Pete's Meteor

Micky, Sue and Dave lost their parents and have to live with their grandmother Lily, who gets frustrated easily and may even have a drinking problem. Micky (who narrates occasionally) gets into trouble a lot and is even told he might get sent to an orphanage. For example, he steals a car even though he doesn't seem to be old enough to drive, and he pulls a knife on Pete, who promised to raise the kids after their parents died but was never able to do it. Pete was always running with a bad crowd and, though he no longer deals and has a job, his past threatens to catch up with him. This affects his relationship with Mary. Also, Micky blames Pete for his parents' death.

When a meteor falls in their back yard, the kids think it was sent by their parents, who the kids believe are watching over them from the stars. Hugh, the scientist who studies the meteor, thinks it came from Mars, but his girlfriend Carmel isn't particularly impressed with the discovery. The kids want to keep the meteor but the law says it belongs to the government. Hugh later becomes a friend to the children (though with friends like Micky, who needs enemies?).

This started out to be a family film, though somewhat edgy. The worst thing was the cursing, and I didn't even hear the cursing but only references to it. Later, someone's mouth moved and nothing came out, so this must have been edited. But later, the film was too violent to really qualify as family fare.

The film was at its best when the focus was Micky, and the title didn't even make since because it was Micky's meteor. Later, the focus shifted to Pete and the film turned darker, though the title eventually was explained. There were a few funny moments, but this wasn't really a comedy. There was a sweet fantasy scene involving a telescope.

Mike Myers did an adequate job as Pete, but comic roles are more his style. Alfred Molina effectively showed passion for his work and for the kids. Ian Costello was okay as Micky.

Aside from the fact that it turned darker than it had to be, my only real criticisms of the film were the strange whispering and breathing noises (like an Enya song) that must have been the kids' parents, and the strong accents that made it difficult to understand anything (thought the film WAS Irish).

This was an overall enjoyable little ditty that kept me entertained throughout. I guess I wasn't expecting much from it, but I was pleasantly surprised. The movie seemed to protray what life is like in Ireland, especially in the hard knock areas. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a nice little jaunt through the life and times of a tough little 12-year-old who makes you hate him and love him at the same time.

When Jim Carrey signed up to play in "The Majestic" he wanted to show audiences that he could play a more serious role. I thought that he did an excellent job at doing just that, but the script lacked and so the movie flopped. In "Pete's Meteor" Mike Myers faces the same doom. I respect an actor that wants to show his range, in fact that's the reason why I saw this film, but unfortunately a lot of that success depends on the script that the actor has been given. Mike Myers plays Pete, a former drug dealer that has to pay off old debts and wants to help his late-friend's children at the same time. I thought that Myers did an excellent job acting and of course his terrific range with accents, and I definitely believe that he deserves more serious, dramatic role opportunities. I was quite disappointed that Myers wasn't in this movie more, and sadly I was more sympathetic towards the scientist in this film that just never seems to get a break. Only near the end does Myers get the chance to shine. So be warned, this script is lacking and the movie drags much of the time, but is worth a watch if only to see Myers.

This is probably the worst film I have ever seen. Mike Myers tries to be a dramatic actor and fails miserably. The children, who have the major roles, are almost impossible to understand and are really unpleasant characters. It was not even worth the price of the rental.

It's got one of the biggest stars in Hollywood doing a surprisingly good Irish accent, a wildly original plot and it's set in one of the world's hippest cities. So why has it waited so long to find a distributer? Mike Myers shows he's not just capable of high camp in this story of a working-class Dublin kid who finds a meteor in his back garden only to have it's potential as a tourist attraction robbed by a woosy university geologist. Myers plays a friend of the kid's sister who is held responsible for her death by the family, and who clashed with the geologist over the family's future. It's a tender, funny story that often sinks into sentimentalism and isn't consistently competent in the thespian department, but surely deserves an audience outside the Irish film festival circuit.