Blast from the Past

It’s 1962, and an extremely paranoid man suddenly fears the launch of a nuclear war. He locks himself and his wife in a bomb shelter underground for the next 35 years (until the radiation clears away), where they raise a baby from birth. When the time comes, the boy, now a man, has to go “up” and get more supplies, and if possible, meet a nice, healthy girl to love as a companion.

Utterly predictable, this movie touches upon a cute little love story while sprinkling itself with some jokes that work, others that don’t, an overly emphasized soundtrack and a nice chemistry between the two main leads. And this is despite the fact that Brendan Fraser does seem to have played this endearing dimwitted role once too often, and Silverstone yet to have conquered her puppy-eye and droopy face acting chops (Darn all that, cause she’s still damn cute, and that’s notwithstanding the slo-mo shot of her triple chin chugging up and down near the end of the movie). Their cutesy but highly foretold love story is one reason that I barely recommend this film, but the goofy performances of the two seasoned actors, Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek, is yet another. Mind you, if you don’t like either one of these actors, skip this flick altogether, cause there ain’t much here that you haven’t seen before.

I actually thought that the script could’ve been much, much funnier, and the story a hunka-hunka more original, with most of the semi-funny scenes having been covered in the TV adverts anyway. This film is obviously geared towards those film-loving teens again, and I guess that in their respect, it might just be a hit, with the presence of two charismatic actors, an overly slick soundtrack and a Valentine’s weekend love connection release date. But as for the rest of us, I doubt that it will register any higher than a late summer Saturday night video rental night tied to some nachos. Maybe even a Sunday night rental. All in all, a brainless revisited concept done with a hip 90’s soundtrack, a couple of solid veteran actors playing funny, charming leads, and an overall unmemorable time.

Oh yeah, and their characters are named Adam & Eve. Cute or corny? You decide.

(c) 2021 Berge Garabedian