My Favorite Martian Review

by Jamie Peck (darth_fluff AT yahoo DOT com)
June 13th, 1999
MY FAVORITE MARTIAN
Reviewed by Jamie Peck
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rating: ** (out of ****)
Walt Disney / 1:33 / 1999 / PG (bawdy humor, brief nudity) Cast: Jeff Daniels; Christopher Lloyd; Elizabeth Hurley; Daryl Hannah; Wallace Shawn; Ray Walston; Michael Lerner; Christine Ebersole Director: Donald Petrie
Screenplay: Sherri Stoner; Deanna Oliver
------------------------------------------------------------------------
As if last spring's big-screen version of "Lost in Space" didn't scream, "Danger, movie-goers! Danger!", here's yet another unnecessary updating of a beloved 1960s TV chestnut. Martian the sitcom ran from '63 through '66 and featured wacky Ray Walston as an extraterrestrial living amongst earthlings in human disguise; "Martian" the movie runs 93 minutes and gives equally wacky Christopher Lloyd the Walston role, though Walston himself does show up in a supporting turn that eventually pays heed to the his former self.

That in-joke will be lost on kiddies, but they'll probably be content enough with the film's potty humor, lively pace and fun special effects. Adults, on the other hand, may only enjoy "My Favorite Martian" if they were fans of its original incarnation, or if they don't mind gazing at pretty female co-stars Darryl Hannah and Elizabeth Hurley (though both are arguably miscast). The story — Lloyd's "Uncle Martin" crashes in Santa Barbara and is taken under the wing of a harried television producer (Jeff Daniels in the Bill Bixby part) — accomplishes pretty much what the series did in just its pilot and finale, albeit with far better production values, moments of lavish lunacy (like a cool climactic alien rampage) and computer-generated antennae.

There's some decent physical shtick here, and even a few chuckle-worthy moments, but most of the comedy is provided by a talking, gyrating space uniform named Zoot (brought to, uh, life by the voice of "Seinfeld"'s Wayne Knight). This Zoot suit is no riot, and neither, unfortunately, is too much of "My Favorite Martian."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 1999 Jamie Peck
E-mail: [email protected]
Visit The Reel Deal Online: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~jpeck1/ "Maybe another 200 cigarettes would have helped; coughing would be better than some of this dialogue." —Roger Ebert on "200 Cigarettes"

More on 'My Favorite Martian'...

---

Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.