Blast from the Past (1999)

Director:

Hugh Wilson

Writers (WGA):

Bill Kelly (story)
Bill Kelly (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

12 February 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

She was a woman of the world. He had never been around the block.

Plot:

A romantic comedy about a naive man who comes out into the world after being in a nuclear fallout shelter for 35 years.

Plot Keywords:

Naive Man | Family Relationships | Opposites Attract | Naive | Affection

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Brendan Fraser	...	Adam Webber
Alicia Silverstone	...	Eve Rustikoff
Christopher Walken	...	Calvin Webber
Sissy Spacek	...	Helen Thomas Webber
Dave Foley	...	Troy
Joey Slotnick	...	Soda Jerk / Archbishop Melker
Dale Raoul	...	Mom
Hayden Tank	...	Adam, Age 3 1 / 2
Douglas Smith	...	Adam, Age 11
Ryan Sparks	...	Adam, Age 8
Don Yesso	...	Jerry
Scott Thomson	...	Young Psycho
Ted Kairys	...	Wolf One, Navy F86 Pilot
Rex Linn	...	Dave
Cynthia Mace	...	Betty

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief language, sex and drug references.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

German | Latin | English | French

Colour:

Colour (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:U | New Zealand:M | Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (original rating) | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Chile:14 | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #36252) | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

1972 Canyon Drive, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Forge

Trivia:

All of Adams "valuable" baseball cards are actually reprints that are worth only a few dollars in total.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Adam drops his baseball cards and Eve helps to pick them up, they forget one card located near the side of the suitcase. When the scene changes to where Adam and Eve start to walk away, the card is gone, although no one ever bent down to pick it up.

Quotes:

Adam: [During his first visit back home] Mom, I think I'm being chased by a Psychiatrist.
Helen: Oh no!
Calvin: That happens.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Veronica Mars: Blast from the Past (#2.5)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe

Blast from the Past: 7/10

There surely is a lack of originality in movies now. Romantic comedies always seem to have the girl outwit the guy, the guy persisting, and then they finally get together. That's exactly the case in Blast from the Past, except that the guy has been living in a bomb shelter for all of his life. It's a joke that could work for a five minute sketch, or it might just flop overall, but that's not the case here. It's a simple romantic comedy with a huge twist thrown in, which works to the movie's advantage.

Adam (Brendan Fraser) had lived in a fallout shelter for all of his life, because his father (Christopher Walken) thought a nuclear bomb was dropped on the house. 35 years afterwards, Adam goes up to bring supplies and meet a girl, which he does. Eve (Alicia Silverstone) is a feisty, typical 90's American, but since Adam had never met anyone else besides his parents, he just accepts it. Soon he falls in love with her (hence, Adam and Eve), but the reverse is not the same. Will he convince her? Only the cliché on romantic comedies will tell us!

Blast from the Past is surprisingly lightweight romcom. It never goes to take itself seriously, which helps keep the mood light, which is what it's supposed to be. At times it gets silly, including a Benny Hill-ish chase scene, and the obligatory man-who-can't-drive-car-drives-car-wildly scene. A scenario like this could easily descend into heartstring-plucking land, but thankfully stays on the top, and over the top. Director Hugh Wilson, whose resumé includes such movies as the original Police Academy and The First Wives Club, can keep a movie that could turn drastically wrong on the right track.

Fraser is great. It really seemed like he was brought up in a fallout shelter. His mannerisms were all from the sixties, and the way he acted was exactly on key. Silverstone was okay, but nowhere near as good as Walken and Sissy Spacek as Adam's parents. They embody their roles as people who have to live in the same space for 35 years. This movie is everything romantic comedies today don't have: no crude humor, funny lines, good acting, and a fun story. People could really learn a lesson from watching Blast from the Past.

My rating: 7/10

Rated PG-13 for brief language, sex and drug references.