Doin' Time on Planet Earth

Believe it or not, the script was far better than the finished product. Charlie (Matthau), a nice guy, missed the essence of the story in favor of submitting to some teen formula. I don't know where it went wrong, but it did.

I can say this, though, the people were nicer than on any other production set I have worked. I hope they are all doing well.

Nice to see 47 other people have heard of this film. Maybe in another universe (or planet, ala the film), it would've been more well-received. I only know of it from The Movie Channel airing it frequently around 1989-90. Since then I've yet to lay eyes on it again. Most will be unimpressed or bored, but if you like a lot of quirk to your films, you may be surprised. From rotating, airborn restaurants, gawky teens, a bird in a beehive hair-do, a so-horrible-he's funny lounge singer, and an Arabian college recruiter, this gets points for oddballness. Strouse is perfect as the kid who doesn't quite fit in, having an extra vertebrae and been struck by lightning several times. Plus a habit of over-analyzing his life, to the point of being ridiculed by his own family. Adler is good as his by-the-numbers, sunglass-clad 80s buddy, and Thompson adds some trashy sex appeal with her temptress. And I'll admit, another reason I liked it, was the lead character had the same name as me. To find a "Ryan" in any film is a rarity, but also one where the hero is such an outcast, was fun. The ending gets a bit outlandish and doesn't really resolve anything, but it seemed to the filmmakers point anyway. I mean, what else can you make of a story about a geeky 17-year-old who may be the half-human, half-extraterrestrial leader of a clan of weirdos from the planet B-52? Exactly.

It's fairly obvious that this was the director's first film, as it is a bit disorganized and not quite as smoothly put together as it could have been. But it is equally obvious that the director had good intentions, and helped by an imaginative premise (weird, misunderstood kid believes he's an alien), he did make a likably eccentric film after all. At least it's better that the usual Golan-Globus stuff. (**1/2)

From the normal teen who thinks he's abnormal to the point that his exploration of his "strangeness" makes him strange, to the truly strange couple who are convinced he is their leader from another world.

Its a sci-fi, comedy and, though the humor is subtle, it is very enjoyable.

Adam West was in top form as the real leader of the "alien" earthlings, and the nightclub singer was hilarious as he belted out the most ridiculous songs as if they were top ten hits. I think the subtlety of the humor might actually be what attracts me most to it.

Definitely worth watching again and again.

This film has charm. Charles Matthau's first feature film has quirky appeal to it, but looks and feels very much like a high budgeted afterschool special. I mean that in a good way, because the film itself is well crafted, and the characterizations of the supporting cast puts a smile on this viewer's face.

The intro was particularly interesting, and helps draw you into the characters and their world. Unfortunately this aspect of the film is not carried on throughout, leaving the viewer to wonder exactly what happened. Even so the intro does a good job setting the overall tone for the film; an offbeat "teenage outcast come of age" type of movie.

Two highlights of this film are Adam West and Andrea Thompson. Adam West does a bang up job of portraying a well meaning neo-UFO-conspiracy-theorist, whose sole aim is to bring about certain events he as thinks they should unfold. He thinks he knows it all because the things he's seen, to him, seem to be falling into place for a really big event that'll solve all his (and his follower's) problems. Andrea Thompson plays the local "bad girl" who comforts our protagonist Ryan Richmond, and plays her part almost too well; by this I mean that when I saw her performance, to me, it seemed as if the producer's were trying to cut down on costs because the character she portrayed seemed so vaccuous at times, and I thought that was because of the actress. I was wrong. I've seen Andrea Thompson in other stuff and now know that her performance in this film was just a notch or two above everyone else, as she gave us the loner-chick in a leather coat. If she had played the character a little more light hearted the film might've benefittted some.

The underlying theme of the story is the outcast phenomena that occurs with many teens, and the pitfalls they face when confronted with people who seemingly understand them (but only on a very superfical level), and the disastrous consequences of such interactions when their true aims are made manifest. It's a good morality play for adolescents, but even so the film lacks energy at points, and suffers some because of it.

There're a few laughs here and there, and if you're a film fan who likes interesting characters and quirky films, then this may prove to be a bonafide masterpiece for your collection. Otherwise, even though I enjoyed it, I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, as the mixture of off-beat comedy with teen angst strives for a goal that's a bit too ambitious for another otherwise fairly good film. Overall the comedy rides a low sine wave; some of the laughs are good, others not as much.