Spaceman

It's ironic for someone reviewing movies on the Internet to have such a predilection for low-tech films.

Much of the charm of Scott Dikkers' B-movie comedy SPACEMAN is its nostalgia for the days when sci-fi was made on the cheap. When I was a kid watching Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon on Saturday morning TV, it didn't bother me that his rocket was powered by a 4th of July sparkler!

SPACEMAN'S writer/director Scott Dikkers created THE ONION, which proclaims itself America's Finest News Source. With branches in several major cities, it's the largest circulation humor publication in the country. The paper's satirical take on the major and minuscule events of the day is certainly more frank than your average daily rag.

One of the driving forces behind THE ONION'S success was Scott's uncanny media savvy. In additon to editing the newspaper, he has created radio, TV, the Web, and edited a couple of best selling books.

SPACEMAN is the tale of a young boy who is abducted by aliens only to crash land on earth twenty-five years later with powers pretty far beyond those of mortal men. Spaceman's (David Ghilardi) commanders have inserted an electrode in his brain that stimulates his taste for violence and obedience. On this planet, however, he finds little demand for his work experience as a ceremonial combatant. Given the way TV is trending he's slightly ahead of his time.

He makes a reliable but intense grocery clerk until a series of culture clashes lead him to an inevitable brush with the law and commitment to a hospital for psychiatric treatment. When a fellow patient mentions that he'd rather hire a hitman for himself than go through another drinking binge, Spaceman stumbles upon a line of work for which he's suited.

Along the way, he meets a young woman (Deborah King) who is turned on by the fact that he kills people, is stalked by a pair of X-File government agents who LOVE to dissect aliens, and seeks employment with a sorry excuse for a Chicago mob based in a rundown barber shop.

It's all a pleasant departure from Hollywood's current love affair with gross out comedies. The commentary track by director Scott Dikkers (who claims to have gone insane during this Quixotic no-budget enterprise) is a shot by shot lesson in why you shouldn't try this at home!

For all of its budgetary constraints (two of the actors were homeless men, one of whom had to be reached through his parole officer) it is sharply written and performed and boasts an unexpected original symphonic score (by Edward Pearsall).

I caught this movie on the Sci-Fi channel several months ago and somehow could not change the channel. I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like it, which is one of the reasons why I enjoyed it. To make an epic sci-fi comedy love story work for under $60,000 is simply unbelievable. Special effects were pretty cool, and the use of locations to make believeable sets was ingenius. The music was absolutely incredible, and the casting was outstanding. I loved the story and all the characters. It was hilarious. Thumbs up!

It's clever, it's quirky, but the amazing thing about this movie is that it exists and it is as well made as it is. It was made for nothing -- $60K -- and yet it has smart camerawork, a solid (and funny) premise, believeable (enough) acting, good lighting, pathos, satire, romance, it's all there. It's not fall-on-the-floor funny for the most part -- it is actually more subtle and deadpan. Somehow, the movie even manages to get some emotions across without being trite or sentimental about it; when Spaceman first looks off into space, longing, hoping for a sign, as an orphan hopes for the return of his parents, it's actually moving. It's weird, and stylish, but never self-conscious. The score verges on bombast but is actually effective at setting the mood -- and the director had the good taste to go with a chamber orchestra rather than taking the easy way out and dropping in a bunch of cheesy synth like many ultra-low-budget movies. Criticisms: it is seems slow, at times, though its deliberate pace does help build atmosphere and contribute to the deadpan strangeness in a Jarmuschy kind of way. Some of the acting is below par (the mob boss and his thugs, for example), but they are minor characters and it can be easily forgiven. The editing is adequate but nothing more, and occasionally seems awkward; also, not a big deal. Be sure to hit the pause button on the DVD during the newspaper articles close-up. All in all a commendable effort for all concerned.

This movie's premise was good, however, the director, writer, and actors failed to put out anything that was worth watching. I appreciate the effort of the people involved but I can not recommend this movie by any means. To the director and writer, nice try. I know nothing about making movies but in the future I would focus on dialogue. It was hard to follow the plot because every time someone spoke I just got hung up on how bad the acting and dialogue was. There was one point where I laughed in the movie. It was a sight gag when our main character "space man" or Eugene removed a senior citizen security guard in an escape attempt from the mental ward at a hospital. That gave me a chuckle. On all other accounts this movie was not very good.

This was one of those comedy films where I liked all the characters, especially the young girl who befriends the Spaceman, but there just wasn't enough really funny material to make the film fly. There are some good ideas here, but the director doesn't seem to know if he's making a serious movie or a B movie or a spoor or what. If it was trying to be like the later hit "Lost Skeleton of Cadavra", I'd just have to say it failed mostly because it was too modern in some parts. I heard it was produced by the guy who does "The Onion" but I saw no satire whatsoever here. It wasn't a terrible movie and I didn't find it annoying. In fact I was quite intrigued by the story. But it didn't go in either direction, to become a self-serious B movie like "Hideous Sun Demon" or to spoof itself like Roger Corman's "Bucket of Blood". This film got lost somewhere in the middle, and a slew of decent performances from totally unknown actors went with it. Maybe it was just the very serious tone of the film, I don't know.

At any rate, this film would only be recommended for those who are seriously bored.