Electric Dreams Reviews

This is a modern-day retelling of the "Cyrano" story with one major switch: instead of a long-nosed romantic, the rival for the beloved's affections is a computer. Von Dohlen is a nerdy San Francisco architect who is in love with his cello-playing neighbor, Madsen. When Von Dohlen accidentally drops his new microcomputer, the unit goes slightly awry and develops some unusual capabilities. The computer, named Edgar (using the voice of Cort) hears Madeline's cello through the ventilation duct, falls in love with her, and begins writing love songs. ELECTRIC DREAMS relies heavily on graphics, state-of-the art video tricks, and electronic music (well done by Moroder). The direction is a bit frantic, as might be expected from first-time feature director Barron. The story gets silly from time to time, stretching credibility to the breaking point, but the final result is an old-fashioned love triangle made new by the third party's being electronic.