What Planet Are You From?

As an avid action, horror, comedy, and anything non-rom-com fan, I hate the typical Hollywood bull of same old same romantic comedies they are constantly spitting out expecting audiences to appreciate!

But on its release, I was lucky enough to fall upon this little gem of a film from the hilarious Gary Shandling - What Planet are You From?

From the get-go this film is hilarious, with Gary's dead-pan humour and ridiculous faces. Annette Benning is fantastic as is most of the other cast who fit their roles perfectly and look like they are having a blast doing so!

Carrying enough romance without being sickening, the film is almost perfect with constant laugh out loud moments and an over-all feel good achievement by the end of it.

Was great to see it again after so many years and found it even funnier this time around!

WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM? / (2000) *** (out of four)

By Blake French:

Mike Nichols' "What Planet Are You From?" is one of the most honest comedies I can remember-and it is a funny one, too. The script features distorted stereotypes dealing with human relationships. Men are only interested in sex with women, you say? Women want emotional support from men, so I hear? This film examines those concepts in such a unique and straightforward fashion even several technical flaws fail to interrupt the creative flow of colorful ideas.

Sex is the topic in "What Planet Are You From?" but what it truly gets at is the differences of female and male relationship perspectives. Gary Shandling stars as an alien called H1449, who lives with an all-male race on a distant, technologically advanced planet. The race reproduces by cloning only, and because the men never use their sex organs, they have shrunk and disappeared. The leader of the planet, Graydon (Ben Kingsley), plans to take over the entire universe, targeting Earth next. Taking over the planet from the inside is his strategy. After extensive training and dispensed with a penis, H1449 is sent to Earth to breed with a woman.

H1449 disguises himself as a home and commercial loan officer named Harold Anderson. His first and foremost mission is to impregnate the first available woman, the problem is that his targets are scared of the humming sound that comes from his penis, in correlation with his state of arousal. He does manage to bed a few easy women, including a flight attendant and a strip club dancer. After meeting his adulterous coworker, Perry (Greg Kinnear), and becoming a candidate for a big promotion, his mission becomes more and more unimportant.

Harold soon meets Susan Hart (Annette Bening), a recovering alcoholic/real estate agent putting her life back together. Her biological clock is ticking, so she finds herself marrying Harold after learning about his desires to have a child. Under great pressure from Graydon and an FAA agent (John Goodman), who is set on proving Harold is an alien, the confused H1449 must not only focus on his demanding mission, but also with his new Earthly duties and emotionally needy wife.

It's fun watching Harold realize the emotions of being human; when he experiences feelings like anger, jealousy, sadness, and sympathy, we feel oddly touched. There are a few funny moments from the hilariously frank sexual gestures. With nonstop sexual innuendoes and extremely blunt material, the dialogue is irresistible. The vibrating penis gag has potential, but it is not fully explored. "What Planet Are You From?" has a lot of laughs, but could have had a lot more fun with its plot elements.

I really liked the performance by Gary Shandling. His calm, confused state of mind makes for a light-hearted sense of humor. He often provides the film with hilarious moments, with simple, frank facial expressions. Annette Bening provides the story with a comical charm fitting for the role. The supporting cast is top notch even to minor roles. Such small but effective performances come from Nora Dunn ("Three Kings"), Janeane Garofalo ("Clay Pigeons," "The Matchmaker"), Judy Greer ("Jawbreaker") and Linda Fiorentino ("Men in Black," "Dogma").

Mike Nichols has made better movies, such "The Graduate," "The Birdcage," "Primary Colors" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" "What Planet Are You From?" is by far his silliest production, and I am actually a bit surprised to see him involved with this kind of movie. It is downright stupid at times-just plain dumb. But it is a funny stupid. The story evokes laughs from its utter foolishness. I enjoyed the film-not a lot-but it often connected with my unusual sense of humor. If you like this kind of offensive, perverse, and superficial buffoonery, and you know who you are, you might just find yourself having a ball with "What Planet Are You From?"

