MOVIE REVIEW : ‘Martians’ Struggles to Get Off the Ground

“Martians Go Home” (citywide), a strange little sci-fi comedy that’s all talk and no action, starts off with such a knowing satire of the ways of Hollywood that it’s a shame those green people from Mars ever turn up.

Randy Quaid, who is wholly and delightfully persuasive, stars as a TV composer who finally lands a big-screen feature assignment. While on the phone with his girlfriend (Margaret Colin), an assistant to a popular radio therapist (Anita Morris), the theme for his syrupy new score is accidentally broadcast over the air and heard by Martians, who start arriving by the millions.

At this point, the film quickly disintegrates into a tedious, repetitive, one-joke affair in which the Martians, who are apparently invulnerable and who can appear and vanish at will, devote all their time and energy to heckling humans in the most inhuman manner. Thus, “Martians Go Home” becomes more grating than amusing, marking time until Quaid can figure a way to send the green people packing.

First-time director David Odell can’t build any steam from a script that Charles Haas adapted from Fredric Brown’s 1950s novel. Instead of evolving, the story just keeps repeating itself. This is unfortunate, because the film has a number genuinely and inspired funny lines, but not nearly enough to work up the Marx Brothers zaniness apparently intended. You can laugh out loud when you learn that Quaid has been composing a theme for a TV show called “Transfer to Danger,” about a cop who has to pursue criminals via public transportation. But there just aren’t many opportunities like that one.

Colin has a sketchy part, yet holds her own with Quaid as his loyal and witty lover. Morris is a joy, especially when she reveals that beneath the lacquered therapist’s seemingly unshakable vapidity lurks a fiery one-time fortune teller and sexy hoyden well-matched by John Philbin’s amusingly well-mannered burglar (whom she easily seduces). Barry Sobel and Vic Dunlop are funny guys but, as the key Martians, are here restricted to being merely pains in the neck.

No denying there’s a wacky sensibility at play in “Martians Go Home” (rated PG-13 for some steamy moments and four-letter words), but the film never really takes off.

‘MARTIANS GO HOME’

A Taurus Entertainment release. Executive producer Edward R. Pressman. Producer Michael Pariser. Director David Odell. Screenplay Charles Haas, based on the Fredric Brown novel. Camera Peter Deming. Music Allan Zavod. Production designers Catherine Hardwick, Don Day. Costumes Robyn Reichek. Stunt coordinator Anthony Schmidt. Film editor M. Kathryn Campbell. With Randy Quaid, Margaret Colin, Anita Morris, Barry Sobel, Vic Dunlop, John Philbin, Ronny Cox.

Running time: 1 hour, 28 minutes.

MPAA-rated: PG-13 (parents strongly cautioned; some material may be inappropriate for children under 13).