Breast Men (1997)

Based on actual, if enhanced, facts, this bouncy comedy stars David Schwimmer and Chris Cooper as the Texas surgeons who pumped up women's profiles by inventing silicone breast implants in 1962. Dispensing scathing social commentary, this follows the mismatched and rather unsympathetic pair over three decades. Cooper, an often underrated actor, breaks away from his usual typecasting as a laconic cowboy. He plays an angry, Machiavellian doctor who sees potential and enormous financial reward in Schwimmer's gelatinous inventions. Schwimmer displays more range than we've previously seen, and there are some interesting supporting faces amid all that jiggly silicone. It is not the vulgar farce you might expect from the title, but a stylish blend of comedy and drama. --Rochelle O'Gorman Amazon.com

A Breast Above the Rest

This is a fun film, featuring some quick, snappy writing. If you love films that span the decades and include plenty of pop culture spin, while based in some fact (even if it takes some liberties now and then) ie. think a la "Boogie Nights" and "The People V.S. Larry Flynt," you'll like this film.
Great production values and David Schwimmer is fun in this feature film breakout role as he was preparing for his post-"Friends" career. Chris Cooper is a stellar standout, as usual.
Of course, it goes without saying, be aware there's lots of above the waist female nudity.
- - Philip Potempa, The Times Newspaper of Indiana/Illinois August 25, 2008

Look underneath the cheese and find a good movie

I really liked this movie, although when I saw it in my TV schedule listed to be shown at 2am in the morning I thought it would be a tacky B-rated sex movie aimed at teenage boys.

Due to its unfortunate tacky title and the timeslot it achieved it was an easy misconception to make. In fact there were only two things holding my interest, David Schwimmer from Friends was in it and I needed a half decent show to keep me company while I was up at that hour on my computer.

Breast Men is marketed as a dark comedy, but I found it to be an enlightening, serious and informative biographic drama about the evolution and the pros and cons of breast implants.

Based loosely on true events Breast Men also follows the lives of the doctors involved, the roles they played in introducing the implants to women and the effect the popularity of them had on their lives and the lives of the women who received them.

David Schwimmer started out as being a little "Rossy" but as the movie progressed he transformed to be totally believable as Dr. Kevin Saunders, one of the doctors who improved the design of the silicone breast implant, consequently turning it into a multi million dollar industry.

So I'm at my computer desk manoeuvring my mouse pointer around the screen and watching the TV which is positioned so I can keep one eye on it while still working on my computer when suddenly a naked female torso appears on the screen and it's talking!

This is where the movie falls down... for its critics because at first sight it is so shocking.

My attention is totally on the TV now and I'm feeling offended and objectified because the movie makers have taken away the women's identity by cutting off their heads and reducing them to a breast exposed, talking torso. I'm thinking "this has got to be the ultimate in female sexual exploitation, what man is going to hear these torsos or take them seriously when their breasts are sticking out of the TV screen?"

Then I got over it and started to listen to what the torsos were actually saying and they were making sense.

It may be inconceivable to believe but the person who thought of the bare talking torsos is a creative genius, because it took sheer artistic brilliance to come up with the idea and guts to take the risk of portraying women in that way.

Guts because of the negative way it could be interpreted (eg. my initial reaction) and artistic
brilliance because each torso doesn't describe the situation of one woman but of many women in common situations. Each torso represents a different group of women.

That's the reason they have no heads because it's not the voice of one woman talking, but the voices of many. Think about it. What other way could of been used to express the point of view of so many women in such a short space of time and if the torsos had not been naked how else could the women's situations have been illustrated so easily?

This is a totally under rated movie that deserved a better timeslot. Don't let the cheesy marketing put you off, it`s a good movie. What makes it good is that it's bold, entertaining and dares to be different while still getting its message across in a truly unique way.

