Spaced Invaders (Film Review)
1990 Buena Vista Pictures
Directed by: Patrick Read Johnson; Written by: Patrick Read Johnson and Scott Lawrence Alexander
Starring: Douglas Barr, Royal Dano, and Ariana Richards
MPAA Rating: PG; Running Time: 100 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 7/10
Five dimwitted aliens in the Martian reserves hear a message from Earth. The Martian spaceforce have attacked, and they are annihilating the Earthlings! The quintet race to Earth to get in on the action, landing in a small Midwestern town. There's just one problem: it's actually Halloweenin 1990, and the town's local radio station had been playing a 1938 broadcast of Orson Welles dramatization of War of the Worlds. There is no invasion. Also, the alien's ship is crashed and can't take off. Worst of all, the heavily-armed townsfolk soon realize the aliens aren't actually annoyingly rude children with convincing costumes, but honest to goodness Martians...and they want their green blood! Two local children take sympathy on the dimwitted, down on their luck aliens, but it turns out its more than just in the aliens best interest that they get off of Earth--the core of their ship is melting down, and if it isn't fixed quickly, the entire galaxy could be destroyed.
In the Spring of 1990, a humble, goofy family comedy named Spaced Invaders hit the theaters. In those days, many such movies hit the theaters. It made a modest sum of $15 million dollars, but it only cost $3 million to make, thus snaring a quintuple profit that ensured writer/director, Patrick Read Johnson, would later bring cult classic, Angus, to the screen in 1995. However, and deservedly so, Spaced Invaders has become a cult classic in its own right.
My 90s Movies Podcast cohost, Jordan Courtney, and I often like to talk about something called "smart dumb," a comedic concept perfectly exemplified by Conan O'Brien in the mid-90's (but with many, many, many forbears). One must come up with jokes, scenarios, and concepts that are utterly stupid...but that are rooted in a complexity that reveals a depth of intelligence. Spaced Invaders is the rare "smart dumb" kid's film.
Spaced Invaders' five aliens act dumb. The do and say things that are dumb. However, they are brought to Earth by a comedically complex scenario, they are each clever spoofs of real-life personas or fictional characters (i.e. there's a Jack Nicholson alien, a Dr. Strangelove alien, etc.), and the humor surrounding them, no matter how silly it gets, is cohesive and consistent. The same goes for the small town the aliens land in, which features a wide variety of characters, some awful, but many of whom, like the town itself, the film seems to hold a lot of affection for. There are even bizarre details about the town the film keeps coming back to, like the new interstate offramp that will finally put it on the map--until, of course, the hapless aliens destroy it.
It helps that the film is cast with people who know exactly what kind of movie they're in, hamming it up at the right moments, but taking it seriously during the few moments they should. A young Ariana Richards is perfect as the central little girl who befriends and wants to help the aliens get home, telling her town sheriff father the film's thesis when she says of the aliens in a perfect line reading, "But, Dad, they're not really bad, they're just... stupid." Likewise, J.J. Anderson, Richards' kid partner-in-crime, wears a duck costume throughout the entirety of the film, bringing the perfect wacky energy, even if he doesn't have a Wikipedia entry to his name. His line reading of "I'M A DUCK!" to every confused, "What are you supposed to be?" adult is also immaculate. There's also Western and Lincoln impersonator legend, Royal Dano, playing the local angry old man who may not love the aliens, but who has taken pictures of them, needs money for the pictures, and doesn't want anyone else to take pictures of them, thus meaning he wants to help the kids get the aliens off of Earth ASAP.
So Spaced Invaders is dumb, but it is also quite funny and well cast. Character doesn't just come from the performances and writing, though, but from the production value. The alien costumes are unique, highly detailed, and practical fun, as are the miniature effects for the alien spacecraft. David Russo's score for the film is rip-roaring, and everyone on the production team seems to have given their all to this goofy production.
If it feels like I am trying to sell Spaced Invaders, I am. After I saw it in the theater 35 years ago, I taped it off of television onto a tape that also included Back to the Future Part II and Raiders of the Lost Ark. I triple featured that VHS again and again. After revisiting the film for the first time in quite a while, I am convinced that younger me had rightfully latched onto a hidden gem here. If you want an entertaining film to watch with the kiddos, but that also will tickle your funny bone with its magnificently brilliant stupidity, Spaced Invaders is your film. Or, if kiddos aren't in the picture, but you just want some good-natured, smart-dumb, alien invasion fun, and maybe, just maybe, you're a kiddo at heart, look no further. Spaced Invaders is a cult classic for a reason.
It helps that the film is cast with people who know exactly what kind of movie they're in, hamming it up at the right moments, but taking it seriously during the few moments they should. A young Ariana Richards is perfect as the central little girl who befriends and wants to help the aliens get home, telling her town sheriff father the film's thesis when she says of the aliens in a perfect line reading, "But, Dad, they're not really bad, they're just... stupid." Likewise, J.J. Anderson, Richards' kid partner-in-crime, wears a duck costume throughout the entirety of the film, bringing the perfect wacky energy, even if he doesn't have a Wikipedia entry to his name. His line reading of "I'M A DUCK!" to every confused, "What are you supposed to be?" adult is also immaculate. There's also Western and Lincoln impersonator legend, Royal Dano, playing the local angry old man who may not love the aliens, but who has taken pictures of them, needs money for the pictures, and doesn't want anyone else to take pictures of them, thus meaning he wants to help the kids get the aliens off of Earth ASAP.
So Spaced Invaders is dumb, but it is also quite funny and well cast. Character doesn't just come from the performances and writing, though, but from the production value. The alien costumes are unique, highly detailed, and practical fun, as are the miniature effects for the alien spacecraft. David Russo's score for the film is rip-roaring, and everyone on the production team seems to have given their all to this goofy production.
If it feels like I am trying to sell Spaced Invaders, I am. After I saw it in the theater 35 years ago, I taped it off of television onto a tape that also included Back to the Future Part II and Raiders of the Lost Ark. I triple featured that VHS again and again. After revisiting the film for the first time in quite a while, I am convinced that younger me had rightfully latched onto a hidden gem here. If you want an entertaining film to watch with the kiddos, but that also will tickle your funny bone with its magnificently brilliant stupidity, Spaced Invaders is your film. Or, if kiddos aren't in the picture, but you just want some good-natured, smart-dumb, alien invasion fun, and maybe, just maybe, you're a kiddo at heart, look no further. Spaced Invaders is a cult classic for a reason.
Comments