What Planet Are You From 2 and 1/2 Stars (Out of 4) Reviewed by Mac VerStandig critic@moviereviews.org http://www.moviereviews.org February 27, 2000 USA Release Date - March 3, 2000
---A copy of this review can be found at http://www.moviereviews.org/what_planet_are_you_from.htm ---
The ordinarily conservative Ben Kingsley, while playing an intergalactic leader, says "penis." Gary Shandling's character makes a humming noise when sexually aroused, courtesy of an artificial sex organ. A sleazy banker has intercourse with his supervisor in the vault. Find this funny? So do I.
But not for two hours.
Some planet, "way the hell out there," is attempting a universal domination bid by knocking off one celestial body at a time and earth's number has come up. (Now there's a new one!) Agent 1449-6 (Gary Shandling) is selected to lead the takeover mission by going to earth, assuming the name Harold Anderson and successfully inseminating a human female. (Another new one!) Blending in won't be difficult, however, as our out-of-town guest already has a human appearance - minus a penis that is. Yes, one of the keys to the all-male planet's domination is that none of its species can think with any head other than that lying firmly between their shoulders.
Anderson ultimately settles on Susan Hart, (Annette Bening hot off of her Academy Award nominated portrayal of Carolyn Burnham in American Beauty) a reformed alcoholic whom he picks up at an A. A. meeting. There is little shock when Susan finally becomes pregnant and breaks the news to Harold with a lame yet surprisingly memorable show stopping "High Hopes."
Because Anderson has neither pride to lose nor humiliation to fear, he makes passes at woman after woman from the minute he lands until he settles on Hart. This allows the film to use numerous hilarious pickup lines that put this summer's memorable "Suck me, Beautiful!" (care of American Pie) to shame. But the oftentimes offensive and always lurid cracks are overshadowed by the aforementioned reoccurring vibrating penis joke that stops being funny very quickly but continues throughout the entire piece.
Like most alien-come-to-earth movies, the villain here is represented by a disgruntled government employee with a rocky marriage. (EDITOR'S NOTE: you can delete the "alien-come-to-earth.") Here the bad guy is Roland Jones (John Goodman), but he never achieves full evil status since you simply can't help but feel badly for the overworked government servant.
When dealing with a movie of this nature, some reality must be suspended. Fine, aliens who travel quickly through space and blend in on earth can be bought. But some concepts aren't as easy to swallow. Isn't it odd that Hart is willing to repeatedly engage in sexual congress with Anderson even though his reproductive organ hums? What about the fact that very few people think twice about her ability to deliver a baby after only the first trimester? And if Anderson took some poor guy's job, where is the poor guy?
So, to recap, Gandhi says a naughty word, Larry Sanders can't control himself and Carolyn Burnham sings. Don't let your hopes be as high as hers.
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