I would recommend Breast Men to any woman thinking of getting breast implants and to any man who is trying to convince his partner get them. Or if you are just interested in historical dramas this one is an interesting and thought provoking one to watch. March 23, 2008

Not a very good film, i like the history but a bit boring, however i am a fan of Schwimmer

Is nice but at times a bit boring. The history in the film is good but a bit slow at times. May 8, 2007

Based on a true story, slightly augmented

HBO has a great knack at taking bits of history which we never think much about, and turning them into incredibly entertaining movies. Example: This breezy, very clever satire about the rise and fall of the two inventors of the silcone breast implant.

David Schwimmer and Chris Cooper star as the two doctors who come up with the idea of the implant, and both play there parts very well. Say what you want about Schwimmer, (I never liked him in other roles), but he fairs pretty well here, as he almost constantly shifts from burnt-out loser to a man with new-found riches. July 5, 2006

A slightly augmented history of silicone breast implants

"Brest Men" is not exactly a black comedy, but it has some moments that are definitely in that direction. This 1997 HBO film tells the story, "slightly augmented," of the invention, development, and commercial exploitation of silicone breast implants. The punny phrase "slightly augmented" means "fictionalized in this case. Silicone gel breast implants were invented by the plastic surgeons Thomas Cronin and Frank Gerow at the University of Texas in the early 1960s. They were then developed as a commercial product by Dow Corning in 1962. This film tells the story of the rise and fall of silicone gel breast implants in the persons of Dr. Christopher "Kevin" Saunders (David Schwimmer) and Dr. William Larson (Chris Cooper), a pair of reconstructive surgeons in Texas.

The film begins with the first in a series of shots of women whose faces cannot be seen who bare their breasts and explain what they think about them. Both the breasts and the comments are across the spectrum, and constitute one of the more thought provocative parts of "Breast Men." They also pop up often enough throughout the film to ground it back in reality. That is because as Doctors Saunders and Larson create this new field of reconstructive surgery things get a bit strange, whether it is the bizarre condescension of their colleagues to their proposal or the rich life style they are able to afford because of the success of their practice. Although there is mention of reconstructive breast surgery for women who have undergone a mastectomy, that is quickly ignored for women who want larger breasts.

Saunders gets the idea for breast implants when he spies a neighbor using breast enhancement cream and he is apparently sincere in his desire to help women, at least until he gets to operate on the woman of his dream (Emily Proctor), who ends up becoming his wife. Larson is a senior surgeon who originally dismisses the idea but gets tired of being considered a joke by the other doctors at the hospital and gets in touch with a Dow Corning representative (Matt Frewer) who takes Saunders original design, with used a saline solution, and upgrades it to silicone. It takes a while for the two doctors to find a woman (Kathleen Wilhoite) willing to undergo the new procedure and then to get their practice up and running, at which point it becomes extremely lucrative. Along the way the two doctors enjoy the good life but come to a parting of the ways over who deserves the lion's share of the credit for this whole business.

Then the first stories start coming out about implants that are leaking and the first lawsuits get filed. The story tries to provide both sides of the controversy, but it is hard for the doctors spouting statistics over the phone to compete with a lawyer (Terry O'Quinn) in court pointing out that the same company that made the implants made Agent Orange and holding up examples of implants that have dissolved. Yes, you get to see dozens of pairs of breasts in this movie, but you are also going to be confronted with film of actual surgery and examples of implants that have gone horribly wrong. Believe me when I say it is going to be the latter examples that will stand out in your memory.

The punch line for the film is historically accurate because it did turn out that what was profitable to give was even more profitable to take away. It is not that the history of silicone gel breast implants is a joke, but there are certainly surreal elements to it. There will be parts of "Breast Men" that you will find funny and others that will make you uncomfortable, and in both cases those responses will be appropriate. Writer John Stockwell (who played Dennis Guilder in "Christine" and Cougar in "Top Gun") does a nice job of mixing together the diverse threads and if I were to point to the moment in the film where it really hits home it would be when Saunders's former wife comes to his office to pay him a visit. You get more than you bargained for when you watch this movie. July 19, 2005

More reviews at Amazon.com ...