Director: Joe Dante
Year Released: 1993
Rating: 2.0
Not charming or effectively satirical but just plain sappy: the picture is far too sitcom-ish in nature - like something that should appear on the Disney channel around 3:30 PM - that tries to link sci-fi movies (fake threat) and the Cold War (real threat), and fails. Can't find much to say in support of it because I never bought it as a metaphor or comedy - it fails miserably in both regards. When the sequences arose at the end revolving around people screaming, fantasy becoming reality, awkward teenagers in love and saving children from flying off a balcony, I officially decided I could care less about any of it. The concept of America's disillusionment/enlightenment seemed more appropriate in Pleasantville, which I think of as a better version (without Castro, of course). How John Goodman rises above material like this is beyond me; I think it has something to do with his ability to see through shoddy material and find fun in the basest roles. His character deserves a better movie.
