Is It The Worst They Ever Made?

Morons From Outer Space (1985) – Proving that traveling through space is no guarantee of intelligence, three aliens arrive on Earth to great fanfare. Humanity treats its idiocy as the profound and fashionable, making the three the biggest stars on the planet. Meanwhile, a fourth alien finally lands on the planet after being abandoned.

Directed by Mike Hodges

Starring Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones, Joanne Pearce, Jimmy Nail

Why I Liked It – Ummm, it’s either stupidly goofy, or goofily stupid. I still can’t decide.

Every once in a while, I hit a movie title/description that flips the switch on the following thought process:

“Well, that sounds idiotic.”

“Ah, why not?”

This low-budget British sci-fi movie is every bit as bad as I expected. At the same time, there was a certain je ne sais quoi that kept me watching to the end. The script feels like the output of a sketch comedy television show’s writing room that got carried away with itself. There’s a reason for that. Smith and Rhys Jones are alumni of the British television comedy “Not The Nine O’Clock News” (as was Rowan Atkinson, who, sadly, is not in this movie). While critically acclaimed in England, the show is basically unknown here, so don’t expect to recognize most people in the movie. There is American character actor James B. Sikking. Their quick-cut, sketch style is apparent, along with many pop culture references. Watch for nods to “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, and “The Caine Mutiny”. There’s a low-budget Mel Brooks vibe here, but it’s kinda faint.

Sadly, the decision was made to keep the two actors away from one another on screen, despite their reputation for comic chemistry on the television.

What you end up with is an interesting “comedic” take on the cult of celebrity without ever being, you know, funny. There are some interesting ideas here, and some interesting performances. My feeling was that the cast and writers weren’t willing to take the time to develop them in the way needed for the big screen. What they settled for was a more “never stop moving forward” approach that left much of what might have been the best of the movie at the side of the road. But we’ll never know.

Upside? It was interesting enough to keep watching through to the end.

Downside? I was a little disgusted with myself for settling for this level of “entertainment. “

Rating – ** Not Impressed