You already know the plot of the movie forwards and backwards, but I'll take this opportunity to refresh your memory-- Adam Webber lives his entire life in a fallout shelter (not a bomb shelter, there's a difference ;) until, one day, at age 35, he emerges in order to find supplies for his parents and a woman for himself. For no apparent reason, he falls in love with Eve, and spends the rest of his time with the curly-haired vixen inadvertantly charming her socks off. When he finally reveals his origins and invites her to the shelter with him, Eve calls the Department of Social Services (Adam manages NOT to be taken into protective custody, and finds his way back to his home below ground). Clearly, he's crazy.

Only he's really not, and when she discovers this, she embarks on a wild search to find him again and return the items he left behind. Of course, when they reunite, they embrace, and we see they are meant for each other. In the end, Adam and his parents (and, through marriage, presumably, Eve) are fabulously rich, thanks to stock in IBM and Polaroid, and everyone moves above-ground.

 

Another Brendan movie that requires absolutely no brain power to enjoy, Blast from the Past feels like a clever television show. Much of the dialogue sounds like it should be spouted by a sitcom character, and the product placement (although amusing-- hot Dr. Pepper . . . heehee!) smacks you upside the head. The 4/5 superb cast, however, makes Blast from the Past fun. Brendan himself completely immerses himself in the spirit of Adam, a sweet, polite (and pretty fly for a white) guy caught in a time warp. His amazement at everything he sees is palpable, and his enthusiasm for the simplest stuff like rain is contagious. Christopher Walken, as Calvin, Adam's pop, takes his traditional creepy weird-guy persona and twists it into a lovable-but-kooky genius character.

It sounds stupid and cloying, but it's not. Calvin's cool (love how he teaches about the sperm and the egg with the same approach he uses to explain baseball), he hates those Commies, and he bears an uncanny resemblance to Adam (to whom he has imparted all his wisdom, spanning such disparate subjects as Foreign Language, Environmental Sciences, and Avoidance of Adult Bookstores).

Speaking of which, the kids who play Adam at various ages are INCREDIBLE!! They look just like Brendan. They could be his brothers or nephews or something.

But I return to what I was talking about. Sissy Spacek, as Adam's mom Helen, is an absolute riot. Her claustrophobic, mildly alcoholic mother stuck in 1962 remains meloncholy about life in the shelter, but singlehandedly turns her son into a ladies' man with dance lessons and etiquette infusions. Helen steals every scene in which she appears.

Dave Foley plays Troy, Eve's (whom we will discuss just one short paragraph ahead) gay roommate. He makes the most of his small role, and I almost fell over laughing at his delivery of what would have been stupid lines in the command of someone less talented ("I HAVE to go to the bathroom!" HAR!). AND, to Dave Foley's credit, even though he has the Stereotypical Gay Man Haircut and lives in an impeccably decorated home, Troy isn't the cliched, flaming, Nathan-Lane-in-the-Birdcage-type character I feared he might be.

The remaining 1/5 of the cast, Alicia Silverstone's Eve, fares worse. She isn't given a lot with which to work, and she doesn't do much with that which she has. I dunno, Eve just grated on me. She didn't deserve Adam, and she gave him little reason to fall for her. Perhaps if they delved into her history a bit more, I'd like her better. It seems Adam is attracted to her only because 1) she's the first female he's ever met, and she's a medium-to-righteous babe, 2) she kept the guy in the baseball card shop from ripping him off, 3) he assumes she speaks French because she let a minor expletive slip through her lips, and 4) she shares his appreciation of Perry Como. This, my friends, does not the basis of true love make.

Forget the unlikeliness of Adam's attraction to Eve, though. The rest of the movie is well worth the price of admission, and even MORE worth the price of admission if you go to the bargian matinee, or if you try to sneak in as a child or a senior citizen. Go forth, and partake of the hilarious cinematic achievement Blast from the Past.

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