Was It A Dream?

So one my buddies was over at my house the other night for a party and he mentioned an email I never got where he cited the often discussed conjoined twin named Kuato from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1990 classic Total Recall.  It got me thinking.  The movie is based on the short story by Philip K. Dick “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.”  At the time, Total Recall was an instant classic among its target audience of pimply-faced teenage boys.  I fit(ted) the mold perfectly.  Schwarzenegger already captivated me with his roles as the Terminator, and as Major Alan ‘Dutch’ Schaeffer in Predator, or as the wrongly convicted Ben Richards in, The Running Man.  Remember those days.  Arnold was also riding high after a stellar performance as Julius Benedict in Twins.  There was no stopping him or Hollywood for casting him in any movie.  See Kindergarten Cop. Actually please don't see it if you haven't.

When Total Recall debuted in cinemas on June 1, 1990 with an ‘R’ rating, every kid under the age of seventeen tried to figure out how to either sneak into the theater or convince a parent or guardian that “it really wasn’t that bad… it just has some sci-fi violence.”  Yeah right.    Not since Eddie Murphy took the stage has the “F” bomb dropped more, nor has mutant nudity been so widely accepted. 

Anyway, what I really wanted to bring up is the debate over whether the movie was an implanted dream or not.  Let me put this to rest quickly.  Remember when Douglas Quaid went to Rekall and selected the secret agent memory implant.   Well, as he is dozing off to sleep before his implant, Ernie, one of the “doctors” quietly mutters, “That a new one. Blue sky on Mars.”  Flash forward to the final scene of the movie.  Blue sky.   Mystery debunked.  The whole movie is a Rekall implant.  Mac Carthy out.  Next question.

But seriously, Total Recall was one of the best movies of the time.  I did re-watch it on Saturday and I must admit it was a little more tedious to sit through than when I was 15, but it was a heck of a lot funnier.  Arnold’s line delivery is some of the funniest in his entire body of work.  “See you at the pahhhty Richter," as he throws the freshly severed arms down the elevator shaft to him.   The Kuato reveal scene also rivals the ‘bean scene’ in Blazing Saddles for its comedic value.  Who would have thought a slender looking man could be hiding a small child attached to his stomach?  And, who would have guessed that the little stowaway, with the voice of Magic 105.1’s David Allan Boucher, would end up being the leader of the rebel faction on Mars?  Genius!  If you have no idea what I am talking about hit Control+Alt+Delete or head to your nearest store and pickup the complete Arnold collection.  It is worth the waste of time.