Phil the Alien

Saw this film today after hearing the buzz from last year's Toronto International Film Festival. It was supposed to open two weeks ago but was held-up for reasons unknown. Anyway, the reviews were generally good and, being a died-in-the-wool Canadian film fan, I checked it out. Time well spent all-in-all. The secret American base beneath Niagara Falls was a hoot. Hello Marineland! :) A note for anyone expecting a blow-your-mind effects budget; fergeddit! However, the film takes its low-budget conceit to heart and makes the most of it. It was clearly shot on tape and the up-convert to 35mm doesn't always hold up all that well in daylight scenes which (by and large) are few and far between. Gregor Hagey's cinematography was well done and the pace of Warren Sonoda's editing compliments the deadpan comedy well. BTW, nice to catch Dwayne Hill and Mike Beaver in this as well.

I'd say see it first-run if you can but if you can't, when it's set to come out on DVD, make a clamour for it at your local video store (Blockbuster, Rogers, whatever) so that it gets more than the usual token copy hidden away.

Nice work guys. Keep it up!

The best of Canadian cinema offers a uniquely demented vision of the world - think the films of David Cronenberg and Atom Egoyan. The worst of Canadian cinema usually stars Matthew Ferguson or Lothaire Bluteau. There is no doubt that Rob Stefaniuk's wonderfully original and hugely entertaining Phil the Alien well and truly belongs in the former category.

Phil the Alien is a film that could have gone incredibly wrong. It takes a truck load of gumption and panache to pull off a movie about a shape-changing alien who crash lands on earth, becomes an alcoholic and joins a Christian rock band. Not to mention a film that includes a subplot about a talking beaver, colour coded alien assassins and a child/whore love story. Somehow the film works and manages to be not only hilarious but also surprisingly insightful and sweet natured.

I'm not sure why Will Ferrell is allowed to ruin every comedy produced in North America by his sheer presence, while Rob Stefaniuk remains in relative obscurity. This guy makes Jim Carrey look about as funny as Tom Arnold, and unlike the majority of his colleagues in the comedy world, he can actually act. The supporting cast are all great and the film really profits from their consistently strong performances.

Phil the Alien is the kind of movie you will either love or hate. I obviously loved just about everything about it, from the cool puppetry (Rob Stefaniuk, take another bow) to the old school special effects and even the band's crappy music. I kept expecting the joke to wear thin but it never did. Phil the Alien is unlike any of the dire comedies that have been excreted from the bowels of Hollywood in recent years. For that reason alone, it deserves to be praised and admired by the largest possible audience.

I've just watched Suck, also by Rob Stefaniuk, and loved it tremendously, so I had to also see Phil the Alien. While it is not so good as Suck, this movie is funnier, with the same weird feel to it that made me like both films.

The plot is really irrelevant, even if it is truly original and full of good humour. The acting is good with some actors, rather bland with others, but the overall quality is good. We see some common Stefaniuk themes like the hopeless rock band or Nicole de Boer, who has an important role in this film.

Bottom line: a funny comedy for a change, full of Canadians and with a brilliant script. It is not a masterpiece, but it is better than most films I've seen. Way to go, Rob!

It's a good film, and despite other reviewers stating that it "looked like a Canadian film" - it wasn't all that bad. We're not talking Beachcombers bad, we're talking "rather than buy props for one scene, the crew bought beer." The latex prop aliens and the CGI aren't all that bad. It's not huge on production values, but it's funny, and it has a TALKING BEAVER who can shoot a rifle; That alone is reason to see this. The loyalty scene with the puppies; the evil genius with the pet whales rather than the pet cat you'd be more likely to see in the hands of more serious evil geniuses; the Kill Me! alien in the glass bubble; what more could you want? Hell, there's even underage drinking and sex. It's quite possibly the perfect movie.

No matter what you think of this film, positive or negative, you can't honestly say you've seen anything like it. For that reason alone, I would recommend watching this film. How many major motion pictures released worldwide can actually bear that distinction? There are both amusing plot twists as well as likable characters. So okay, the film is obviously low budgeted and the musical interludes are a little jarring. The music itself is fine and the low budget special effects are kind of its' charm. It's all still pretty funny with decent performances. The only warning I would give is the film's humor is mostly of the "so strange it's funny" variety, which is personally my favourite but may reason for some of the negative reactions posted here.