Le projet ALF

Very dark. So dark that you suspect there is a motive behind that darkness. And that's good. In 1996, you thought you had it all seen before. Corrupt politicians. Ruthless bureaucrats. Indecent tax collectors. The 90s TV show The X-Files chewed on all those modern abominations. And that's exactly why this Alf Movie feels so extremely dark. Because it's TV predecessor never did. Alf was constantly surrounded by a happy-go-lucky family, borderline-stupid. How do you go from a superficial, joke-absorbing sponge of a family to a CIA that tortures the alien Alf ? Not by accident. It's a reminder that virtually all people are scum. Don't get distracted by their stupidity. If people encounter the tiniest impacts on their meaningless lives, they form groups, groups they have been part of all along really, exclude and harm outsiders, and genuinely cannot tell what's wrong with that. The more reason to stay vigilant, as an outsider like alien Alf. People don't understand that they are ticking time bombs. They won't spill that fact. You have to figure that out for yourself. The Ten-ner's won't. Say-ten won't reveal that. They are always happy because they are stupid. Ten out of ten, at all times. Now imagine this dark movie sequel with an Alf tortured by the CIA didn't exist. It would intentionally mislead the viewer. Not allowed. The movie needed to be funded, no matter what.

Years after the TV series Alf is being held in a military base undergoing a series of tests. The fate of Alf comes up before committee with Milfoil (Martin Sheen), Mulican (O'Leary) and Hill (Daggett) debating his future. Milfoil wants Alf incinerated Hill and Mulican want him to have human rights. Mulican decides to take matters into his own hands forcing the others to smuggle him out of the base and go on the run.

The film is not a work of art and is basically a silly excuse for laughs. And it is funny - a lot more than you'd think. The whole film plays with it's tongue in it's cheek - it knows not to take itself seriously. Alf may not be everyone's cup of tea but he is generally funny with his wise cracking - although several moments aren't funny and he can get quite annoying at times. The humans all play their parts well - Martin Sheen hams it up well and gets some good laughs while O'Leary and Daggett play their roles as Alf's straightmen well - and it's always good to see Miguel Ferrer (playing Dexter Moyers) as a bad guy in another small film! Special mention for Rocket the sarcastic robot who wins many of the laughs towards the end.

The plot may not be up to much but at least it tries - it has some twists that are obvious from the start, but that's not really what this is about. Everything about this is a setup for Alf to make jokes and wise cracks, and in that respect it does pretty well. Good support from Sheen, O'Leary and Daggett help along the way - Sheen in particular getting good laughs.

Word of warning - if you're not in the mood for Alf then don't watch this, wait until you want to laugh at silly jokes and then you'll like this.

There is no bigger fan of ALF the T.V. Series than myself- I realize Paul Fusco was a big fan having created the series however I never would have allowed this stink-filled script to destroy the laugh filled memories of the Alf Franchise.

The first couple of minutes between Alf and Beverly Archer(Harriette Byrd in past episodes) was funny but then the film isn't about Alf so much as Military abuse of authority and the love story of two young Doctors who befriend Alf while he is in captivity with the Alien Task Force. The story line is beyond awful and filled with straight line after straight line. The rest of the original cast is gone- and how many laughs did we get from Max Wrights' dead pan deliveries and exaggerated befuddlement?

There were so many alternative stories after the final T.V. episode why Fusco chose the worst possible direction is beyond me (maybe he was hanging with Jerry Stahl at the time of conceiving this project)

I say to anyone who in later years discovers the Alf television show to stay away from this movie- it is lame unfunny and a pile of steaminess. I compare it to the let down of Highlander 2- it's that very very very bad.

Funniest movie in the world!! Matron..the pills.....! My house is covered in foil....aghh they're after me......you are all after me...

AAAGAGHH

There are plenty of versions of the story behind the ending of the ALF series and this 1996 TV movie: some claim that the cliffhanger finale was a final bid for the show to remain on the air; some claim the film is an extended rendition of a single final episode planned all along; and yet more people claim the movie is the result of an uphill battle by creators Paul Fusco and Tom Patchett after being shafted out of plans to conclude the series more satisfactorily. In the end, the only concrete fact is that the film was released almost a full six years after the TV show concluded, to tremendous fan expectations, and then it didn't turn out all that great. I'm not the biggest ALF fan in the world, but even I have to admit that a lot was lost during the transition of serial to feature.

The story: Held by the Alien Task Force for six years following his capture, Alf's death is plotted by an obsessed colonel (Martin Sheen) but thwarted by two military scientists (William O'Leary and Jensen Daggett) who smuggle him out of the facility to bring him to safety.

The biggest disappointment of the film? - no Tanner family. Anyone who's researched the show will know all about the mixed feelings with which the human cast regarded their stay, but while their absence isn't really surprising on a deductive level, the film suffers from it nevertheless. Max Wright, Anne Shedeen, Andrea Elson, and Benji Gregory were as much of a part of the ALF franchise as the alien himself, yet they're afforded only a minute's exposition early in the film before being forgotten completely. Alf doesn't even mention them, which is particularly disappointing considering the bond the characters formed over four years. I don't want to sound too sappy, but it eats at me that Alf was apparently able to get over the people he once referred to as "my Tanners." The characters replacing them aren't awful but pretty unmemorable: William O'Leary and Jensen Daggett are neutrally likable, but not only don't they sell the reactions to Alf's shenanigans nearly as well as Wright or Shedeen ever did, it's never quite clear why they're helping Alf. The Tanners struggled through their frustrating tenure via a mixture of family support and underlying affection cultivated over a matter of years, but O'Leary and Daggett apparently just have an inherent goodness of heart and know-how to endure Alf in situations wherein he's previously sent other outsiders screaming from the room. I don't buy it.

Where the writing is concerned, the show retains creators Fusco's and Patchett's trademark humor: one-liners and pop culture references abound, branching out to Alf's first gay joke and some death-related humor. Alf's cat obsession is revived for the sake of a couple jokes. The main agenda of the film seems to be giving Alf a chance to interact openly with a greater number of people and injecting a defined antagonist into the picture - something the series didn't have (or particularly need). The surprise and novelty of seeing Alf barb with humans outside of the Tanner household is short-lived, as most folks (with the ironic exception of Ray Walston) seem to get over his being an alien pretty quickly. Sheen gives a fun, hammy performance but his character just isn't worth the movie; if Alf needed a nemesis, it definitely ought to be someone more interesting than this goof. Where the technical aspects are concerned, the film doesn't try anything new: having a bigger budget than a weekly TV show seems like it would've been a good opportunity for Alf to do something physically out of the ordinary, but the most you get is seeing him spun around in a chair. You'd think that director Dick Lowry would've tried for something bigger than that.

When judged on its own terms, PROJECT ALF doesn't really do anything wrong but it doesn't get too many things right, either. I consider it a way-too-late attempt to salvage a poorly-executed finale. Paul Fusco probably did all he could, but being away from his core franchise for so long likely took its toll on his creativity. I'm not sure whether to recommend this for die-hard fans, so watch at your own risk.