Plot: What’s it about?
An alien race is in grave danger of being discovered by the humans, so they send a representative to our planet to impregnate a human female. This it seems will enable them to prevent the humans from stumbling upon their all male planet and causing another Roswell. After some exhaustive tests and simulations the aliens choose Harold Anderson (Garry Shandling), who ventures to Earth by appearing on a plane in the middle of some turbulence. As the place finishes it’s course Harold hits on every woman in sight and uses the corniest and worst pick up lines in the process. He seems to have a small spark with one of the stewardesses, but then she smacks him across the face as he deboards the flight. A worker with a government agency reports to the scene to see about the turbulence that occurred and he gets some video tape that shows a strange glowing light in a window, which means something screwy is going on. Harold keeps trying and with the help of his coworker (Greg Kinnear) he lands in an A.A. meeting where he first encounters his best chance at impregnating a woman. With the FAA agent hot on his trailer, his coworker meddling in his affairs, and his buzzing groin, this mission won’t be easy for Harold but he will do whatever it takes in order to get a little action.
I caught this movie at the theater based on the fact that Garry Shandling was the writer/lead actor and I was pleased with the overall results. I wasn’t sure how well this downbeat style of comedy would stand up to repeat viewings, so when this review disc arrived I was eager to see if it was as good the second time. While I don’t think I could watch this movie on a weekly basis, I do feel it stands up well to repeat viewing if proper spacing is involved. This film is loaded with funny dialogue but no real catch phrases, so even after a short time you’ll forget most of the jokes which I think is a good thing. The writing is very good but different from most romantic comedies in that this dialogue is quite slow and deliberate, at least it is with Shandling’s character. I happen to like this approach as it works well for this character, but I can see why some folks might not like it. The rest of the performances are more standard ones with lively characters and dialogue, which plays well off Shandling’s persona here. I recommend this movie to fans of romantic comedies and those who enjoy Shandling’s work and Columbia has issued a fine disc worth your cash whether you choose to rent or purchase.
This film was directed by Mike Nichols, who is no stranger to making movies about strong personalities. Nichols is a talented director by all means, but he lacks the shine and visual pizzazz some others possess. But since the characters in this movie are so large and involving, the basic shooting style of Nichols is more than adequate. Nichols captures the events from a solid perspective at all times, but he never goes to the edge or creates a truly striking shot. Perhaps we can see Nichols return to his former ways when he would use the camera much better, but then again I doubt it. If you want to see other films by Mike Nichols I recommend Primary Colors, Regarding Henry, The Graduate, Wolf, and Carnal Knowledge. The lead in this film is played by Garry Shandling (Hurlyburly, Doctor Dolittle), who also helped pen the story and screenplay for the movie. Shandling is a perfect match for this character and his delivery and demeanor here never cease to entertain me. This film also sports a very impressive supporting cast which includes John Goodman (The Flintstones, Bringing Out The Dead), Judy Greer (Jawbreaker, Three Kings), Annette Bening (American Beauty, In Dreams), Ben Kingsley (The Confession, Sneakers), and Greg Kinnear (Mystery Men, As Good As It Gets).
Video: How does it look?
What Planet Are You From? is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, with a full frame version included on the disc’s flip side. This is a top notch transfer in every way, with the only real flaw I could find being some minor compression errors, which were never distracting. The bright and vivid hues fill the screen at times and never bleed or smear, even flesh tones appear natural and strong. Just as solid is the contrast which sports well defined shadows and high visible detail level at all times.
Audio: How does it sound?
This is a dialogue driven romantic comedy so as you can imagine audio isn’t the focus, but the included Dolby Digital 5.1 track offers a splendid experience. The music sounds full and takes advantage of the entire soundstage, which makes for a pleasant background effect. The effects are usually of the low impact variety so the front channels have no problems handling it all. The focus is one the dialogue, which comes across crisp and with no volume or separation issues I could discover.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This isn’t a special edition release by any means, but there is still some nice bonus features included. You’ll find the theatrical trailers for this film as well as four other Columbia releases, as well as some nice talent files and the insert booklet contains some production notes. If you liked the musical score in this film prepare to rejoice, as an isolated musical score has been packed onto this disc. The final supplement is a five minute featurette which consists of interviews spliced with footage from the film.
