By: debbie lynn elias
When there’s something strange in the neighborhood, who ya gonna call? Ivan Reitman! That’s right, one of the kings of product placement storyline tie-ins has done it again in this Men In Black meets X-Files meets Ghostbusters with a tip of the hat to Independence Day.
Starring Fox Mulder himself, David Duchovny, as former government scientist turned community college professor Dr. Ira Kane, is now teamed up with rubber-faced Orlando Jones as geology professor Dr. Harry Block, as they are called to the scene to investigate a meteor crash site in the desert near Glen Canyon, Arizona. As in Ghostbusters, Reitman once again has great rapport and comradery between the characters, showcasing both wit and wisdom with snappy, and at times self-deprecating, dialogue. In tried and true Ghostbuster style, Kane and Block find liquid (this time alien blue as opposed to ectoplasmic pink) oozing from the meteor which they quickly take back to the college for analysis where they find the answer to that age old Darwinian question, how many cells are in a one-celled organism – millions. While Block wants to notify the Feds, in a nod to Mulder, Kane decides, “No government. I know those people.”
Of course, within days, the government has swarmed the site, bringing in their own “crackerjack” team headed by CDC scientist, Dana….oops, Dr. Allison Reed, playfully played by Julianne Moore, and that Napalm bombing military mastermind, General Woodman, played by Ted Levine. You remember Ted Levine – the original Silence of the Lambs serial killer, Jame “Buffalo Bill” Gumb. Levine does his best work when playing evil and doesn’t disappoint here when going over the top with his lust for “the rockets red glare.” Moore, whose greatest talent is klutziness while exuding sexiness, doesn’t miss a beat as she executes comic pratfalls worthy of the admiration of Lucille Ball. Overseeing the entire operation is, of course, the governor of the great state of Arizona played by none other than Dan Aykroyd who gives one of his greatest frenetic comic performances.
Knowing that “the truth is out there,” Kane and Block, resort to impersonating military officers as well as breaking and entering to gain access to the underground crash site where they find that the organisms have multiplied at an alarming rate into a myriad of species. Phil Tippett, who previously helped bring us dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, outdoes himself here with a colorful pallette of cleverly created creatures who are both original and at times, slightly “Jurassic”, “Alienesque” and even a bit “ET-ish” in their design (the latter of which will make you go “aaawww.”)
While attempting to collect samples of the creatures, an alien dragonfly slices through both Block’s decontamination suit and his skin, finally coming to rest inside a bodily orifice. Emergency medical measures to remove the alien bring side-splitting laughter as the emergency physician yells, “There’s no time for lubricant!”, to which Block shrieks, “There’s ALWAYS time for lubricant.”
Teaming up with Valley-Dude wanna-be firefighter Wayne Green, believably played by Seann William Scott, who was practicing fire rescue with a blow-up doll when the meteor hit, the boys take on the now atmospherically adapted aliens in what can only be described as a very effective technique for deterring shoplifting. Armed with shotguns Kane, Block and Green chase what looks like a flying Raptor through a mall, finally bringing it down in true Ghostbusters shoot-out style.
Seeing Darwin’s theory of survival-of-the-fittest unfold before her eyes, Dr. Reed naturally turns on the government, joining forces with our heroes in an attempt to prove that man is the fittest and the aliens must be destroyed, albeit with Head & Shoulders Dandruff Shampoo. However, destruction doesn’t come without the arrival of some big (and I do mean big) gaseous alien, not to mention some big fireworks. And this time, there’s no time for lubricant!
Ivan Reitman is in true form with this film. David Duchovny, after a nice turn in the romantic comedy Return to Me, shows a real comic presence here. Julianne Moore also proves herself a gifted comedienne while the physical expressiveness of Orlando Jones helps make this movie the roller coaster it is. Also, be on the lookout for a great cameo by Richard Moll of Night Court fame as the Nazi-esque fire captain who dashes the firefighting hopes of wannabe Green. (Or does he?) Did someone say survival of the funniest? Evolution is a laugh a minute.
