My Favorite Martian (1999)

Director:

Donald Petrie

Writers (WGA):

John L. Greene (television series My Favorite Martian)
Sherri Stoner (written by) ...

Release Date:

12 February 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Martian Has Landed. There Goes The Neighborhood.

Plot:

A martian lands on Earth and makes friends with a reporter.

Plot Keywords:

Martian | Spaceship | Mars | Car Trouble | Miniaturization

Cast

Christopher Lloyd	...	Uncle Martin
Jeff Daniels	...	Tim O'Hara
Elizabeth Hurley	...	Brace Channing
Daryl Hannah	...	Lizzie
Wallace Shawn	...	Coleye
Christine Ebersole	...	Mrs. Brown
Michael Lerner	...	Mr. Channing
Ray Walston	...	Armitan
Shelley Malil	...	Felix
Jeremy Hotz	...	Billy
T.K. Carter	...	Lenny
Dawn Maxey	...	Salesgirl
Steven Anthony Lawrence	...	Nurplex Kid
Michael Chieffo	...	Earl Metz
Troy Evans	...	Captain Dalton

Also Known As:

My Favourite Martian (Australia)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some crude humor, action-violence, sensuality, partial nudity and language.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Finland:K-8 | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Germany:6 | New Zealand:PG | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #36483)

Filming Locations:

Best Western Carpinteria Inn - 4558 Carpinteria Avenue, Carpinteria, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

"Armitan" (played by Ray Walston, the original Favorite Martian on TV) is an anagram for "martian."

Goofs:

Continuity: When Uncle Martin is showing Tim the nurplex in the dressing room, his hand changes position to prevent his hand from blocking the viewpoint of the camera. it switches from an over-hand grip to an under-hand grip.

Quotes:

Uncle Martin: Blotz!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Showbiz Today: (1997-06-20)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Let's Fall in Love

Why Was This Movie Made?

There is no possible reason I can fathom why this movie was ever made.

Why must Hollywood continue to crank out one horrible update of a classic after another? ( Cases in point: Mister Magoo, The Avengers - awful! )

Christopher Lloyd, whom I normally enjoy, was so miserably miscast in this role. His manic portrayal of our beloved "Uncle Martin" is so unspeakably unenjoyable to be almost criminal. His ranting, groaning, grimacing and histrionics provide us with no reason to care for his character except as some 1 dimensional cartoon character.

The director must have thought that fast movements, screaming dialogue and "one-take" slapstick had some similarity to comedy. Apparently he told EVERY ACTOR to act as if they had red ants in their pants.

Fault must lie with the irresponsibly wrought script. I think the writer used "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" as an example of a fine comedy script. As manic as that 1963 classic is, it is far superior to this claptrap - in fact - suddenly it looks pretty good in comparison.

What is most sad about this movie is that it must have apparently been written to appeal to young children. I just am not sure whose children it was made for. Certainly no self-respecting, card-carrying child I know!

If they HAD to remake "My Favorite Martian", why didn't they add some of the timeless charm of the original classic?

Unfortunately, IMDB.com cannot factor in "zero" as a rating for its readers, that is the only rating that comes to mind in describing this travesty.

One good thing did come from this movie, the actors and crew were paid - I think.