The seventies Hammer Horror film, Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde, took the ridiculous idea of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll accidentally turning himself into a woman and ended up making a brilliant horror film out of it - David Price's film, on the other hand, takes the same idea, pretty much ditches the horror and spins it into a worthless comedy. I really wish I'd watched the Hammer film again instead of wasting my time on this garbage, but unfortunately, it's too late now. Robert Louis Stevenson would probably turn in his grave if he knew what had become of his classic story, and I wouldn't blame him for it. This film mixes gag based comedy very loosely with horror, and Dr Jekyll and Ms Hyde is, basically, just an excuse for having Timothy Daly get himself into all manner of embarrassing situations. At best, it's only ever moderately amusing. Daly plays scientist Richard Jacks; a perfume creator. One day he discovers that his grandfather was Dr Jekyll, and so sets about dabbling in his experiments; however, he soon regrets it when his alter ego, Helen Hyde, is created.
The film loosely mixes in themes of the difference between men and women both personally and career-wise into the plot; but these themes are only ever half baked, and feel as though they've been incorporated by accident due to the plot rather than because the film has anything to say. The acting is your typical over the top comedy stuff, with Timothy Daly taking the lead role. In fairness, he approaches his role with relish and is actually quite good, despite his silly voice-overs. Sean Young gets the role of his alter-ego and sleepwalks through the film, while the shining light where the cast is concerned comes from Lysette Anthony's corner. Not because of a great performance; but she is nice to look at. Comedic support from Stephen Tobolowsky, Harvey Fierstein and Jeremy Piven gives the film most of its gags, but most of them aren't funny. The way that the plot moves is largely annoying, and director David Price seems to like focusing on an object, and then cutting to the next scene. The plot is basically a series of situations, which does nothing to draw you into it; and it's not long before the film becomes monotonous. I don't recommend this crap at all, but if you like watching films where Dr Jekyll turns himself into a woman; there's always the Hammer Horror flick.
