 |
Garry Shandling
|
The noise is a low-pitched hum. It's a familiar whir, somewhere between a microwave oven and an electric knife. The problem is that Harold Anderson (Garry Shandling), an alien looking to impregnate an Earth woman, makes the sound the minute he becomes aroused. Actually, the sound itself isn't the real problem. Harold's dilemma is that the humming originates between his legs.
Director Mike Nichols' sci-fi comedy What Planet Are You From? never actually shows Harold's buzzing penis. It's a sight gag best left unseen. But Harold's humming can be heard throughout the entire movie. It's a great joke. The problem is that one space penis isn't enough to support an entire movie, no matter how noisy it is.
What Planet Are You From? (courtesy of a script by Shandling, Michael Leeson, Ed Solomon and Peter Tolan) borrows its farcical plot about aliens seducing Earth women from countless 1950s pulp magazines. That H1449-6, aka Harold, is desperate to save his all-male race from extinction is a story we've heard before. So is the fact that Harold's long-range plan is an invasion of Earth. In the opinion of Harold's alien leader, Graydon (Ben Kingsley), the mission is a guaranteed success.
"They are simple people," Graydon tells Harold. "They are a thousand years behind us. Don't let anyone know the truth. We don't want another Roswell on our hands."
Arduous training into the ways of communicating with Earth women, as well as a new identity as a Phoenix loan officer, boosts Harold's chances of seduction. He is taught to compliment a woman on her shoes and to tell her she smells nice. Harold also learns the most important phrase when speaking with a woman: "Uh-huh." Of course, all of this is new to Susan Hart (Annette Bening), a 12-stepper who falls for Harold's clownish advances.
Compared to in-your-face comedies like American Pie and There's Something About Mary, What Planet Are Your From? keeps its sexual farce surprisingly adult. The jokes feel nostalgic, like flipping through old copies of Playboy. Still, the "wink-wink, nudge-nudge" tempo of the film grows tired fast. Every sentence out of Harry's mouth is a pathetic come-on. It's as if Nichols and company are poking you in the ribs throughout the entire film. Appropriately, the best gags in What Planet Are You From?' are found in Harry's barside banter. It's what one expects from a movie that's more a collection of bawdy sketches than a complete and cohesive screwball comedy.
"You're making a noise" says Helen Gordon (Linda Fiorentino), the sexy wife of one of Harry's bank colleagues. Harry's reply is matter-of-fact.
"That's my penis," he says. "It hums."
"Guess it doesn't know the words," Helen replies. "I can teach it a few."
Shandling pops up in just about every scene as the hapless alien womanizer. So it's no surprise to learn that the veteran comic spent four years honing the film's story.
It helps that Shandling actually looks a little alienlike. Shandling's self-deprecating humor about his appearance was always his best routine. It's funnier when a bumbling lothario looks a little goofy. Shandling's receding hairline reveals the deep furrows in his broad forehead. His hair is permanently frazzled. Heavy jowls fold into a double chin. Even Shandling's bronze tan looks out-of-this-world. When Harold's photo is tacked next to drawings of the typical bug-eyed space monster, you have to admit to a passing resemblance.
His looks aside, Shandling's core problem is that he portrays Harold as a straight man who is nonplused by all the craziness around him. Shandling's performance needs a little bit of Jerry Lewis, a shot of Jim Carrey and a dash of Roberto Benigni. Basically, Shandling needs to loosen up and act crazy. Sure, playing the clown has never been Shandling's style. But an alien with a buzzing penis shouldn't take himself so seriously.
Luckily, What Planet Are You From? finds plenty of comic spunk in its colorful ensemble cast. Fiorentino sashays through the film with sufficient wiggle. She's an alluring vamp, ready to grab Harold's hum-job with two hands. John Goodman bounces into his scenes with larger-than-life gusto as a FAA agent trying to uncover Harold's alien origins. And Greg Kinnear wears his smarmy attitude like oily hair spray as Harold's philandering coworker. Every one of Kinnear's hairs look varnished into place. Even the Phoenix bank where Harold works becomes a supporting character. Its glass walls and open lobby resemble some retro version of an alien spaceship.
But it's Kingsley who fits his role as Harold's stone-faced alien leader so perfectly. Kingsley's shaven head helps. His clipped English accent adds an otherworldly dimension. Kingsley's performance is a burst of pure physical comedy.
As Susan, Bening is the only actor who manages to create heartfelt emotion: She is the prime target of Harold's horniness. It's what we've come to expect from her, although it's not entirely clear if What Planet Are You From? really benefits from her realistic portrayal. Movie farces like this have little use for a three-dimensional performance. Still, it's fun watching Bening get flustered over a fender-bender with her "new" used VW Beetle. She's the one person in What Planet Are You From? who's truly down-to-earth.
Few filmmakers understand comedy better than Nichols. It's where he started his professional career, in a comic duo with Elaine May. But Nichols' brand of moviemade comedy -- The Graduate, Primary Colors and Heartburn -- are more cerebral than slapstick. Only The Birdcage revealed any knack for physical humor on Nichols' part. When you think about it, Nichols doesn't seem well-suited for What Planet Are You From? and its penis humor.
When Harold's dating-game hijinks dissolve into commentary on relationship issues and his discovery of human emotions, What Planet Are You From? loses most of its comic spark. An alien fascinated with a TV remote isn't as funny as an alien with a whirring appendage. After a barrage of bedroom humor, What Planet Are You From? ultimately stumbles with its climactic attempts at serious human drama.
But the biggest disappointment hangs on Shandling's smirking lips. It's not easy being miscast in your own star project. CityBeat Grade: C.
