This was a hilarious, hilarious movie. The humor in here is very bizarre and dry and clearly isn't for everyone, but films like this are a staple in the collections of cult intelligentsia.
The premise is not unrealistic, and the characters are not unbelievable. What happens once the action starts is surreal and fantastic, but the story really does start here on Earth and I think that may be an effective hook to make the audience sit and watch the whole thing: how could such a reasonable situation go so incredibly far off course? And it's not just outlandish for the sake of seeing how weird they could possibly get, it's not just arbitrary freak-you-out material, the story is a more or less logical progression of events. Some of the jokes (especially the desperate passage of events in the desert) may churn the casual viewer's stomach, and I think that these contributed to its less than widespread popularity in the States, but anyone with an active imagination and a sense of humor other people don't "get" is going to dig this film. And by gods, is it quotable: you too will find yourself interrupting discussions and social events to announce, "My cat can eat a whole watermelon," or "I am the king of the Echo People," for years - yes, years - afterward.
