USA,
1988, 100 min
Shown in 1989
CREDITS
- dir
-
Julien Temple
- prod
-
Tony Garnett
- scr
-
Julie Brown, Charlie Coffey, Terrence E. McNally
- cam
-
Oliver Stapleton
- editor
-
Richard Halsey
- cast
-
Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, Jim Carrey, Julie Brown, Charles Rocket, Damon Wayans
- source
-
Vestron Pictures
- premiere
-
U.S. Premiere
-
COMMENTS
Julien Temple and Geena Davis in person.
OTHER
Yes, everything ’30s sci-fi pulps and ’80s weekly tabloids have told us is true. Don’t be fooled: There are aliens out there and they’re after Earth women! When three furry aliens, with libidos no longer assuaged by holographic videos, spot the lithe loveliness of earth-bound Julie (Geena Davis), their spaceship veers dangerously off course. Meanwhile, the object of their fascination, a manicurist at the Curl Up and Dye salon, is distraught over her own romantic troubles—a philandering fiancé. To this Val Queen supreme, the aliens’ inevitable crash landing in her backyard pool seems just an annoying distraction from the serious business of her love life but it sets in motion a hilarious romp through A Truly Alien World—L.A. pop culture, the land of Technicolor hyperbole. With Earth Girls British director Julien Temple (The Great Rock and Roll Swindle; Absolute Beginners, SFIFF 1986) triumphantly displays his mastery of the musical form and his deft eye for comic satire. Geena Davis as Julie and Jeff Goldblum as Mac the alien captain provide genuine romance. Meanwhile, enthusiastically zany performances by supporting players, especially Julie Brown as the loopy beautician and Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans as Mac’s addled sidekicks add spark to this affectionate send-up of some space invaders’ close encounter with homo sap. los angelenus.
—Laura Thielen, George Eldred
FACTOID #73
James Wong Howe was the first cinematographer to receive a tribute at the Festival, October 19, 1974. The legendary lenser photographed such classics as The Thin Man, Pursued, Sweet Smell of Success and Hud.
