MY FAVORITE MARTIAN

MY FAVORITE MARTIAN has a good heart but an uneven script. Its strongest quality is Tim O’Hara, a reporter who tries to do the right thing while his career, relationships, and circumstances fall apart. The friendship between Tim and Uncle Martin gives the movie some warmth, and the film contains many moral virtues.

The trouble is that the comedy, action, and suspense do not hold together smoothly. Some humor is needlessly sexual or scatological, and several scenes may frighten younger children, especially when Martin’s limbs fall off and when a transforming gun creates a frightening alien monster.

The practical answer is simple: families with middle schoolers or older may find it serviceable at home, but younger children should skip it.

When a Martian spacecraft crashes near Santa Barbara, a reporter named Tim O’Hara discovers its disguised occupant. The Martian, who calls himself Uncle Martin, needs Tim’s help hiding both himself and his shrunken spacecraft.

Tim sees a chance to get the big story he has been seeking, while authorities search for the strange object that landed near the city. Their uneasy arrangement soon draws Tim, Martin, and others into a dangerous chase.

Two stars mean this is a watchable but distinctly uneven movie. Jeff Daniels deserves special commendation for playing Tim as a good guy and an innocent patsy. Christopher Lloyd is humorous, though he sometimes goes over the top.

The direction and acting are serviceable, and the movie works to a moderate degree. Its central weakness is the script, which cannot sustain the spoof, action, and suspense at the same time. As a result, the film feels like several different movies at once.

The film has many moral elements, especially through Tim’s effort to hold onto morality when everything around him is falling apart. His friendship with Martin also gives the story a humane center.

At the same time, the worldview is pagan, and the movie uses sexual humor, scatological comedy, and frightening science-fiction imagery to create attention. Martin’s suit has an affinity for lust and sex, including a scene in which it demonstrates breasts. The film’s moral center is therefore mixed with content that families may reasonably want to avoid.

The story suggests that doing the right thing matters even when circumstances become chaotic. Scripture similarly calls believers to “do what is honorable in the sight of all” (Romans 12:17).

MY FAVORITE MARTIAN has a decent moral center and a likable performance from Jeff Daniels, but its uneven story and unnecessary sexual, scatological, and frightening humor make it better for home viewing than a family outing. Our answer is WAIT FOR HOME. For gentler family options, see.