|
 Continuing
a trend that began last year with the remake of 1951’s The Day the Earth
Stood Still and carries on with the upcoming Alien Trespass; Monsters
vs. Aliens has a slightly tougher job as part of Hollywood’s rediscovery
of the 1950’s sci-fi movie. Monsters vs. Aliens aims to bring the
qualities of those films that ran the gamut from brilliant to campily
ridiculous to its proposed demo of grade-schoolers for whom The Thing is
a member of the Fantastic Four and canny enough to ask what flavour
jelly the Blob is made of. Luckily, Monsters vs. Aliens has enough
giggles and thrills to keep those kiddies happy while a clever script
filled with nods to the age of the alien invasion movies will keep their
parents in stitches.
Susan
is living her dream … mostly. She’s about to marry the man she loves,
Derek, an aspiring local weatherman and start their life together. It
only stings a little when, on their wedding day, Derek informs Susan
that they have to cancel their Paris honeymoon, so he can attend an
audition in glamourous Fresno. Susan’s a game and supportive girlfriend
and bites back her disappointment, walking it off in the churchyard when
she spots a definite sign of things to come. The big glowy rock that
drops out of the sky and smack dab onto our heroine disappears, unseen
by any of the wedding party and Susan’s disorientation is chalked up to
jitters. It’s only at the point of saying “I do,” that something inside
Susan breaks out and our girl outgrows Derek, literally. Susan
stretches to a height of 49 feet 11 inches and her hair turns snow white
(cool!). Instantly, the military is on the scene and captures
the brand-new giantess. Susan wakes up in a barren, reinforced barracks
with some new neighbours.
Dr.
Cockroach, The Missing Link, Insectosaurus and B.O.B. survive Susan’s
initial shock at their appearance to inform her that she’s been
imprisoned by the government with no way to escape. The military
believes the world simply can’t handle the reality that actual monsters,
as Susan is now qualified, exist. Still, a girl can hope, and Susan
tries to return to normal size and a life with her beloved Derek,
playing guinea pig to Dr. Cockroach’s mad science experiments. The
universe won’t wait for true love and when another flying object hurtles
toward Earth, the military drafts the quintet of monsters to repel the
threat of Gallaxhar, a particularly unoriginal alien who wants to take
over the world, enslave its inhabitants, and so on. After the monster
crew are released onto the streets of San Francisco, they realise they
might not be as equipped for this battle against the alien and his
robotic forces (- which bear an amazing resemblance to the Ghota from
Alien Trespass) as the military thought. When Gallaxhar destroys
the Golden Gate Bridge with travelers still on it, a leader emerges;
Susan - code name Ginormica - uses her strength and smarts, calling out
plays for her team to follow, saving the day. The bait to persuade the
monsters to fight was the guarantee their freedom from the military
prison; this turns out to be a mixed blessing as it occurs to each of
our heroes that the world really might not be prepared for their return
to normal life. Susan’s parents are thrilled to have her home, but
still frightened of her and terrified and repulsed by her friends.
Neither is her reunion with Derek the loving homecoming she expected.
Derek is jealous of Susan’s new fame and breaks up with her, refusing to
be in the shadow, figuratively or otherwise, of this gigantic girl. The
team seems to fit in nowhere and when Gallaxhar starts phase two of his
attack on Earth, the mighty monster crew understand what they are meant
to do.
The
creatures in Monsters vs. Aliens are based on characters from Attack of
the 50 Foot Woman, The Fly, Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Blob
with healthy references to other classic science fiction epics.
Insectosaurus, half-giant grub and half-adorable fuzzy thingy, actually
emerges from a web cocoon to sprout butterfly wings and legs. I was
waiting for a pair of twin girls in sarongs to start singing to it.
Monster vs. Aliens’ clever script keeps the movie from becoming a parody
as opposed to an affectionate homage to the genre. (- However, if
imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Monsters vs. Aliens does at
times embarrass itself in tributes to Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks.)
Having a first rate voice cast doesn’t hurt the film, either; I’ll take
Hugh Laurie, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett and Stephen Colbert in the same
movie no matter what the medium. Directors Rob Letterman and Conrad
Vernon make perfect use Rogen’s infectious giggle as the brainless,
happy-go-lucky, indestructible blob, B.O.B. Arnett’s muscular growl
fits the macho, rambunctious Missing Link like a glove. As the insect
with the genius I.Q., Hugh Laurie infuses Dr. Cockroach with his dry,
acerbic delivery in total compliment to the tiny, mad scientist.
Stephen Colbert’s not nearly in the film enough, but his scenes as the
President, who learned everything he knows about alien communication
from Stephen Spielberg and composer John Williams, are hilarious (-
Keep an eye out for the “E.T. go home” missle). Working a
deep-fried Texas twang, Kiefer Sutherland is a hoot as the gung-ho,
square-jawed, wedgie-wielding general, W.R. Monger, warden of the
monsters’ hidden hideout. The general is a chip off General Buck
Turgidson’s block; he makes the most of an entire scene inside a
circular war room in direct reference to Dr. Strangelove. Reese
Witherspoon has a perfect grasp on Susan/Ginormica’s transition from
sweet and demure to feisty and confident (- and fabulously coiffed
and catsuited!).
Not
quite sophisticated enough to exclude the odd booger joke, Monsters vs.
Aliens is at least hip enough to have given us in Susan/Ginormica a lead
female character that little girls in the audience can look up to – no
pun intended. Susan’s learning to value who she is, no matter how
unusual she may be. Her refusal to accept anyone who doesn’t love her
for herself is a fantastic lesson for anyone, particularly the younger,
feminine sector of the audience. Susan is surrounded by her loyal cast
of clowns, who, along with the film’s freewheeling action sequences,
will be more than enough to keep the young boys in the audience
entertained; plus, like any good 1950’s homage, Monsters vs. Aliens is
in 3D, which adds to the thrills wonderfully. The rapid-fire pop
culture relevant script and its loving look at the 1950’s UFO films that
inspired it will make for happy parents, as well. I’m looking forward
to more Monster adventures soon.
~ The
Lady Miz Diva
March
26th 2009
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