The Schwarzeneggerian complexity is reflected in the fact that the $60 million “Total Recall” is really two movies in one. The first comes from the story by the legendary science-fiction writer Philip K. Dick, “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale,” about a company that sells memory implants so that people can “remember” experiences they never had. In the Orwellian centenary year of 2084, a construction worker named Quaid (Arnold) buys a “memory” of a trip to Mars. When the implanting process goes haywire, Quaid’s mind explodes into conflicting identities. Since it’s Arnold, his body also explodes into action, giving us the second movie, a crunch-the-face, rip-the-limbs symphony of violence on two planets.
Most of the crunching occurs on Mars, a colony of Earth ruled by the vicious Cohaagen (Ronny Cox), who knows who Quaid really is (or was). Arnold’s double identity is the fun part of “Total Recall”–he’s good guy Quaid, who’s battling Cohaagen, but he was also bad-guy Hauser, Cohaagen’s henchman (Don’t try to figure it out, see the damn movie.) The fusion of a film about memory-identityreality with one about galactic mayhem has a certain appealing madness, but ultimately mayhem beats memory to a pulp, which leaves only the aftertaste of movie blood.
title: “Thanks For The Memories” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-13” author: “George Hunt”
Cindy Adams, gossip columnist: ““I put [Vaseline] on my lips and my lashes at night. I put so much on that my husband says I keep slipping out of bed!''
““General Hospital’s’’ Lynn Herring: ““Under my nose when I have a cold to keep the redness away from frequent blowing.''
Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun: ““Feet! Nothing keeps them looking better . . . especially in the summer!''
Eartha Kitt: ““I put [Vaseline] all over my body and sit in my steam room.''
