Martian Child (PG)
Mike:
Scott:
Scott: Tonight we are reviewing Martian Child
, a story of a man who adopts a young boy and learns how to be a dad.
What did you think Mike?
Mike: I liked this movie. Maybe I was in the right mood for it, but I found it touching and funny.
How about you?
Scott: I liked it, but felt it was missing something. I'm not sure what it was, but without it, it just didn't connect with me.
Mike: Even though I knew this movie was trying to manipulate me, in this case, I didn't mind. I am sure many people are going to label it sappy, but I really felt for the young boy in this movie.
Scott: I felt for him as well.
Bobby Coleman plays Dennis, a young boy in foster care. He seems to have given up on finding a place to live and has invented a history that includes his being from Mars to compensate.
Mike: I think that most people can relate to someone who doesn't feel like they fit in. I know I felt that way when I was young.
Scott: Yes, you really were from another planet though...
Mike: Yeah, but Jupiter, not Mars....
Scott: John Cusack is David, who finds Dennis and tries to adopt him. David has his own issues. His fiancé just died, and he is very lonely. He is looking for something to love when he finds Dennis.
David is a science fiction writer who has a best selling book about alien vampires or something. He assumes that gives him enough knowledge to connect with this boy from Mars.
Mike: You get the impression that his being a science fiction writer means that he may not be completely normal himself.
Dennis has a unique perspective on things and acts almost as if he was an alien visiting earth. It takes a lot of patience and understanding to deal with someone that troubled.
Scott: The movie sometimes tries to lead you to believe that there is more to see than what it shows you, hinting at something throughout. Sometimes the magic isn't grand though, and it's the small magic between a would-be father and would-be son.
Mike: The great thing is David is able to appreciate Dennis' differences, without trying to force him to be like everyone else. He really only gets upset when he is afraid that Dennis will get hurt.
The film has a nice cast: Joan Cusack, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt and Richard Schiff all do a nice job, but it all comes back to Cusack and Coleman.
And of course there is Flomar (the dog).
Scott: And you can't have a John Cusack movie without his sister Joan Cusack. She plays a really hard role in this movie... his sister Liz.
Mike: The casting director must have agonized over that.
Scott: We see Peet throughout the movie, but you're not sure why. I thought she would be a love interest, but she's not. She is more to help David answer questions about himself and how he relates to the boy.
Mike: Didn't you know that all Hollywood movies have to have a love interest? Even if it's a thin love connection.
Scott: It seems more like a 'like' interest.
Mike: Did you know that this movie is based on a true story detailed in a novel by science fiction author David Gerrold?
Scott: I did not know that.
Mike: Gerrold, probably most famous for writing The Trouble with Tribbles episode of Star Trek, is a writer who adopted a son, who claimed to be from Mars.
Scott: I'm not familiar with Dutch director Menno Meyjes or his movies.
Mike: I am not familiar with the films he directed, but you may recognize films he has written: The Siege, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, as well as adaptations of Empire of the Sun and The Color Purple.
Three of those movies were directed by Steven Spielberg!
Scott: True. And hopefully we will see some good action flicks in his future.
So how do you rate this movie?
Mike: I give this movie a 3 overall and a 3 for comedy/drama. This movie had its share of clichés (and montages for that matter), but the movie stuck with me for days.
And you?
Scott: I rate this 2.5 overall and a 2 for comedy/drama. It was almost there, but just missed in the end.
Mike: If you don't feel like hanging out with a Gangster this weekend, bring a Martian Child home with you.
