MovieChat Forums > Altered States (1980) Discussion > Am I the only one who laughed at this?

Am I the only one who laughed at this?

posted 21 years ago by B-J-C
59 replies | jump to latest

I saw Altered States last night, and I don't know about you, but I had a good giggle at some of the dialogue. It's okay for one character to use run-on sentences if it's consistent with their personality and/or situation, but in this film, practically EVERYONE uses them! I thought they got quite funny after a while.

And I couldn't help but laugh when the doctor, after examining the x-ray, says 'The guy's a f***ing gorilla!' Is that your scientific diagnosis? I mean; what kind of a doctor would say that when examining a patient?

I don't know why, but I also found it amusing when the dogs were chasing the ape-man.

I know it's not meant to be a comedy, but I thought these parts were quite funny.

Money is society's way of telling you 'You could do better!'

[–] tvlover1961 16 years ago

I just watched it last night--yes, you're not crazy for thinking it has its unintentional comedic moments. One of the weirdest movies I've seen in a long time.

[–] bimsie99 16 years ago

I saw this movie when it first came out with a few friends,one of which kept telling us what a profound film it was.The rest of us just couldnt stop laughing.At one point one of my friends yells out to the screen,"Oh,C'mon!"
Not the worst thing that Ken Russel made,which says more about Ken Russell than anything else.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] drunk_in_skopje 15 years ago

you are not the only one. the movie is terrible at being serious.

[–] coltronix 15 years ago

I'm kinda upset everybody thought this film was hilarious! I watched it last night and thought it was amazing.

"Its time to Kick Ass and Chew Bubble Bum....and I'm all outta gum"

[–] gnolti 15 years ago

I'm with coltronix. I've always thought AS has been hugely underrated and misunderstood. But another reason so many people miss the point of the movie is that for all of its sci-fi pretensions, the story is basically romantic. It makes a lot more sense also if you're familiar with the previous two screenplays by Chayefsky -- Network and The Hospital -- which put a lot of the themes in AS in perspective. But above all, if you're basically cynical and ironic by nature, the "romantic quest" aspect of the story will blow right over your head.

There, daddy, do I get a gold star?