What Planet Are You From?

June 19, 2001

I don’t think that I would mind a humming penis.

Mike Nichols is traditionally a purveyor of mediocre ‘American’ films – after The Graduate, where else to go is there, but down? But since Garry Shandling had a big hand in this one, I found it to be above his average game. Garry Shandling is hit or miss with me, I never got into The Larry Sanders Show, but I usually watched his old sitcom on Fox. I think it’s mostly because his lips give me the creeps.

I laughed quite loudly throughout the film, though my boyfriend was content to read real estate guides, glancing up every once in awhile when I laughed. But since he was looking up after I had already laughed, he usually missed what I was laughing about…

The story of an Alien sent to Earth to impregnate our women is hardly original, but I think this film handled the subject originally. Instead of trying to kidnap, brainwash or force the women to be impregnated, the alien actually tried to start relationships – he actually does better than a lot of human men! It’s obligatory that he’s chased by an alien-hunter, but strangely enough, he’s from the FAA, not the FBI or CIA…and John Goodman is just funny, he should stick to films rather than bad sitcoms where he is gay and that is the only punchline.

Greg Kinnear is just slimy. I have always thought he was slimy, but he is ultra slimy here.

Funny – it’s on cable now, so you can watch it for free.