(1997)
2.5
Brian J. Dillard
A silicone-injected precursor to Paul Thomas Anderson's popular Boogie Nights, this 1997 made-for-cable docudrama adapts the classic "pride goeth before the fall" template not to the porn industry, but to the related world of breast enhancement surgery. Sitcom star David Schwimmer strikes the right balance between humanitarian concern and horny hubris in his portrayal of Kevin Saunders, the young doctor who first dreams up the breast implant. Chris Cooper plays his mentor and business partner, Dr. William Larson, an older, respected surgeon whose high ideals eventually become eroded by the huge windfall the men enjoy after going into business with Dow Corning. The picture is giddy during the first act as Saunders tries to turn his vision into reality, then it turns naughty verging on sleazy during the second, as breasts and bank balances are enhanced in huge numbers onscreen. The tone of the final act, which follows the characters and the industry from monied excess to lawsuits and tragedy, doesn't quite, ahem, gel with the loopy tone of what went before. But taken as a whole, Lawrence O'Neil's picture is a fluffy, buoyant approximation of real life -- altogether appropriate considering the subject.
Breast Men on AllMovie
Breast Men (1997)
