Evolution (2001)

A fire-fighting cadet, two college professors, and a geeky but sexy government scientist work against an alien organism that has been rapidly evolving since its arrival on Earth inside a meteor.

Director:

Ivan Reitman

Writers:

Don Jakoby (story), David Diamond (screenplay)

Stars:

David Duchovny, Orlando Jones, Julianne Moore

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Duchovny	...	Ira
Julianne Moore	...	Allison
Orlando Jones	...	Harry
Seann William Scott	...	Wayne
Ted Levine	...	Gen. Woodman
Ethan Suplee	...	Deke
Michael Bower	...	Danny (as Michael Ray Bower)
Pat Kilbane	...	Officer Johnson
Ty Burrell	...	Flemming
Dan Aykroyd	...	Governor Lewis
Katharine Towne	...	Nadine
Gregory Itzin	...	Cartwright
Ashley Clark	...	Lt. Cryer
Michelle Wolff	...	Carla
Sarah Silverman	...	Denise

Storyline

When a meteorite falls to Earth two college professors, Dr. Ira Kane and Prof. Harry Phineas Block, are assigned the job of checking the site out. At the site, they discover organisms not of this planet. Soon the site is taken over by the government, forcing Ira and Harry to the side. As the new life-forms begin to evolve and start to get more and more dangerous, it's up to the two professors to save the planet.

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Plot Keywords:

shampoo | alien | chase | hero | helicopter | 

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Taglines:

Have a nice end of the world.

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Genres:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, and for sci-fi action

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 June 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Evolution

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,408,351, 10 June 2001, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$38,345,494

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$98,376,292

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, DreamWorks, The Montecito Picture Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ted Levine plays Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Julianne Moore plays Clarice Starling in Hannibal (2001).

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Goofs

(at around 45 mins) During the party at the country club, the blond woman wears red shoes. When she arrived near the green in order to drink Champagne, the shoes are in her hands. After the scene when Barry Cartwright died she came back with the shoes at her feet.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[At night, Wayne drives out to a shack in the desert and places a mannequin inside it. He is wearing a yellow fireman's coat, without a fire department's name on it]
Wayne Grey: Despite all the warnings, she was smoking in bed, fell asleep. Bad move.
[He sloshes gasoline inside the shack and strikes a match]
Wayne Grey: And the fire begins. Showtime!
[Hollering in fake excitement, he charges into the shack]
Wayne Grey: Don't worry, ma'am, I'm here to save you!
[...]

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Crazy Credits

There is an item 'Stunt Primate'

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Alternate Versions

The dialogue where Harry asks "Shouldn't we tell the government." to which Ira replies "No! I know these people." was shot both in the hallyway of the college and driving in the college parking lot. The hallyway scene was used in the final film.

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Connections

Referenced in The Rundown (2003)

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Soundtracks

Anyway the Main Thing Is
Written & Performed by Patty Larkin
Courtesy of Vanguard Records,
a Welk Music Group company

User Reviews

Funny

Evolution is a step up from most gross-out comedies. With a nice idea for a plot, it starts off quite serious before the stars show their comic talents off. David Duchovny has good comic timing that hasn't really been tapped before, Orlando Jones is far better here than in Double Take and Say It Isn't So and Seann William Scott is a damn fine comic actor who uses his goofy charm to his advantage. Julianne Moore's constant falling over isn't funny, but you can't have everything. It's a shame that it flopped in the US, because it's really good. The special effects are decent, the turns are likeable and the script is loaded with sharp wit. OK, maybe some jokes go dead but seeing Orlando Jones getting lubricated after a bug enters his body and Scott singing to a flying monster in a mall is reason enough to go see this excellent summer blockbuster.