trailer...
Synopsis
A single widower (John Cusack) attempts to adopt a ten year old boy who thinks he is from Mars.
My Take
With a setup for a killer tear-jerker and lovable duo, Cusack seems to pull out all his charm to win the audience over for The Martian Child. Starring alongside handsome-man John, is young first-timer Billy Coleman whose look and shyness just reek of cute. However, what is built up to be a charming flick turns out in the end to be nothing more than a slightly above average disappointment.
Science fiction author David Gordon longs for a child, even though his wife died many years before. Wanting to, in his own words, make a difference in the world David attempts to adopt a child- despite the outcries of his sister (who is literally played by John's sister Joan). The adoption agency matches him up with an odd child who, like Lars from Lars and the Real Girl, has no contact with the outside realm. His excuse? Ten-year-old Dennis thinks he's from Mars. And not just "kind of thinks it", he is sure as he is alive. Dennis has devised an elaborate system of language, science, and observation blended together to fit his 'mission' which he claims he is on from 'the Martians'. David must deal with not only Dennis' delusional fantasy of being an alien, but his lack of connectivity with humans and failure to communicate as a whole.
John Cusack, who is one of my top ten favorite actors, never ceases to amaze me on screen, playing the comedic as well as serious parts. This one finds him in more of the serious version of Big Daddy and a more kiddish version of K-Pax; in fact those two movies blended together roughly equal The Martian Child minus a majority of the laughs and crudeness. On the one hand, the movie contains little or no flags (except that Cusack's favorite word seems to be the Lord's name) making it safe for the whole family; but on the other the seemingly slow pace kind of puts all of the sentiments in slow gear, making them appear more as milestones to hit for quota than an actual free flow feel. Yes, the movie did have potential "tear-jerking" scenes but they were few and far between and often were strung together incoherently that, despite the cute kid and the great actor, it seemed boring at times.
While there truly is no harm in seeing this movie, for some it may get long and restless and others may feel right at home. Overall, I felt The Martian Child didn't connect Cusack and Coleman together as much as they would have liked us to believe, and the end result was only a half-hearted attempt at winning us over. Still, The Martian Child remains an above average flick that garners a definite "safe" in all things content-wise.
Until the next flick,
Zachary Anderson
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