Senseless
By Jeremiah G., Aurora, SD
"Senseless" is a fun-filled 1998comedy starring Marlon Wayans and David Spade. Wayans plays Darryl Witherspoon, abusiness student competing for a brokerage firm's junior analyst position. Spadeplays Scott Thorpe, Witherspoon's obnoxious, rich rival who repeatedly tellsDarryl, "You're out of your league."
Darryl is struggling to payhis tuition and help his single mother with the bills. He works multiple jobs,donates blood and even volunteers to be an "outbreak monkey" for thecollege's science lab experiments. When Witherspoon is offered $3,000 to try anew sense-enhancing drug, he thinks he's hit the jackpot.
The fun beginsas Darryl tries to cope with his new "super senses." As he hones hisnew capabilities, he experiences each of the five senses 10 times more thanaverage. Darryl's new capabilities give him a feeling of power and an edge in thecompetition for the junior analyst position. Things take a plunge, though, whenDarryl takes a double dose. The overdose lets Darryl only experience four of hisfive senses at one time.
Even though "Senseless" is a hilariouscomedy, it has a strong underlying theme of "to thine ownself be true."Wayans does a great job portraying a hard-working student trying to make it inthe real world, but not fitting in.
One aspect of the movie whichmay hit a nerve with some is Darryl's stereotypical personality. He often usesEbonics and is looked down on by his classmates. He doesn't act the way they act,or talk the way they talk. His vocabulary contains many "Yo's," whicheventually rub off on his economics professor.
This film illustrates thatyou can accomplish your goals by being your own person. In fact, it shows howmuch harder it is for Darryl to accomplish his goals when he altered his sensualcapabilities. He was looking for a "quick fix," but it got himnowhere.
"Senseless" contains a few moments of inspiration, butit is no surprise that it didn't win any Academy Awards. It's a great comedywhose only purpose is to keep the audience entertained. I recommend it to anyonelooking to unwind. There are sure to be some moments where even the dullestcorporate executive would crack a smile at Marlon Wayans' performance.
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