Meet Dave (2008)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Brian Robbins

Writers (WGA):

Rob Greenberg (written by) &
Bill Corbett (written by)

Release Date:

11 July 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Eddie Murphy in Eddie Murphy in Meet Dave

Plot:

A crew of miniature aliens operate a spaceship that has a human form. While trying to save their planet, the aliens encounter a new problem, as their ship becomes smitten with an Earth woman.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Orb | Spaceship | Planet | Mutiny

Awards:

3 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 8	6:30 PM	MAX
Fri. Nov. 13	11:30 AM	MAX
Thur. Nov. 19	8:30 PM	MAX

Cast

Eddie Murphy	...	Dave Ming Cheng / The Captain
Elizabeth Banks	...	Gina Morrison
Gabrielle Union	...	No. 3 - Cultural Officer
Scott Caan	...	Officer Dooley
Ed Helms	...	No. 2 - 2nd In Command
Kevin Hart	...	No. 17
Mike O'Malley	...	Officer Knox
Pat Kilbane	...	No. 4 - Security Officer
Judah Friedlander	...	Engineer
Marc Blucas	...	Mark Rhodes
Jim Turner	...	Doctor
Austyn Myers	...	Josh Morrison (as Austin Lynd Myers)
Adam Tomei	...	No. 35
Brian Huskey	...	Lieutenant Right Arm
Shawn Christian	...	Lieutenant Left Arm

Also Known As:

Starship Dave (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for bawdy and suggestive humor, action and some language.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Finland:K-7 | South Korea:12 | Ireland:PG | UK:PG | Australia:PG | Malaysia:U | USA:PG (certificate #44161) | Hong Kong:IIA | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Netherlands:6 | Argentina:Atp | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Portugal:M/6 | Germany:6 | Sweden:7 | Peru:PT | New Zealand:PG | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Goofs:

Continuity: When Gina gives him the tomato ketchup, he drinks it and there is some sauce still on his lip. However, in the next scene, where the cat approaches him, the sauce is gone.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Department of Defense worker: Dude, dude...no, I was like..."Yes, we *do* have nuclear missiles", and he was all like "No, you don't", and I was all like "Yes, we do." "Whatever." And I was like "Well, what part of 'whatever' do you not get?"

Movie Connections:

References The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

Soundtrack:

Fantasy Island

Is this Batman & Robin? Then why a three for God sake?

Meet Dave is the story of a crew of miniature people inhabiting a big robot who has come to Earth on a mission to save his people. Eddie Murphy plays the Captain of the vessel and the outward version of the vessel which as automaton has limited capacity for emotion. However after he is damaged in a collision with a vehicle he decides to attempt to learn more about these earth people, spending time with Gina who ran him over and her son Josh, who worries that he isn't a hero like his late father. As you can tell from what's been written so far, this is no kitchen sink drama but a light-hearted Disney-esquire comedy.

Meet Dave is a fun family film that doesn't challenge us too much and has it's heart in the right place. There is plenty of toilet humour which kids always love and some genuinely funny moments throughout, I laughed, the audience laughed. We did not pelt the screen in outrage and nor did we sit there in silence for 2 hours as we did with the film I mentioned to start with. The film is like a cross between "Galaxy Quest" and "Doctor Dolittle" and while the humour is more akin to the latter "Dolittle" this is still a fun family film. So why three or less?

I think that for many film reviewers that sit through and be nice to the usual tripe that passes for entertainment over this season there has to be a villain, a film that they slate that then bombs as a result, and sadly this is that film. I also suspect that there is also an element of "compromise movie on a date" disappointment and maybe even a few "The film I wanted to see was full and I have to sit through this" resentments going on. Having seen some truly terrible mediocre films that critics rave about like "Charlie's Angels" and "Forty days and forty nights" these films that no critic has the b*lls to slag off for fear they won't be invited to more screenings, well boo hoo! I have no cross to bear in that department and this is a film that is funny when it wants to be, it means well, and, whilst it is a tad predictable, the same age group of kids that liked "Dr Dolittle" will certainly like this, especially appropriate for younger children who may find "WALL-E" hard going, bearing in mind it is great for adults and older children, but not necessarily very young kids. P

Critics are just jumping on the bandwagon to attack this film, it really isn't as bad as the examples I've mentioned. The only drawback in this film is that the effects aren't particularly great at a number of points but better to have a film that's okay with poor effects than poor with okay effects.

If your family enjoyed Firehouse Dog, and the silly humour of that, chances are they'll like this.

Family Fun