Alien from L.A. (1988)

A nerdy teen-age girl goes looking for her missing archaeologist father, and stumbles into a strange subterranean civilization.

Director:

Albert Pyun

Writers:

Debra Ricci, Sandra Berg (as Regina Davis)

Stars:

Kathy Ireland, William R. Moses, Richard Haines

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kathy Ireland	...	Wanda Saknussemm
William R. Moses	...	Guten 'Gus' Edway
Richard Haines	...	Professor Saknussemm
Don Michael Paul	...	Robbie
Thom Mathews	...	Charmin'
Janie du Plessis	...	General Rykov / Shank / Claims Officer
Simon Poland	...	Consul Triton Crassus / Mailman
Linda Kerridge	...	Roeyis Freki / Auntie Pearl
Kristen Trucksess	...	Stacy
Lochner de Kock	...	Professor Ovid Galba / Paddy Mahoney
Deep Roy	...	Mambino
Albert Maritz	...	Mago / Maintenance Worker / Evangelist / Pack Slag Jack
Russel Savadier	...	Loki
Denis Smith	...	Anchorman
James Lithgow	...	Donaldson / Wrestling Announcer / Emcee

Storyline

Wanda is a shy plain girl with a very boring life. When her father, an archaeologist, disappears on an expedition, she flies out to look for him. She ends up in an underground world, where no one believes in a surface world. Except for the secret police, who think she and her fathers are spies.

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Plot Keywords:

bikini | upskirt | skirt | thin girl | nubile | 

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Taglines:

Tinseltown Was No Comparison To The Underground.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA South Africa

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 February 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wanda

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golan-Globus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last name for the main character is taken from Arne Sakneusemm, the Icelandic scientist who traveled to center of the earth in Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth".

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Goofs

Kathy Ireland briefly loses her squeaky voice when she's doped up on the table. She laughs and says in a deeper voice (probably her real one), "You think I'm an alien?"

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Quotes

Wanda Saknussemm: Bitchin' left hook, Crassus!

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Crazy Credits

Interspersed during the credits is the Anchorman, giving reports about Wanda's existence (or lack thereof) as he gets conflicting reports from Crassus and Rykov.

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Alternate Versions

UK version is cut by 21s to secure a 'PG' rating.

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Connections

Featured in Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)

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Soundtracks

Once Upon a Time
Written by James Saad, Anthony Riparetti and Steve LeGassick
Performed by Steve LeGassick
Produced by Drock

User Reviews

I don't love "L.A."....

Kathy Ireland: the body of a goddess, the face of an angel, the voice of a Smurf.

And the acting talent of a shovel full of calcite. If you don't believe me, check this out: "Alien from L.A." actually depends on her to act throughout 9/10 of the movie! Sure, she ends up in a nice red bikini top and a wrap-around skirt near the end, but that's too little (so to speak) too late.

Seems Ireland plays the daughter of a renowned scientist who falls down into the center of the earth to find him. Along the way, she falls for a guy named Charmin (yes, like the toilet paper - make your own jokes) and finds out how "Mad Max" rejects live. Did you know that people that live down deep in the earth have Austrailian accents? Neither did I.

It's bad (it was MST'd, after all) and also a Golan-Globus production but after all is said and done, Ireland just basically looks lost, like she's trying to find where the photographers are so she can do a photo shoot instead.

And I don't blame her.

One star. And if you insist on watching this, do so with the sound turned off - save your eardrums.