The Lawnmower Man (1992)
57%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: 3 nominations
The Lawnmower Man suffers from a predictable, melodramatic script, and its once-groundbreaking visual effects look dated today
The Lawnmower Man is like a bad sci-fi movie that you can’t help but love. It’s got everything from cheesy acting to over-the-top special effects that will make you laugh out loud. Sure, the story is a bit mundane, but who cares when you’re watching Jeff Fahey mow lawns with his mind? It’s a classic ’90s flick that’s worth a watch just for the nostalgia factor alone. So grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the ride.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Brandeis-Bardin Institute – 1101 Pepper Tree Lane, Simi Valley, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language, sensuality and a scene of violence
Year of Release
1992
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby SR
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Sep 15, 2009
Genre(s)
Horror
Keyword(s)
starring Jeff Fahey, Pierce Brosnan, Jenny Wright, Mark Bringelson, Geoffrey Lewis, Jeremy Slate, directed by Brett Leonard, written by Brett Leonard, Gimel Everett, genre Horror, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Steven Rea, Jay Boyar, Vincent Canby, Kathleen Maher, Richard Harrington, Matt Brunson, David Rollison, Tyler Smith, David Nusair, Vanessa Letts, produced by Gimel Everett, Edward Simons, MPAA rating R, The Lawnmower Man, Dr Lawrence Angelo, Jobe Smith, Marnie Burke, Sebastian Timms, Terry McKeen, Father Francis McKeen, computer-simulated training sequences, augmenting intelligence, psychic powers, revenge, special effects, virtual reality, Stephen King adaptation, aged computer graphics, shlocky cheese
Worldwide gross: $32,100,816
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $68,712,617
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,200
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 7,493,197
US/Canada gross: $32,100,816
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $68,712,617
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 927
US/Canada opening weekend: $7,751,971
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $16,593,292
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 743
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $10,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $21,405,256
Production budget ranking: 1,337
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $11,526,730
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $35,780,631
ROI to date (est.): 109%
ROI ranking: 906
Pierce Brosnan – Dr. Lawrence Angelo
Jenny Wright – Marnie Burke
Mark Bringelson – Sebastian Timms
Geoffrey Lewis – Terry McKeen
Jeremy Slate – Father Francis McKeen
Director(s)
Brett Leonard
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (40) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (14) | Rotten (26)
The Lawnmower Man echoes Frankenstein and a zillion other noble-scientist-whose-experiment-goes-awry movies.
April 1, 2014 | Rating: 2/4
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
The Lawnmower Man has it all — melodramatic plot, bad acting, special effects that will undoubtedly seem cheesy in about five minutes and even a concluding sequence in which the usual lofty moral is voiced.
April 1, 2014 | Rating: 2/5
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Dazzling computer animation and special effects overcome The Lawnmower Man’s mundane story.
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
The Lawnmower Man depends mostly on a lot of colorful video-game-like special effects. They are very loud but, after a while, the noise and the lights induce a torpor that is quite soothing.
August 30, 2004
Vincent Canby
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
The Lawnmower Man tries to hit all the points of dogma about Virtual Reality, but it’s getting to be such a large text that each point only gets a mention.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 2.5/5
Kathleen Maher
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
So loosely based on a Stephen King short story as to constitute fraud, The Lawnmower Man goes right to the bottom of a growing list of failed King adaptations.
January 1, 2000
Richard Harrington
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
It’s harder than ever to take Jeff Fahey’s performance seriously since it’s as broad as Ben Stiller’s Tugg Speedman character playing Simple Jack in Tropic Thunder.
November 8, 2021 | Rating: 2/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
The Lawnmower Man is an ambitious not-quite failure that almost dared King to sue from moment one, but is still worth a watch if you love aged computer graphics and shlocky cheese.
January 24, 2020
David Rollison
The Spool
There are plenty of eye-rolling moments in this film, and not just from the dated effects.
July 26, 2019
Tyler Smith
Battleship Pretension
It’s an intriguing premise that’s employed to perpetually erratic effect by director Brett Leonard…
June 30, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Gratuitously offensive.
July 25, 2018
Vanessa Letts
The Spectator
Its greatest assets are its dazzling video game special effects.
November 1, 2017 | Rating: C+
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews…
Plot
A scientist performs experiments involving intelligence enhancing drugs and virtual reality on a simple-minded gardener. He puts the gardener on an extensive schedule of learning, and quickly he becomes brilliant. But at this point the gardener has a few ideas of his own on how the research should continue, and the scientist begins losing control of his experiments.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The Lawnmower Man stars Pierce Brosnan and Jeff Fahey.
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