Movies - Manhattan Project

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	Movies - Manhattan Project

The movie The Manhattan Project was released on June 13, 1986. It was not a dramatic hit, grossing a total of only $3,900,000 USD at the box office. Named after the World War 2 era US nuclear program, it runs on the major themes of the 1980s Cold War: government secrecy, mutually assured destruction, and other issues. It starred several modernly famous comic actors before they were such stars, including John Lithgow and John Mahoney, and star of Sex and the City, Cynthia Nixon. It was written by Thomas Baum and Marshall Brickman and directed by Marshall Brickman.

The plot

In this movie, Dr. John Matthewson (John Lithgow) discovers a brilliant new process for refining plutonium to purities greater than 99.99%. The US government is so impressed with his work, they provide him with an entire government laboratory masking as a medical technology company, Medatomics Company, in the real-world suburban neighborhood of Ithaca, NY. Matthewson moves to this new location and, in his search for an apartment, meets real estate agent Elizabeth Stephens (Jill Eikenberry). He attempts to win her affections by inviting her brilliantly independent son, Paul (Christopher Collet), to take a tour of Medatomics and see "one of the sexiest lasers on the eastern seaboard."

Matthewson is confident that the medical research lab cover story will hold out, but Paul becomes suspicious of the company's true nature when he discovers a statistically impossible patch of five-leaf clover on the grounds. Paul and his aspiring journalist girlfriend, Jenny Anderman (Cynthia Nixon), decide to expose the secret weapons factory in a most dramatic way: Paul breaks into the Medatomics company and steals enough incredibly pure plutonium to build a nuclear bomb. To get the maximum publicity (and, thus, the maximum public outcry), Paul decides to build a full-scale nuclear fission device and enter it into the Science Fair. After convincing his mother and school his project is about hamsters bred in complete darkness, his research and construction begin on the nuclear device.

Meanwhile, Matthewson and the rest of Medatomics Company discover that their plutonium is missing (replaced by a bottle of shampoo and metallic glitter) and the government is informed. The government sends a military investigation team, headed by Lt. Colonel Conroy (John Mahoney), to recover the plutonium and arrest those responsible. Gradually, their investigation reveals that Paul has somehow taken the plutonium and has been researching the construction of a nuclear weapon. Suddenly, he is a suspected terrorist and his home is invaded by military and government agents. However, Paul has already left for the Science Fair.

When the government agents catch up to Paul at the Science Fair, Paul and Dr. Matthewson have a nice heart-to-heart talk wherein Matthewson tells Paul to just give the bomb to the agents or "they'll lock you in a room and throw away the room." Some of the Paul's fellow geeks from the Science Fair help him escape federal custody (because, after all, "there is more to life than freezing toads") Paul, Jenny, and his nuclear bomb become fugitives from the feds.

Paul, in an effort to get his life back, hatches a blindly perilous plan: He will return the bomb, but on his own terms. He calls the feds from a pay phone, ensures Jenny is a safe distance away, and walks into the Medatomics building surrounded by military snipers and government agents while carrying the nuclear bomb in a wooden box marked "Live Animals: Do Not Open". Negotiations go badly, and Paul and the military end up in a standoff. Paul, to ensure his own survival via Mutually Assured Destruction, arms the nuclear bomb. Dr. Matthewson becomes convinced that everything is unfairly stacked against Paul and that Paul was just trying to do the right thing. Thus, he takes it upon himself to get Paul out safely, even though it risks his own life.

Then the timer on the nuclear weapon turns on by itself and begins to count down. All sides put down their weapons and team up to dismantle the nuclear bomb, which they manage to do at the last possible moment and at great suspense. After a brief moment of relief, the government agents decide to arrest Paul for all the trouble he caused. Dr. Matthewson opens the door, showing the crowd of private citizens and press that Jenny arranged, and says "We blew it." The secret weapons factory is exposed, all the secrets exposed, and Paul revered as the hero who exposed it all. The town of Ithaca is beautiful and safe, and the movie ends.

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Movies - Manhattan Project

The plot

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