Hey folks, Harry here with a pair of voices joining our choir here at AICN and singing the faults and praises of WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM? This is the latest film from Mike Nichols and I do believe that it is still... quite a ways from coming out. Now... I know.. On a comedy that might seem like it doesn't make alot of difference, but I beg to differ. One... a great comedic score helps a ton... PLUS... A director getting a chance to watch a film with an audience really helps him see where they need to tuck and trim. Almost moreso than with any type of film, the test screening most helps the comedy director. So... right now we are getting split word.... one didn't like it, one did (and that is an accurate reflection of the other 5 reviews I received) so, until the next screening... here's the word from Chamberlain and Chumquat....
I'm back Harry;
Usually I do not enjoy reading the pre-movie going stories on various sites, but because my and others experience was in my opinion unusual, I will commence.
So, as I stated before, I felt odd that when I called to reserve a seat for the screenig that they said the film was closed after I mentioned my ethnic background. But, okay, no sweat, my brother called back for me and got me a reservation.
So I was at the theater, waiting in the growing line, filling out this form, filling out that questionaire, etc, etc... I began talking with some people, just shootin the breeze about Dogma, The Messenger, etc.. Until, we started talking about how we came by to get passes for the night's screening. a Latino man was among our conversation when I brought up my strange encounter with my phone reservation, and he then went on to say that he was told the same thing over the phone. After he said he was latino, they said the film was full.
I talked to even more people and they said that the very same thing happened to them days before. We did not feel going in. We talked for a bit longer, and then were let in the theater. Rubbed the wrong way or not, I was still curious about the film. So I went in, sat down, after a while the lights went low and the normal, test screening lecture commenced, followed quickly by the film
The Movie
What Planet are you From
Starring Gary Shandling, Annette Bening, Linda Fiorentino, John Goodman, Greg Kinnear and an appearance by Janeane Garafolo.
Directed by Mike Nichols (who was present at the screening)
There's not much to say really, it was a somewhat funny, very predicatble movie that should be released in January or February so it can just dissappear all together.
Basically the film is about a man from another planet (Gary Shandling), sent to earth to find a woman and then impregnate her because his species has no women, and they want to propagate and take over earth. Nothing new there.
So, Shandling is the one chosen, every now and then checking in with his boss, Ben Kingsley who is barely seen and is a wasted talent along with Linda Fiorentino who plays Greg Kinnears wife. She is also barely seen and does nothing but look sexy and act like a prowess(spelling?) Greg Kinnear does the same function. He is Gary Shandling's adulterous, lying and cheating co-worker at a real estate firm, I guess. Greg Kinnear is a fabulous actor in a ridiculous, one dimensional role.
Annette Bening is the woman whom Gary Shnadling coerces to marry after one date. He finds her at an AA meeting that Greg Kinnear's character brought him to on the look for some new women to bang, as it is referred to. John Goodman is an airline detective hot on the trail of finding out Gary Shandling's true identity. Nothing new, boring character.
Ms. Bening Beatty is also a good actress but is wasted in her one dimensional role as a real estate reprsentative with an alcohol addiction. Really this film should be called, "Women are from Earth, men are from Mars". Really, Gary Shandling's entire character is not an alien, he is a man with every disfunction men have, his excuse is that he is an alien, that's why he can't communicate to women properly and he always has a hard on. There is no mystery in his character, allot of men have his problems.
I love Gary Shandling, but in this role he is just lame, playing really nobody, someone with no personality. I could go on but I won't, people should make up there own minds. Really, this movie is just a contract filler. All of these actors in the film are probably under a 3-7 or whatever film contract and it shows.
There are some great laughs and an ongoing bit with Gary Shandling and his genitalia, but really, why must we go on and make fun of sex so much? What's the point. Give me Sleepy Hollow (which I've also seen) or give me death.
I waited in the lobby after the screening let out and really, most everyone that I heard had my same opinion, predictable, waste of good talent, cheap humor. Need I say more?
* One star.
Call me Chamberlain, as in Chamberlain from The Dark Crystal, which there is a prequel rumor about called The Prophecy of the Crystal, before the Skesis took control.
Meanwhile our next reviewer.... Chumquat... Did enjoy the film, contrary to our dear Chamberlain above....
Hey Harry,
Chumquat here, and I just got back from a test screening of Colombia’s What Planet Are You From? here in Chicago. If I remember correctly, this was supposed to be part of that Alien Love Triangle thing, but was fleshed out into an entire movie. Or maybe I’m stupid. Anyway, it was directed by Mike "I Rule!" Nichols who most recently directed The Birdcage and Primary Colors, both of which I loved. So, it was a surprise for me when this movie was a sci-fi romantic comedy with a temp track that consisted of Starship Troopers and some of your run of the mill romantic comedy music, which was so ordinary it was irritating. Luckily, or not, someone else will score this before an actual release. Obviously it was a work print, but most of it seemed in order. This was a good movie. It had great performances from Garry Shandling, Annette Bening, Ben Kingsley, and especially Greg Kinnear, who departs from his nice guy roles and becomes genuinely sleazy. A quick spoiler free synopsis of the plot is that Garry is an alien on a planet where there are no more women. The aliens have reproduced through cloning, and have no genitalia because it is no longer needed. They send Garry to Earth, after a hilarious training sequence on how to get into a woman’s pants, where he realizes that his training is not as useful as he thought it would be. Ben plays the leader of his planet convincingly (it’s good to see him in something better than Species), but is used sparingly. Annette is one of the women that Garry falls for at an AA meeting, I won’t go into it, it’s too complicated. Linda Fiorentino has one of the best female entrances I have seen in a very long time, but is in only about three scenes afterwards. John Goodman plays a man who is on to who Garry really is, and is overused, with some seemingly tired scenes with his wife. Greg Kinnear is Linda’s wife and works at the bank with Garry (I am bad with character names, as you can see). He is at his absolute sleaziest, but I think that more scenes of him an his wife were needed, as their relationship seemed underdeveloped. As for the movie, it is consistently funny, and will probably be made better when it is actually released. I felt like some of the movie wasn’t very original, but absolutely loved the set designs on the alien world. One problem: Ben Kingsley looks like Dr. Evil in his first costume. He is in the Dr. Evil costume, so I kept expecting some other in-jokes but, there is only a reference to Rosemary’s Baby, and rightfully so as some of it seems similar, but a different genre. This is a good romantic comedy and has some funny sci-fi gags. Can you say whirring penis? Grade: B
