It's 2053 Madison, Rhode Island. The government's mandate is to make everybody average. The world exists in a 1950s Americana. Harrison Bergeron (Sean Astin) has been held back for 3 years in school because he is too smart. Everybody has an electronic headband dampening their intelligence. He gets paired up with the dim-witted Alma in hopes of having more average children. His doctor directs him to a headhouse of smart women. He is especially taken by chess-playing Phillipa. It's a setup and he is taken to the National Administration Center which is really the power behind the government. He is recruited to join.
I can certainly understand what Kurt Vonnegut is driving at with his short story. However, the movie fails to think through those ideas and stretch it out fully. It's also a little smug deciding what is lowly and what is superior. I find some of the leveling devices a little too jokey. I would prefer this premise taken much more seriously and the story much more intense.
I can certainly understand what Kurt Vonnegut is driving at with his short story. However, the movie fails to think through those ideas and stretch it out fully. It's also a little smug deciding what is lowly and what is superior. I find some of the leveling devices a little too jokey. I would prefer this premise taken much more seriously and the story much more intense.