Movie Review: Martian Child

The movie Martian Child was released in late 2007, and I don't remember seeing anything about it at all and just happened to run across it on the shelves at the local Blockbuster video. I read the jacket info and saw that it starred John Cusack, one of my favorite actors, and figured it would be a good way to spend a lazy afternoon.

If you're a movie critic and watch movies for any other purpose than good heartwarming PG entertainment, then this is not the movie for you. Martian Child is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time, and I both laughed and cried all the way through it. The acting isn't superb or brilliant, but it's believable and the characters have a definite way of pulling you into the emotional rollercoaster that is thematic throughout the movie.

Martian Child is based on an autobiographical book by science-fiction writer David Gerrold, with some fictionalized cinematic twists thrown in. It's about a widowed writer David Gordon (John Cusack) who adopts an emotionally scarred orphan boy Dennis (Bobby Coleman) who thinks he is from Mars. The young actor Bobby Coleman does a fantastic job and is very believable in this role.

David and his wife were planning to adopt a child before she died but never did, so when David is contacted by a local children's home about adopting a "hard to place" child, he is emotionally torn. The social worker at the children's home feels that since David is a science fiction writer who writes stories about Mars, and Dennis thinks he is from Mars, that the two would make a good match. David isn't so sure and asks his sister Liz (Joan Cusack) her opinion, and she voices her concerns about it. I have to say that the scenes with Liz were some of the funniest and had me laughing out loud!

David decides to at least meet the little boy, and shows up at the children's home. Dennis is withdrawn and spends most of his time inside a box with a hole cut in it to view the world. Dennis wears a weight belt so he won't float away due to the gravitational pull of Mars, will only eat Lucky Charms, takes Polaroid pictures so he can study humans and learn to be like them, and is afraid of the rays from the sun. David slowly gains the little boy's trust by bringing him sunglasses and sunscreen, and eventually coaxes him out the cardboard box.

Dennis goes to live with David on a trial basis and the emotional turmoil that both Dennis and David go through was very moving. I went through a few Kleenex during this movie, let me tell you!

One line from the movie that stood out was the first time Dennis stayed in his new room at David's house. You can tell Dennis is nervous about being in such an open space and David tells him to think of the room as "just a bigger box".

David is frustrated because he wants to find a way to coax Dennis out of his fantasy world, but at the same time a little part of him wants to believe Dennis. Dennis is afraid of being abandoned again and feels like he is so different that no one could ever love him or want him. The two of them need each other on many levels, and their journey is one that will stay with you for a long time!

I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars!

Oh, and don't forget to watch the special features on the DVD ... you'll learn about the real Martian Child.