I know this one’s not really on anyone’s radar at the moment, but I don’t care. I want to see it. I think David Gerrold is one hell of a writer, and this was one of his most personal books, based on his life as a gay man who adopted a child with special needs. I was adopted, and I have very strong feelings about it, and I hope this is the beginning of people starting to respect Gerrold as a source of great film material. I think Menno Mejes is an interesting filmmaker, too, so I definitely hope this plays well. Let’s see what this guy thought:
Harry,
Been a few years since I’ve had something relevant enough to write to you guys about and I only wish it could have been a better film. Last week I was able to catch a screening of Martian Child, the John Cusack movie coming out later this year.
The film follows David (Cusack), a widowed sci-fi writer who is witnessing the production of one of his books into a movie all while being pressured by his agent (the always funny Oliver Platt) and his publisher. In the depths of his depression he decides to adopt a weird child who claims to be from Mars. What follows is a film that plays like Big Daddy without the laughs and K-Pax with out the sci-fi pay off.
First off what’s going on with John Cusack? The man was on a roll, his work in the 80’s made him a name, and his work in the 90’s got him the respect he truly deserved but his recent output has been lacking. Must Love Dogs? America’s Sweethearts? Even The Ice Harvest, a film that starred two of my favorite actors disappointed. While Identity kept my attention and Runaway Jury was entertaining to say the most, his films have been lacking that classic charm he could bring to any role.
His character, David, seemed to be made to be rained on. He’s a loner, severely depressed, in the need to make a connection with anything living in the aftermath of his wife’s death. Which drives him to adopt Dennis (Bobby Coleman), a kid who stays in a box all day (he claims the sun is too powerful on earth for him) watching all the other kids play through a hole. What follows is a getting to know you montage where David literally gets Dennis to come out of his “shell.” That’s the type of movie you are in store for.
In order to hit the audience over the head that this kid is not normal the filmmakers decided to have him speak in a weird tone one step up from whispering, take photographs of everything as research for when he goes back and as a capper for half the film he has so much sun screen on his face he could pass for a goth kid. Get ready for a tough child hood kid, and for you guys in the audience, don’t forget to feel sorry for him. The kid isn’t that bad of an actor, it’s just a misguided character that ends up being hard to attach onto.
The other characters don’t have much to do in the long run. Oliver Platt steps in and does his usual routine, the wise cracking friend. He makes a joke and then follows it with his serious comment he has to make in order to advance the plot.
Amanda Peet shows up as the best friend of David and his deceased wife. She slowly becomes the love interest but her character has no point or focus. She was a pointless add on character that was put in for other reasons you’ll see later.
One of my favorite T.V. personalities Richard Schiff (Toby from the West Wing) shows up to play the social worker sent in to keep an eye on the adopted child. Can you guess what he does halfway through this film about an adopted kid?
(Sarcastic Spoilers)
He brings David up to a review board to take the child away after catching the kid breaking dinner plates with his new father. GASP!
(End Sarcastic Spoiler)
This character makes no sense in the movie. David is trying to reach out to his weird child with some mildly alternative techniques, nothing worthy enough to dignify putting him back into the foster care system and away from a well off, loving home.
The last of the side characters is David’s sister played by Joan Cusack. GASP! Once again she plays the same character she always plays. She shows up for a few minutes here and there helping David with parenting advice. For one scene in particular it seems like they forgot to put her through make up, which places her squarely at the top of my list to play Skeletor in the new He-Man movie.
Okay so the Amanda Peet love interest character and the out of place social worker character do have a purpose but they are kind of working against each other. See the movie is based on the true story of writer David Gerrold, a gay man who adopted a weird kid. Some studio boss probably thought no one would care for a gay man adopting a child (or didn’t want the movie to be known as the “gay adoption flick”) and instead made him the much more relatable and sad widower. This is why the Amanda Peet character was thrown in with nothing to do besides remind the audience that David is straight. The nosey social worker character would have made a little more sense looking in on a single gay man, not as much a wealthy straight widower.
Check the film out on DVD if you get a chance, it does have some good spots which my pessimistic ass didn’t feel like sharing and some unintentional laughs where they try to beat you over the head with a message (just wait for the Angelica Huston scene). Overall just another disappointment coming from Lloyd Dobler’s corner, hopefully Grace is Gone is as good as I hear.
Shabby
(A.K.A. Shab-a-Doo)
