't a very good idea to shoot feature films onvideotape. The problem was and to some extent still is, video makes anythinglooklike a bad daytime soap opera. Besides an awful script, and a majorcareerguffaw by Raul Julia, the video quality of this "feature" is abhorrent,irritating, and only makes the awful script that much more evident. The"Whiz-bang" computer special effects of the post-Tron, pre-Matrix erajustdon't cut it. My favorite scene is the "tension filled" chase through the"Turkish" neighborhood. Lights! Explosions! Bottom of the barrel acting!Poorly lit scenes!Ripping-off of the themes of Casablanca! Wait, why am Iwasting my time reviewing this garbage! You have no reason to view thisfilm, unless you're watching MST3K! Find something else to do kids, thisisa sure fire trip to projectile vomiting! BARF!

daniel_diesing

(2012-03-10 19:39:28)

Made me laugh like 13 year-old girl!

When I first saw this movie on Mystery Science Theater I laughed, then Isawit with my friends and laughed like a little girl at a sleep over. The FatMan is one of the best characters to enter the "B" movie circuit, the ideaof "dopling" someone into a monkey to "reform" them is an exhibition oflunacy.

Calli-2

(2012-03-09 23:08:54)

Even the worst dreck can trigger fond memories

I realize this is a bad movie. But I like it. It's incomprehensible,features some rather insulting Casablanca references (as the MST3K castsaid, never put a good movie in your bad movie), and frankly it'sastonishing that it contained so many good actors. (Really! Raul Juliastars, and there are also a lot of very talented character actors whobasically sleepwalk through their parts in this movie. Goodness knows howthey were talked into doing it.)The direction is practically nonexistent. I'm convinced the actors aremaking up the blocking on their own. The cinematography is terrible, exceptin the stock footage of African wildlife used for Fingel's dopple. And thewhole thing reeks of the kind of "social commentary" fiction I used to writewhen I was in ninth grade. (Wretched stuff, really.) MST3K really is thebest venue for this film, even if the fat jokes got a bitold.Nevertheless, I have a soft spot in my heart for this movie. When I waslittle, this movie was shown on the local PBS station. I must've been nineor ten, and for years I only remembered tiny snippets -- a glowing cube,somebody going into a computer and making it snow indoors, and, of course,my first introduction to "Casablanca." My brother, who couldn't have beenmore than 7, was my only corroboration for having seen this movie because heremembered it too, twelve years later when I mentioned it over dinner afterwatching "Casablanca."And so began my crusade to find this movie. All I knew was that it had afloating cube, a shootout in a restaurant resembling Rick's "CafeAmericain," indoor snow, and a scene where a schoolchild almost spilledmustard on a man's exposed brain.It wasn't until my junior year of college that I found it, in the sci-fisection of the Northfield Video Update. I watched it, and was astonished athow amateurish the movie was. It was fun to see Raul Julia, who hadrecently passed on, and I decided that the movie was intensely cheezy,probably disliked by most (and with good reason), but that it had it's ownparticular charms. I do have a soft spot for cheeze, afterall.So it was with great joy that I discovered MST3K was doing the movie. Sadly, I kept missing that episode. This year, I finally managed to catchit via timed record. And it was worth the wait. It's a pretty typicalMST3K episode, but for me nothing can dim the charm of this crazy film. It's a bad movie, make no mistake there. The actors mostly seem embarrassedto be in it and are working without the benefit of direction. The script isputrid. The music is hilariously bad. The general effect is only slightlyless comprehensible than the "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite" segment atthe end of "2001." But I still like it, for some inexplicablereason.As a footnote, I saw "Total Recall" a few years before I finallyrediscovered this movie. Although I could not remember much of "Overdrawn"at the time, "Total Recall" still brought back memories and left me with thenagging feeling that I had seem the same thing done better sometimepreviously. Strange how the memory cheats. Maybe I've become overdrawn atthe memory bank myself!

eskovan1

(2012-03-06 11:52:59)

Don't bumble or fumble the Fingal Dopple!!!

Like everyone else I saw this 'movie' on MST3K. Oh thehumanity...What I'll add is that if you've ever been involved in any kind of low-budgetfilmmaking this thing is great fun to watch. It's shot on videotape so itlooks like some community college media class' final exam. Like so manyothers they use a modern mall as a bland future-scape. They obviously spenta huge amount trying to look 'high-tech' and it all just comes off lookingsilly (even, I think, back in '85). And add in the inexplicable presence ofA-list actor Raul Julia (who had already appeared in John Cassavettes "TheTempest" and Francis Coppola's "One from the Heart" in 1982) and you've gota 'wriggle-uncomfortably-and-embarrassingly-in-your-chair'masterpiece!Try and not shudder as:o Raul Julia does a bad Bogart impression!o Raul Julia does a voiceover while pretending he's a drunkmonkey!o They repeat the phrase 'fingal-dopple' over & over!Think Matrix meets Brainstorm meets Casablanca meets Rollerball meets Dr.Who!!!

thenintengenius

(2012-03-05 17:19:21)

"I AM INTERFACE!"

