Modern Problems

Modern Problems was released in 1981 and directed by Ken Shapiro. Rather than simply retelling the plot, the film is worth revisiting for the characters, conflicts and ideas that give its story its identity.

Home and safety, Friendship and Power emerge through what the characters face and the choices they make, giving the story more to explore beyond its immediate plot. Max Fiedler, Darcy Carson and Lorraine do not begin the film seeing one another clearly, and watching those first impressions break down is a big part of why Modern Problems still works.

His girlfriend, Darcy, has just left him because of his jealousy and negativity. That detail matters because it shapes the way the characters initially see one another.

Now, everywhere he goes he seems to run into her with Barry, her narcissistic friend who wants her to be his girlfriend, which drives Max crazy. From there, the film can concentrate less on explaining the setup and more on what happens between the people inside it.

One night while driving home from a party that turned out to be held at a gay nightclub in Lower Manhattan, a tanker truck spills nuclear waste onto Max's car.

Some of it splashes onto him through his open sunroof, temporarily making him glow green before absorbing into his skin.

The next day, he notices he has developed telekinesis.

Max decides to use his new power to ruin Barry's attempts to woo Darcy.

With newfound optimism and confidence, he slowly begins to win back Darcy's love.

Things come to a head, however, when Max is asked to spend the weekend at the summer beach house of Brian, a paraplegic friend and publisher, who is now living with Max's ex-wife Lorraine.

Modern Problems has more on its mind than the basic setup suggests. the safety of home sits close to the centre of the film, but it is explored through the characters rather than treated like a lesson.

friendship matters just as much. The film keeps challenging the assumptions its characters make about one another, which is where much of its emotional weight comes from.

There is also plenty here about power and corporate power. Those ideas overlap rather than sitting in separate boxes, which helps the movie feel like a story about people rather than a checklist of themes.

Modern Problems could hardly be separated from the decade that produced it. Released in 1981, it carries the attitudes, style and filmmaking rhythms of the 1980s without needing to announce them.

It also sits comfortably within the era's science fiction and screwball comedy filmmaking, even if the movie itself is more interesting than any single genre label suggests. That is part of why it still appears in conversations about 1980s movies and 1980s science fiction movies. The film has become tied not only to its own story but to the wider memory of what 1980s movies felt like.

Watching Modern Problems now means seeing both what has lasted and what unmistakably belongs to 1981.

What still works best is the human material. Ideas around the safety of home, friendship and power have not stopped being relevant simply because the clothes, language and cultural references belong to another era.

Some moments inevitably land differently for a modern audience. Revisiting an older film properly means enjoying what still works without pretending every choice has aged equally well.

A large part of that staying power comes from the characters. Max Fiedler, Darcy Carson and Lorraine are still useful shorthand for the personalities and pressures the film explores.

Modern Problems has lasted because people continue to recognise something in it. Nostalgia helps, but nostalgia alone does not keep a movie in the conversation for decades.