Rating (1 to 10) : 4
Summary: A British spoof about four aliens, who look like any other humans, crashing to Earth. Three of them land in England and are feted as diplomats from another planet while a fourth lands in Arizona and is viewed as a lunatic.
Sandra, Desmond, and Julian, humanoid aliens, crash to Earth after stranding their friend Bernard in outer space. Of the four, Bernard seems to be the only one with a normal intelligence – the other three are dimwits by human standards. The three who crash land their spaceship, which looks like a giant 50’s-style RV trailer, land in England. They are interrogated by scientists but are too dumb to offer any useful knowledge of their planet to the humans. Instead of being a source of knowledge and insight, they become celebrity oddities and tour like they were rock stars.
Bernard, meanwhile, manages to get to Earth but lands in Arizona instead. He tries to get in touch with the other three and perhaps share in their celebrity status but as he travels along, he is viewed as a lunatic and faces difficulties while his friends enjoy being feted by the media and England’s citizens.
This movie has its moments but it’s not rip-roaringly funny. Maybe it might cause a few chuckles at best. The spoofs of other science fiction movies, like the intro scene that mocked the introductory scene from “Star Wars”, are silly, not amusing. I didn’t think the movie was all that funny but I thought that was because it was expressing British humor. Maybe it’s just not very funny at all.
The only interesting part of the film is that it reflects on the human nature of Western society in the 1980’s. How would humans react if aliens from outer space landed on Earth? Initially, there would be fear and apprehension, for it is human nature to fear the unknown. But afterwards, once humans get used to the aliens, they would be given celebrity status and all the perquisites that come with it because we in Western society tend to give fame to people who are undeserving of them.
Why you should or should not see this movie:
If you want to kill 2 hours, this movie will do. I suggest reading a novel instead though.