My Stepmother Is an Alien
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| My Stepmother is an Alien | |
|---|---|
 Original movie poster | |
| Directed by | Richard Benjamin |
| Produced by | Franklin R. Levy Ronald Parker Executive producers: Jerry Weintraub Art Levinson Laurence Mark |
| Written by | Jerico Stone Herschel Weingrod Timothy Harris Jonathan Reynolds Uncredited: Richard Benner Leslie Bricusse Debra Frank Susan Rice Paul Rudnick Carl Sautter |
| Starring | Dan Aykroyd Kim Basinger Jon Lovitz Alyson Hannigan |
| Music by | Alan Silvestri |
| Cinematography | Richard H. Kline |
| Editing by | Jacqueline Cambas |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 9 December 1988 |
| Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $26,000,000[1] |
| Box office | $13,854,000 (US) [2] |
My Stepmother is an Alien is a 1988 American comedy science fiction film produced by the Weintraub Entertainment Group for release through Columbia Pictures, directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Dan Aykroyd and Kim Basinger, with featured performances by Jon Lovitz and Alyson Hannigan.[3]
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[edit] Plot
Celeste (Kim Basinger) is an alien sent on a secret mission to Earth; Steven Mills (Dan Aykroyd) is a widowed scientist who is working on experimental ways to send radio waves into deep space. An accident causes a loss of gravity on Celeste's home world. She's sent to investigate who could affect gravity and how it was done under the belief it was an attack. She's aided by an alien device resembling a tentacle with an eye, which hides in a designer purse to aid Celeste with her encounters on Earth. The Bag is able to create any object, such as diamonds and designer dresses almost instantaneously. Celeste crashes a party hosted by Steven's brother Ron (Jon Lovitz) where she immediately draws attention to herself by making dated references to old TV shows and political slogans under the misbelief that it was current (her superiors had just collected the information, which had taken 20 light years to get from Earth to her homeworld).
Celeste's inexperience leads to her almost exposing herself as alien, like trying to kiss for the first time or cooking. Jessie Mills (Alyson Hannigan), Steven's 13 year old daughter, notices Celeste's strange habits, like eating cigarette butts and flashlight batteries or pulling hard boiled eggs out of boiling hot water with her bare hands. However, she can't convince her smitten father that there is something unusual about Celeste. Ron also has his doubts about Celeste, but more on the basis that he feels his brother is doing too much too soon by asking to marry Celeste only a few days after they first met. Ron tries to dissuade Steven from marrying Celeste on the idea she is an illegal immigrant or planning economic espionage, but then admits he is jealous his brother found his dream girl whereas he will never find a girl like Princess Stephanie of Monaco.
Celeste encounters a lot of new experiences such as sneezing, sexual intercourse and love. When Jessie finally confronts Celeste about being an extraterrestrial, Celeste admits her homeworld is without emotion, and will depart once she discovers the truth, but is put in a quandary by Jessie, who says it will devastate her father. After Jessie argues with her dad she runs away and is nearly hit by a car, but is saved by Celeste's powers. This reveals to Steven Celeste is indeed an alien, and that she has fallen in love with him as well as accepting Jessie as her own daughter. When the leaders of Celeste's homeworld report in, she and Steven try and convince them it was not an act of aggression, but a scientific mistake. They accept the explanation on the basis that gravity is returning to their planet and give their blessing for Celeste to be with Steven, but ask for a native of Earth to serve as ambassador to their world as a token of goodwill. The ambassadorship is accepted by Ron, who departs for Celeste's world in a spaceship served by several flight attendants, all of whom look like Princess Stephanie.
[edit] Cast
- Dan Aykroyd as Steven Mills
- Kim Basinger as Celeste Martin
- Jon Lovitz as Ron Mills
- Alyson Hannigan as Jessie Mills
- Joseph Maher as Lucas Budlong
- Seth Green as Fred Glass
- Ann Prentiss as Voice of The Bag
- Wesley Mann as Grady
- Tony Jay as Council Chief
- Peter Bromilow as Second in Command
- Nina Henderson as Cashier
- Harry Shearer as Voice of Carl Sagan
- Adrian Sparks as Dr. Morosini
- Juliette Lewis as Lexie, Jessie's Friend #1
- Tanya Fenmore as Ellen, Jessie's Friend #2
- Cast notes
- Child co-stars Alyson Hannigan and Seth Green would later reunite on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
[edit] Production
- The original writer of My Stepmother Is an Alien, Jerico Stone, saw the story as a dark allegory about child abuse, which is how he pitched the film to Paramount Pictures in 1981.[4][5]
- Shelley Long was originally cast as Celeste, but dropped out due to unknown circumstances.[6]
- The film went into principal photography on 29 February 1988, and wrapped in May of that year.[4][7] Some location shooting took place in Thousand Oaks, California.[8] The film was released in the United States on 9 December 1988,[9] and was marketed with the tagline: "A million lightyears from home, she's found a husband, a stepdaughter and a dog."
[edit] Reception
The movie gained negative reviews.[10][11][12]
[edit] Box office
The movie was not successful.[1] The film was released on December 9, 1988 and opened at #7, grossing $2,066,980 in the opening weekend. It went on to gross $13,854,000 in the USA.[2]
[edit] Soundtrack
The soundtrack album was released by Polydor Records.
- Room to Move - Animotion (4:12)
- Not Just Another Girl - Ivan Neville (4:05)
- Be the One - Jackie Jackson (4:15)
- I Like the World - Cameo (6:11)
- One Good Lover - Siren (3:51)
- Hot Wives - Dan Aykroyd (2:53)
- Pump Up the Volume - M.A.R.R.S. (4:06)
- Enjoy - Alan Silvestri (2:54)
- The Klystron - Alan Silvestri (5:33)
- The Celeste - Alan Silvestri (4:56)
- Kiss - Art of Noise feat. Tom Jones (3:30)
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b "Weintraub's Worries : Box-Office Flops Add to Woes of Flashy 'Mini-Major'". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1989-01-11/entertainment/ca-194_1_box-office. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- ^ a b http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mystepmotherisanalien.htm
- ^ "A Writer's Close Encounter". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1989-02-02/entertainment/ca-2699_1_writer-s-close-encounter. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- ^ a b TCM Misc. notes
- ^ A Writer's Close Encounter LA Times
- ^ My Stepmother Is an Alien at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ IMDB Box office/Business Data
- ^ IMDB Filming locations
- ^ IMDB Release dates
- ^ "MOVIE REVIEW : Wacky 'Alien' Is Tender and Down to Earth". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1988-12-08/entertainment/ca-1176_1_dan-aykroyd. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- ^ "Review/Film; An Alien Who's Cute And Curvy". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=940DE4DA173BF93AA35751C1A96E948260. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- ^ "My Stepmother Is an Alien". Chicago Sun Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19881209/REVIEWS/812090302. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
[edit] External links
- My Stepmother Is an Alien at the Internet Movie Database
- My Stepmother Is an Alien at the TCM Movie Database
- My Stepmother Is an Alien at AllRovi
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