Friday, February 12, 1999
Screenscene
FILM:
"My Favorite Martian"
Starring Jeff Daniels and Christopher Lloyd
Directed by Donald Petrie
Some television shows were made to be adapted into full-length
motion pictures. The Brady Bunch comes to mind, maybe even Mission
Impossible if you could figure out what was going on.
Then concepts get rehashed like the Beverly Hillbillies, Leave
it to Beaver, McHale’s Navy, and now the latest adaptation of My
Favorite Martian.
Christopher Lloyd is cast in this charmless movie as a real-life
Martian whose spaceship crashes into Earth, and is found by
television reporter Tim O’Hara, played by Jeff Daniels.
With the help of some Martian chewing gum, Lloyd transforms from
his alien body to that of a human being that looks ironically like
Doc Brown from "Back to the Future."
In fact, the story is almost copied from the Michael J. Fox hit.
The alien’s vessel is stranded because the electron accelerator is
broken, and the Martian has to quickly get "Back to Mars," lest he
has an effect on mankind. Mankind of course has to evolve at its
own pace. The alien clarifies that humankind is still backward
since human "astronauts pee in their spacesuits."
While repairing the spaceship, the Martian realizes that, in the
ship, there is a safety device imbedded with a bomb that goes off a
certain amount of time after the ship crashes. This prevents other
civilizations from obtaining advanced technology. (This is standard
in all rental spaceships.)
After going through the obvious problems that occur when a human
meets a Martian, which occur in every alien movie, O’Hara and the
Martian develop a strong bond. The alien takes on the guise of
Tim’s Uncle Martin to protect himself from being found out as an
alien.
Uncle Martin’s animated spacesuit named Zoot adds humor to the
film. Zoot has a mind of its own and has a big scene taking a bath
in a washing machine. Elizabeth Hurley plays O’Hara’s obsession,
Brace Channing, who is also a reporter trying to get a scoop on the
alien crash. The U.S. government is also trying to find out more
about the UFO, with an investigation led by Ray Walston, the
Martian from the "My Favorite Martian" television series.
The above paragraph doesn’t make any sense, and neither does the
movie. The movie is so cluttered with different plot twists, that
any adult with a brain will probably be bored from lack of
interest.
The movie also suffers from a lack of heart. Daryl Hannah plays
O’Hara’s, second love interest, Lizzie, when he realizes that the
beautiful Brace will never go for him.
However, instead of being grossed out by Uncle Martin’s alien
form and other alien forms which were a lot scarier then those in
"Men in Black," children under 8 attending the preview were
actually fascinated by the movie, and all of the visual effects.
Children under 8 are also fascinated by the word "poop."
If you have to take a younger brother, sister, son, daughter or
someone you’re baby-sitting to a movie, it is possible to sit
through.
A.J. Harwin
Rating: 2
"Blast From The Past"
Starring Brendan Fraser and Alicia Silverstone
Directed by Hugh Wilson
Never fear, we’ve averted danger for now. Although faced with a
definite bomb threat, a good deal of charm and a cuddly plot can
carry a film into decent levels of likability. Definitely not Oscar
material but worth a chance to get a cheap love is indeed a
possible feeling during this Valentine’s Day season.
Yes, the plot leaves something to be desired. A crazy
scientist/genius (Christopher Walken), in fear of a communist bomb
attack during 1961, locks his family in a fall-out shelter for 35
years when he thinks the bomb was finally dropped. After the time
is up his son, Adam (Brendan Fraser), goes out into the real world
to get supplies after his father falls ill.
Walking around lovably clueless and lost, he runs into Eve
(Alicia Silverstone), the tough, no-nonsense girl who predictably
is the woman of his dreams. After she reluctantly agrees to help
him out, the rest of the plot is a sort of puppy love scenario
where the tough girl has to let down her rigid shell to let the
perfect man into her life.
Very bluntly, the acting is atrocious. By far the worst,
Silverstone tries over and over to maintain some sort of awkward
balance between bitch and the cute little girl we knew from
"Clueless." Unfortunately, the chill treatment toward Adam goes on
for way too long in the plot. The audience is left with little
transition period between Eve’s frustration with Adam and her total
infatuation with him. What the movie calls for is this slow mushy
sequence when little things build up gradually until she realizes
he’s the one. It doesn’t quite happen that way.
Fortunately, Fraser’s goofy boyish charm makes up for
Silverstone’s bad acting. It’s not brilliantly unique when you look
at every other film Fraser has been in ("Encino Man," "George of
the Jungle"), but the mastered dorky naivete works well and lets
the audience fall in love with every oblivious mishap.
Other highlights include constant scenes of corny but laughable
comedy. The dad and the mom (Sissy Spacek), though weird, keep up
the ’50s ideals while providing an odd but funny subplot. Mom, more
than anxious to get out of their home in the ground, takes up
drinking and occasional psychotic screams, but never loses her
sweetness or good nature.
Complete with a choreographed swing dance and an obligatory
happy ending, the movie shows that no-brainer entertainment is easy
to find. Just don’t go in expecting to find a work of motion
picture art.
Michelle Zubiate
Rating: 6
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