Most famous for being featured on MST3K, Overdrawn at the Memory Bank is avery obvious target. Starring actual talent Raul Julia for who knows whatreason (Did he need the money? Did he feel sorry for the PBS affiliaterelated to this?), the film is basically a cross between watered-down 1984and Tron, minus the elements that made the preceding two any good. There'sdoppling, Casablanca, crappy names, and not even cool for their timecomputer graphics.That said, unlike many films featured on MST3K, Overdrawn is actuallyprettyridiculous on its own. In fact, if you try to view it as a dorky comedy(nothard when you have Raul Julia giving a voiceover to stock NationalGeographic footage of a baboon) as opposed to a serious sci-fi outing,you'll find your enjoyment of the film increse tenfold (mainly becauseit'llthen be easier to digest the film's more asinine aspects). Stillrecommendedin its MST3K iteration, but isn't too bad otherwise.

Mellow_Biafra

(2012-03-04 12:27:37)

A "6"

I rated this film a six, and I'm going to tell you why. Considering thisfilm was made in 1985 it was pretty visionary in terms of storyline and Ifound the acting to be pretty well. I also found the Casablanca featureswith in the story as a interesting twist, although it was out of place Ikind of liked it. I'm not saying it was the greatest movie ever made butcompared with the normal insults to cinema that are regularly featured onMST3K, this film wasn't half bad.(Besides the thing with Mike calling Overdrawn at the Memory Bank techsupport and being asked for the serial number of the movie was pricelesshehehehehe)

gamer

(2012-03-03 16:24:36)

Horrid trash, but cool on MST3K

My family and I were watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 one dark andgloomy night, when this film decided to show up.The first shock: Raul Julia????The second shock: This movie really sucks!Okay, so the second one wasn't such a shock, because we were watchingMST3K,but that's beside the point.After seeing it, my mom proclaimed it the worst film she'd ever seen (Shehasn't seen Plan 9 from Outer Space, though)She had a point.The folks at MST3K made it rather funny, but even they couldn't save itsviewers from the horrid lines, "special" effects, and overall sense of"Eh?"If anyone is at my house and is bothering me about something or another, Ilike to put this movie on and tell them to enjoy.

icehole4

(2012-02-24 01:45:23)

Overdrawn at the Stupidity, Mediocrity and Aardvark Banks

***SPOILERS***I have to wonder why this was given the green light. I might expectsomething like this to be syndicated, but not from PBS. Anyone associatedwith the movie Casablanca probably turned over in their graves when thiscame out. The plot goes like this: Raul Julia is a data entry operatorcaught slacking off at the job in a dystopian nightmare world. They send himto be psychoanalyzed. They then put his mind in the body of a chimp.Afterwards, his mind goes into a cube and gets stuck there. A bratty kidgoes around and changes markers on people's bodies, sending Julia's bodyaway from his mind. There's also a woman trying to help him. She's ano-talent actress that's brunette hair on a stick. She manages to save Juliain the nick of time. Julia then deletes their identities, and goes off withher. There's nothing wrong with aardvarks despite what this tv show willtell you.Avoid this at all costs. Not even MST3K could save it.

billy_witch_doctor619

(2012-02-23 16:23:13)

Ant-Eater haters, Children running amok at the brain institute

I loved Overdrawn at the Memory Bank simply because MST3000 did awonderful job bashing the movie. Fingal (Raul Julia) is some Casablancajunkie who gets "doppled" into a body of a monkey for compulsoryprophylactic rehab when his body becomes tampered with by a demonicchild, sending him for a sex change operation instead! This somehowcauses an energy surge in which Fingal stops dabbling in dopples andbecomes trapped into the supercomputer HX368. He then uses his wit andcunning to make it through his self-perpetuated reenactment ofCasablanca and to become interfaced with the HX368. All the while thecomputer which holds Fingals' memories and conscious are on the vergeof being obliterated by the short shelf life of doppling cubes. I don'trecommend buying this movie unless of course it is Volume 4 of MST3000DVD set. I liked it for it's humor and weird filming effects. The wholemovie is filmed like a dream sequence, with a slight haze around thelenses of the cameras.