Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype was released in 1980, and is a comedy spoof of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic. The main plot-point difference is that Heckyll, while mild-mannered and non-violent, appears to be a hideous monster, while Mr. Hype is handsome and well-spoken, yet villainous and homicidal. This movie takes place in modern times and Heckyll uses another doctor's formula.
Poor podiatrist, Dr. Heckyl is enamored with a woman he sees get on the bus every day, Coral. One day Coral shows up at his office as a patient. Oddly, once past the initial shock, Coral seems to like him a lot and will fall in love with him (but not Mr. Hype). Heckyl becomes super depressed by his hideous appearance, and takes an overdose of another doctor's diet drug in order to kill himself by reducing so much weight he disappears. Instead, he is turned into a handsome debonair man about town. Unfortunately, his new appearance comes with a new persona, one that is quite violent and evil. Hype gets horny, but always seems to kill his dates before there can be any romance. Soon, Hype sets his sights on Coral.
Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype provides examples of:
- Applied Phlebotinum: A weight loss drug can make the horrific Heckyl handsome (and vicious).
- Beauty Is Bad: When Heckyl becomes handsome, he becomes evil. Also, the bald, kinda homely Dr. Hoo becomes evil when he becomes the attractive Miss Finebum clone.
- Big Bad: Mr. Hype, Hekyl's evil given form.
- Driven to Suicide: Heckyl takes the formula specifically to kill himself. The results are not what he expected, but he will eventually get the results with another dose.
- Gender Bender: Dr. Hoo also drinks the formula, but is turned into a woman (virtual twin of Miss Finebum).There is a scene in which Dr. Heckyl has a string of photo montage transformations, including some as a woman.
- Fantastic Drug: A weight loss drug makes you pucker. It also makes Heckyl handsome (and vicious).
- Jekyll & Hyde: Parodied. This one differs in that the original "good" alter-ego is the ugly one.
