Im finally getting around to doing one of these review things i said i would do like a month ago. And im only doing it now because I cannot sleep a wink.
So, last night, I watched the truely awesome movie Blast from the Past... A light hearted comedy starring Brendan Fraser and Alicia Silverstone that was released in 1999. I have to say from the very start that this is one of my all time favourite movies. I love Brendan Fraser aswell, i think he's a very talented actor with cheekbones to die for.
The movie, which starts of with a husband and wife, who believing that a nuclear bomb was dropped on the US during the Cold War and thus causing a nuclear holocaust, baracade themselves in the underground fallout shelter that the husband Calvin, played by Christopher Walken, built because of his constant fear of nuclear war. They live there for 35 years, until the doors unlock, with there son ( Brendan Fraser ) ( who is born down there shortly after the supposed bomb is dropped ). In those 35 years, the parents live in blissful 1960s ignorance, teaching there son the good values and beliefs that they hold, praying all the while that they can return the surface one day and re build America in all its splendour. But of course, the world above them is turning into the grit and grime of the LA of the 90s. Sex, drugs, guns and a very questionable performance by Alicia Silverstone.
The movie then goes on to show Adam Webber ( gorgeous Brendan ) experience all the ups and downs of life on top, all the while trying to win the love and affection of Eve ( played by Alicia Silverstone ).
This movie has great comic validity... I absolutely adore the cutesy, safe and loving 1960s lifestyle that the webber family has clung on to, mixed then with the gritty world of the 1990s. Christopher Walken is just the best actor for the roll of the delusional father, who believes even to the very end that the communists are still trying to take over. He is just such a character himself. The mother, Helen ( played by sissy spacek ) is exactly what you would expect a 1960s housewife to be like - neatly dresses, motherly, loving and always cooking pot roasts. The character then develops quite a serious but almost comical drinking problem, a side affect of the isolation felt in the fall out shelter and this goes unnoticed the entire film by her husband, who has kidded himself into believeing that life below the earth is wonderful.
The mixing of the two very different eras creates many oppurtunities for comedy because the character of Adam is so unnacustomed to a world that he hadn't been prepared for. My favourite protrayal of his naivity is when he believes that being gay is being happy and thinks that Eve's roomate Troy is just a happy guy. You can almost believe that Brendan Fraser has travelled from the 60s, his cute almost dopey smile just makes you melt and go 'aww'.
Alicia Silverstones role in the movie is to play the love interest for Adam... Eve. I am not the biggest fan of Alicia and i don't think she was good in this role. I don't think there's enough chemistry between her and Brendan to make any part of ther on-screen relationship seem real or authentic. She always seems stiff and frozen.
The only part I don't like about the movie is the ending. It is quite a strange ending. Alicia is talking to the audience as the final moments are wrapping up, which doesnt fit in right with the rest of the movie. You don't know for sure where the relationship with her and brendan is. It a bit of a stupid ending in my opinion. As the camers pans away we see Chirstopher Walken pacing out the measurements for a new fallout shelter, which just makes you think 'Why couldn't they just leave it'. Ther all out of the shelter, they have a new life...Couldn't it just be left there.
So, apart from the not so great ending, i absolutely love this movie. I love it for Brendan Frasers acting, for Christopher Walkens insanity and for the awesome dance routine that Brendan excites us with...
So watch Blast from the Past... NOW!!
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