Charles Frankenstein (Sting) orders his assistants about the tower as they prepare to give life to his newest creation. His first creation, the monster (Clancy Brown) eagerly awaits his bride. The bride of Frankenstein (Jennifer Beals) comes to life and the monster immediately tries to take possession. Frankenstein isn't ready for that yet and a dispute ensues. The furious monster rampages and soon there is a fire, the tower is destroyed, and both of Frankenstein's assistants are killed. Presumed dead in the fire, the monster storms away in the night.
Frankenstein names his latest creation Eva. He tells a tale of her having been found in the woods, the victim of a lightning strike and amnesia. Frankenstein plans to make her the equal of a man, displaying a proto-feminist streak. She becomes a voracious reader and is soon correcting him on who wrote Prometheus Unbound. Introduced to society, she is pursued by a dashing officer (Cary Elwes), much to Frankenstein's irritation. Meanwhile, the monster has met Rinaldo the midget (David Rappaport). Rinaldo, who finds himself bullied by children, recruits the monster and gives him a name: Victor. Rinaldo's fortunes dramatically improve thanks to his giant companion. He proposes they travel to Budapest and join the circus. Victor is just glad to have a friend.
Beyond his outburst in the tower, Victor is a surprisingly well-adjusted and friendly fellow though rather dull-witted. His adventures with Rinaldo are mostly as a side-kick. David Rappaport hugely outshines Victor and is the best part of the movie. Sting starts off as a man ahead of his time regarding the equality of the sexes and then devolves into a sexual predator, kind of like a lot of men in Hollywood these days. Beals progresses rapidly from tabula rosa, to child-like wonder, to rebellious youth, to independent woman. Clearly, she was put together much better than Victor but her story arc is less compelling.
It's okay.
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