It's tough to review this movie, isn't it? I thought I had done a write-up several months previously but, in retrospect, I remember now that I scrapped it due to lack of inspiration.
Well, let's be honest...it's hard to critique because it's kind of a stinker, and in an aggravating way, too. My brother picked up the DVD, and within days he hid it amongst my collection just so he wouldn't have to face the indignity of owning it himself. It's a shame, really, because some excellent talent went into this. Verity Lambert is a classy producer, and Mike "Get Carter" Hodges is a magnificent director when his heart's in a project. Unfortunately, he agreed to do this movie as part of some package deal, so his heart was clearly elsewhere.
I actually find the production values surprisingly good, by British standards; the spaceship zooming down the highway is an amusing and impressive image. And some of the acting is fine: Dinsdale Landen and James B. Sikking, two of my old sci-fi buddies, strike just the right OTT note. But the aliens themselves are played by a drippy bunch of third rate comedians with no charisma whatsoever. Their flatness sinks the whole project (the meandering story might also share the blame).
Alas, sci-fi comedy is a pretty lousy genre, and this film is no exception to the rule. I can see where "Morons from Outer Space" inspired later--and similarly flawed--efforts such as "Red Dwarf," but for some reason the formula doesn't work in any of its forms. Sci-fi is dorky enough without turning it into a screwball comedy; once those genres are crossed, there really is nothing recognizable for an audience to latch on to, is there?
Well, let's be honest...it's hard to critique because it's kind of a stinker, and in an aggravating way, too. My brother picked up the DVD, and within days he hid it amongst my collection just so he wouldn't have to face the indignity of owning it himself. It's a shame, really, because some excellent talent went into this. Verity Lambert is a classy producer, and Mike "Get Carter" Hodges is a magnificent director when his heart's in a project. Unfortunately, he agreed to do this movie as part of some package deal, so his heart was clearly elsewhere.
I actually find the production values surprisingly good, by British standards; the spaceship zooming down the highway is an amusing and impressive image. And some of the acting is fine: Dinsdale Landen and James B. Sikking, two of my old sci-fi buddies, strike just the right OTT note. But the aliens themselves are played by a drippy bunch of third rate comedians with no charisma whatsoever. Their flatness sinks the whole project (the meandering story might also share the blame).
Alas, sci-fi comedy is a pretty lousy genre, and this film is no exception to the rule. I can see where "Morons from Outer Space" inspired later--and similarly flawed--efforts such as "Red Dwarf," but for some reason the formula doesn't work in any of its forms. Sci-fi is dorky enough without turning it into a screwball comedy; once those genres are crossed, there really is nothing recognizable for an audience to latch on to, is there?