The new film from director Mike Nichols who did such classics as THE GRADUATE, and WORKING GIRL. Now his newest film is a sort of a different pace for him, it's still a comedy but it has science fiction mixed in with it. Nichols newest film is is WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM? This is a intresting sort of film since it mixes AMERICAN PIE with MEN IN BLACK. PLANET is about a alien from a planet far away, where there are only men. The leader, (Ben Kingsley)decides that it's time to start breeding and to begin taking over Earth. A alien is chosen, and it's Harold (Garry Shandling), who goes to Earth to help the future of his planet. Harold arrives in Phoenix to find his lucky future mate. He meets a slimy and cold co-worker (Greg Kinnear)who gives Harold tips on how to meet, "one night stand" women. When they go to a alcholic annonymous meeting, Harold meets a woman who he feels fits his profile (Annette Bening). But Harold then discovers what it's really like to live on Earth, and what Earth women are really like. Meanwhile, a Federal Avation Agent (John Goodman) is tracking down the mysterous "jolts" with the airplanes that Harold caused. I did enjoy this film for so many reasons. 1.) It was filmed in Phoenix, (where I live) and it was fun spotting the locations on where they shot the film. 2.) The acting by everyone is good. Garry Shandling does a great job playing the lead. At times he is really give a convincing performance by acting weird, like a alien would. Anette Bening (playing a real estate agent again) is also great, giving a good performance. And I also enjoyed John Goodman as the agent determine to pursade the unwelcome guest. 3.) The cinematography by Michael Ballius and production design by Bo Welch was great, since they also both worked on MEN IN BLACK. 4.) The jokes are very dry in this film, yet they do work and succeed. At times they can be cruel, but they are funny. and 5.) Believe it or not, the film does have a heart in it, which does make it meanningful. For a "screwball" style comedy with very good sets and special effects, PLANET succeeds. However, at time the story does get disjointed and some actors appear and disappear, when you would like to see more of them. But overall, it is entertaining and funny. I don't think teens would enjoy it, but the older adults will giggle as they see the poor reproductive

organ that Shandling's character has. This is a funny film, and I do suggest to catch it when one gets the chance. It's not a classic, but it is very enjoyable. **** (out of five)

I was interested in seeing this because of Shandling's press for his HBO shows. The underlying premise for the movie seems based on the "Men are from Mars..." theme and it goes for many of that predictable type of gags, adding to it a repetitive use of the alien's (Shandling's) prosthetic penis that makes a humming noise when interested (energized). This strikes some people as being just hilariously funny and others as being either mildly amusing or possibly boring -- (as various as reactions to boogers or whoopee cushions can produce, but not necessarily for exactly the same people).

This is a cartoon-like farce that takes some liberties with reality. You won't like it if you insist that everything hang fairly tightly together and make logical sense. Annette Benning and John Goodman do nice jobs in their roles (in "American Beauty" she was one-dimensional -- here she has a broad range including vulnerability & hurt); without their roles the movie would have been lifeless.

Consider it as a light weight date movie with some value for suggestive comments; it can easily lead to saying things like, 'do I hear something humming?' or 'you've started something buzzing.'

Garry Shandling is an unattractive man who looks as if he is suffering from a perpetual state of constipation, and, can you believe it?, he still manages to be enjoyable (and even loveable, of all things) in his latest movie, What Planet Are You From? Despite a clunky title and an unlikely leading man (even Shandling himself seems stunned by the reality of it), this movie manages to just barely pull off a decent performance.

The premise seems much more suited to an hour and a half of repetitive penis jokes (and, in some ways, it gets close to that): Shandling plays Harold Anderson, an alien from a planet inhabited by impotent, super-intelligent men bent on universal domination. Led by a stiff-lipped Ben Kingsley (whose neck seems to have disappeared) this race of uber-men has lost all semblances of emotion, let alone sexuality. In their quest for universal rulership, they have chosen Earth as their next target. Their goal? To impregnate a human woman and begin populating the world with "their kind."

Of the millions of available aliens, Shandling is chosen as their ambassador, and after being fitted with an artificial and somewhat dysfunctional penis (it hums when erect), he travels to Earth in a glowing white ball and immediately begins incorporating the lessons he learned about the delicate art of female seduction. For instance, he has an endless bevy of "nice footwear" and "nice perfume" remarks, including some slang: "Kitty likes to scratch!"

Sounds like a one-hour one-liner, huh?

Fortunately, it's not. It's safe to say the movie would have fallen flat on its alien face if it weren't for the stellar performance of Annette Benning as the one woman who finally falls for the bumbling alien's "charms." She manages to take this ludicrous premise and bring a touching dose of reality to it, giving a normally crass idea a glimmer of merit. She is what diversifies Shandling's occasionally monotonous character, and it is through her eyes that the film sheds its hokiness and becomes a real movie.

Co-stars John Goodman and Greg Kinnear, to their credit, do a great job as well, both of them displaying an untypical amount of restraint. As far-fetched as it seems, it is the undertones and quiet moments in this film that render it watchable. Likewise, those moments are what keep the joke from getting old. Director Mike Nichols (who gave us such gems as Catch-22 and The Graduate) has combined the quiet soul of his Regarding Henry with the flamboyant ditziness of his The Birdcage to come up with something truly remarkable: a Garry Shandling movie that works.

It certainly has its flaws, like most flicks, and many times the plot seems to stop and start just like Harold's malfunctioning member. However, although the jokes reach levels the man from Nantucket would be proud of, they mostly act as reminders that, no matter how much we poke fun at sex and marriage, most of the jokes are true. What Planet Are You From? has its out-there moments, but it still hits close to home.