| Overdrawn at the Memory Bank | |
|---|---|
 VHS cover | |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Based on | "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank" byJohn Varley |
| Teleplay by | Corinne Jacker |
| Directed by | Douglas Williams |
| Starring |
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| Music by | John Tucker |
| Country of origin |
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| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers |
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| Cinematography | Barry Bergthorson |
| Editor | Rit Wallis |
| Running time | 84 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Release | September 22, 1984 (1984-09-22) |
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank is a 1984science fictiontelevision film starringRaul Julia andLinda Griffiths. Based on the 1976John Varley short story of the same name from theEight Worlds series,[1][2] the film takes place in adystopian future where an employee at aconglomerate gets trapped inside the company's computer and ends up affecting the real world. It was co-produced by Canada's RSL Films, Ltd inToronto andNew York television stationWNET. Because of its limited budget, the motion picture was shot onvideotape instead of film and was pre-sold to small Americancable companies.
It premiered onCBC Television in 1984 and was later broadcast onAmerican Playhouse in 1985. The film received mixed reviews from critics.Overdrawn at the Memory Bank was featured in the eighth season finale episode of the comedy television seriesMystery Science Theater 3000 in 1997.
In a futuredystopia, Aram Fingal, aprogrammer working for theconglomerate Novicorp, is caught watchingCasablanca at hisworkstation. As a consequence, the company assigns him mandatoryprophylactic rehabilitation, where subjects are "doppeled" into wild animals to experience relaxation. Aram is sent into ababoon where he is monitored by controller Apollonia James. Aram begins to enjoy the experience until he is threatened by an elephant shaking the tree he is perched on. He activates an escape clause that is supposed to return his mind to his real body. However, during his doppel preparation, the routing tag on Aram's body was misplaced. When no one can locate his body, Aram's mind must be kept active by storing it in Novicorp's central computer, the HX368, which controls everything from finances to the weather. His mind can only be maintained in the computer for a limited time before it is destroyed.
Aram's disappearance is reported to a rival corporation. The news is broadcast worldwide, causing Novicorp'sshare price to crash.Majority shareholders force Novicorp's chairman to divert resources to keep Aram alive and find his body. Apollonia is assigned to locate his mind and keep him from hacking into Novicorp's mainframe. With Apollonia's help, Aram creates a virtual world where he encounters characters fromCasablanca, including a version ofHumphrey Bogart's character, Rick. However, Aram quickly grows bored, and eventually plots a way to bring down Novicorp's finances without being removed and killed. Apollonia tries to keep him out of trouble, even placing herself in opposition to Novicorp's leaders. She eventually, despite theconflict of interest, falls in love with Aram.
With Apollonia's help, Aram is finally able to "interface" with the mainframe and defeat his antagonists. He also returns to his body, which is discovered just before undergoing asex change operation. Finally corporeal and reunited with his accomplice, Aram has taken complete control of the HX368. After ordering bonuses and stocks for every employee, committing Novicorp's chairman to a month of "compulsory rehab" via doppeling, and changing both his and Apollonia's identities to those of Rick and Ilsa fromCasablanca, Aram vows to fight the dystopian government. The film ends with the new couple walking out the door and, now free from Novicorp's oppression, talking about opening a club on the other side of town: Rick's Place.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank was co-produced byNew York television stationWNET andToronto-based production company RSL Films, Ltd. It was shot at Magder Studios and on-location in Toronto from August 20 to September 12, 1983.[4] Co-producer Robert Lantos said that the film's budget "exceeded well into seven figures". To cover some of the costs, it was pre-sold to small American cable companies. The film wasshot on videotape, with Lantos claiming that if it had been shot onphotographic film, it would have been as expensive asBlade Runner.[5] Douglas Williams directed the film andCorinne Jacker wrote thefilm treatment.[6]
The film premiered onCBC Television on September 22, 1984,[7] later being shown onPBS's anthology seriesAmerican Playhouse on February 4, 1985.[8] It was broadcast in the United Kingdom onChannel 4 in June 1990.[9] The film was released onVHS byNew World Video andLaserDisc byImage Entertainment.[10]
Tom Brinkmoeller forThe Cincinnati Enquirer calledOverdrawn at the Memory Bank a "tongue-in-cheek and imaginative 90-minute delight".[11]LA Weekly, acknowledging the low production values, praised the film for its ideas and the strong romantic relationship between Julia's and Griffiths' characters.[12]The Washington Post's Sandy Rovner described the film as "certainly inoffensive, occasionally funny and altogether watchable".[13] Jim Murphy fromThe Age considered the plot to be "quite tortuous" but thought it to be imaginative enough to sustain interest.[14] In his bookThe Sci-Fi Movie Guide, Chris Barsanti foundOverdrawn at the Memory Bank to be one of the better film translations ofcyberpunk, despite being one of the least known. Barsanti also called the film a "fun lark" despite its confusing ending.[15] In a negative review forCinema Canada, Bruce Malloch remarked that, had it been released as a feature film rather than a direct-to-TV film, it would have been a failure. Malloch was critical of the film's plot and special effects, as well as its attempts to balance both drama and comedy.[16]
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank was featured in the eighth-season finale episode ofMystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K),[17] a comedy television series in which the characterMike Nelson and his two robot friendsCrow T. Robot andTom Servo are forced to watch bad films as part of an ongoing scientific experiment. The episode was broadcast on theSci-Fi Channel on December 6, 1997.[18]MST3K cast memberBill Corbett disliked the film, calling it an "extraordinarily dumb movie whose relentless 'funny' techno-futuro-jargon was the screenwriting equivalent ofwater torture." Raul Julia had recently died, and the writers were wary of damaging his reputation.[a][17] Fellow cast member and writerPaul Chaplin voiced his hatred towardsOverdrawn, equating his disdain with later "experiment"Hobgoblins.[20]
The episode was considered one of the best episodes in the series, both by critics and by fans of the show. Jim Vorel forPaste ranked it as the 40th best in the series,[b] saying the film was ahead of its time and giving praise for the acting. Vorel was irritated by itssoft focus appearance but overall considered it to be one of the most interesting films featured onMST3K.[22] In a fan poll for the top 100 best episodes in the series, it ranked eleventh.[23]Elliott Kalan, the head writer for theNetflix era of the series, considered it one of his favorite episodes in the series.[24] In 2003,Rhino Entertainment released theMST3K episode as part of the "Volume 4" DVD collection, along with episodes focused onGirl in Gold Boots,Hamlet, andSpace Mutiny.[25]