There is something about warm-hearted alien movies that really get to me. By "aliens", I don't just mean creatures from space, but anyone who is considered alienated from everyone else. Such films could include Revenge of the Nerds or E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial. Leave out the spaceships, and you have storylines with the commonality of featuring characters with good souls and sensitive feelings, but are just a little different from the world around them. Being that I was once a kid who was picked on for being different (The other guys did sports, I did movies. How cool is that?), I can't help but have an even more soft spot for such films that celebrate beign different and unique. The recent family film Martian Child does just that, but sometimes fails to reflect its own underlying message. While it could be itself, it sometimes folds under pressure and becomes what Hollywood says it should be.
John Cusack, an actor best known for doing one blockbuster and one sharp indie per year, cashes in on his mainstream project in the lead role of David. In the beginning we barely get to know David or the isolation that he experiences. What we do come to understand is that he wants to adopt. Faster than you can say Big Daddy, David already has an unusual boy living with him. The boy's name is Dennis and he believes he is from outer space. Being that David is a science fiction writer and was once an outcast child, he thinks that loving the child is the best thing for him.
Of course what David comes to learn is that not all kids are perfect. He assumes that Dennis is going through a phase, and that he can easily teach the boy the difference between reality and imagination. However, Dennis continues to insist that he is on a mission from Mars to collect artifacts from Earth, and that his parents will return to the planet to retrieve him one day. The behavior is so bizarre that even David begins to wonder if there is any truth to his actions. Young Dennis makes Martian wishes that coincidentally come true, while also proving to be quite the astronomical genius. Is Dennis so different that he could possibly be out of this world?
I suppose the question of Dennis' origin is the big enigma that lingers throughout the picture. It would be a sin to humanity for me to leak this certain conclusion, so I must tiptoe around the mystery that people are paying to discover. What I can say is that Martian Child is a cute little film with wonderful intentions that can't seem to keep it real. Dennis is representative of any kid we remember from the playground who was ostracized for not being a ball-playing jock, or a conformist girly-girl. From the perspective of kids, he may be weird, but from the perspective of level-headed grown-ups, he is a fragile person who needs the proper love and support to cultivate confidence. Young actor Bobby Coleman is really the heart of this movie as Dennis, and even manages to upstage John Cusack. With his eccentric behavior, pale skin, and beady eyes, he is the unusual child one can't help but adore. It is Coleman's shy performance gives the film its strong moments. He is not loveable because he has a case of the "cutes" like most child stars. Instead he turns in a genuine performance.
Martian Child could have stayed on this positive streak with Coleman's performance and the positive message of including those who are odd. Instead it wanders off into clichéd, sappy territory where loose ends are tied quickly, and emotional manipulation outdoes good writing. There is an intense climax, a couple instances of booming "hug" music, and monologues straight out of an episode of Full House. I couldn't help but wonder if the writers had this great idea for a film about belonging, but the producers came along and told them to make a script that is more like the rest of the blockbuster storylines. Perhaps Martian Child needs to take a cue from its own agenda, and learn to be itself.
Martian Child is not a wreck of a family film so much to the point that I wouldn't recommend it. As a critic, I feel it is my duty to nit pick at the things a film should and shouldn't do to better accomplish its objectives. I may give this a middling review due to some messy writing and predictability, but the message is intact and undeniably effective. This is a good film to take children to because it is the story of a kid who isn't like everyone else, and he is given the honor of stealing the spotlight. For adults, there is the subtle and likable performance from John Cusack, but this will surely be more appreciated by young ones too old for cartoons and too young for PG-13. Then again, you never know. Perhaps grown-ups will be inspired to search for their inner Martians.
Questions? Comments? Just want to talk movies? Drop me a line at dodd@movieweb.com
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