What Planet Are You From? (2000)

A human-looking alien from a highly advanced but emotionless all-male society is sent to Earth to impregnate a woman and bring the child back to their planet. The alien ends up falling in love there. A suspicious FAA agent targets him.

Director:

Mike Nichols

Writers:

Garry Shandling (story), Michael Leeson (story)

Stars:

Garry Shandling, Annette Bening, John Goodman

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Garry Shandling	...	Harold Anderson
Annette Bening	...	Susan
John Goodman	...	Roland Jones
Greg Kinnear	...	Perry Gordon
Ben Kingsley	...	Graydon
Judy Greer	...	Rebecca
Danny Zorn	...	Randy
Harmony Smith	...	Rita
Richard Jenkins	...	Don Fisk
Linda Fiorentino	...	Helen Gordon
Caroline Aaron	...	Nadine
Nora Dunn	...	Madeline
Cricky Long	...	Janice
Camryn Manheim	...	Alison
Ann Cusack	...	Liz

Storyline

A highly advanced civilization, whose citizens feel no emotion and reproduce by cloning, plans to conquer Earth from the inside by sending an operative, fashioned with a humming, mechanical penis, to impregnate a human and stay until the birth. The alien, Harold Anderson, goes to Phoenix as a banker and sets to work finding a mate. His approaches to women are inept, and the humming phallus doesn't help, but on the advice of a banking colleague, he cruises an A.A. meeting, meets Susan, and somehow convinces her to marry him. The clock starts to tick: will she conceive, have a baby, and lose Harold (and the child) to his planet before he discovers emotion and starts to care?

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Plot Keywords:

sex scene | baby | pregnancy | question in title | alien | 

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Taglines:

To save his planet, an alien must find a woman on Earth to have his baby. There's just one problem.

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Genres:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

¿De qué planeta vienes?

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,008,746, 5 March 2000, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$6,291,602, 26 March 2000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, Columbia Pictures Corporation, What Planet Are You From? Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min 87 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

If you look closely, the opening "Columbia" lady's face is very different and holds a very strong resemblance to Annette Bening, the lead actress in this film.

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Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: At the far reaches of the Universe lies a planet of men who have advanced technologically beyond the realm of human comprehension. This is no breeding - they are a product of cloning, and their reproductive organs have shrunk and disappeared. All emotions have been bred out of this race and each succeeding generation has become more ambitious and driven than the previous one. They want to rule the Universe, and now they are planning their next takeover from the inside.

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Crazy Credits

At the very end of the credits, we hear the familiar "humming" sound and Susan's voice saying, "Oh, Christ! Turn that thing off."

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Connections

References American Beauty (1999)

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Soundtracks

Jingle Bell Rock
Written by Joe Beal and Jim Boothe
Performed by Bobby Helms
Courtesy of MCA Records
Under License from Universal Music Special Markets

User Reviews

Funny Interplanetary Sex Farce

This is a cute little sex farce starring and written by Garry Shandling. Harold Anderson (Shandling) is actually an alien on a very special mission. He must impregnate an earth woman to begin the infiltration of earth for eventual domination and takeover. He has done his research and learned to be a good listener, dutifully repeating `uh huh' at every utterance by a female. Unfortunately, there are certain subtleties he hasn't mastered in the fine art of seduction, and he gets his face slapped repeatedly.

After countless humorous failures, he meets Susan (Annette Benning), his future mate and discovers that the only way she will have sex with him is if he marries her. After the nuptials he learns that all the rules of engagement have changed.

This droll script ranges from mildly silly to hysterical as it holds a circus mirror up to our mating rituals. Shandling is always funny with his deadpan whiney style, but the real treat here is Annette Benning. She makes this film work as Shandling's overwrought love interest. As she did in `American Beauty', she plays another caricature role to perfection. Here she is the aging female who has been a continual loser at the dating game and is desperately searching for love. Her brilliant performance is a treat that upstages Shandling at every turn. In addition, the rest of the cast is wonderful and fits well with Shandling's wry sense of humor.

This is a fun and very light comedy that works well most of the time. I rated it 7/10. Viewers who are offended by nudity, profanity and sexual situations should pass. Others will probably enjoy more than a few good laughs.