Subject: Review: What Planet Are You From? (2000)

From: Max Messier <[email-masked]>
Date: 29 Feb 2000 05:17:20 GMT

filmcritic.com presents a review from staff member Max Messier.
You can find the review with full credits at
http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/2a460f93626cd4678625624c007f2b46/fcfc38c81c72f6bc88256894000c3d09?OpenDocument

What Planet Are You From?
A film review by Max Messier
copyright 2000 filmcritic.com

It’s always a shame to see great comedic minds fall so far from the
mark.  Garry Shandling is a funny man.  Just check out any episode of
"The Larry Sanders Show."  He has a wonderfully dry wit and is downright
hilarious without drawing overt attention to himself.  I just want to
know what the hell happened to What Planet are You From?

Simple story line:  Alien must come to Earth and impregnate female human
being to establish future dominance of his planet’s race.  Comedic
premise:  Alien must learn how to communicate to female human beings.
Comedy rolls on:  Alien encounters and makes ass of himself to female
human beings.  Comedy continues:  Alien tracked by rogue FAA agent.
Comedy continues even more:  Alien meets female human and falls in
love.  Cue drama.  That’s about it.

Let’s examine the facts.  You have Mike Nichols, the Oscar-winning
director of The Graduate, Catch-22, and the underrated Primary Colors,
steering this oil tanker of a film. A great supporting cast of Annette
Bening, John Goodman, Greg Kinnear, and Ben Kingsley all try to make
something out of nothing of a script.  Garry Shandling has co-written
himself into a very dark corner of unfunny comedy.  All of which means,
I’m a bit lost.

Some funny moments can be found, buried in the film, but the jokes end
up falling flat after the first fifteen minutes.  The romantic
situations that could have been executed become contrived and
ridiculous.  This would have made a great Adam Sandler/Rob Schneider
vehicle.  (Though even I must admit, Garry Shandling's vibrating penis
deserves a least one bonus star.)  And kudos to the likes of Bening,
Goodman, Kinnear, and Kingsley for pouring some great acting into the
most pointless of scripts.

Director: Mike Nichols
Writer: Garry Shandling, Michael Leeson, Ed Solomon, Peter Tolan
Starring: Garry Shandling, Annette Bening, Greg Kinnear, John Goodman
Producers: Brad Grey and Bernie Brillstein

Two stars

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