The overriding sappiness keeps killing the so-bad-it's-good buzz.
Martian Child (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:102
Fresh:32
Rotten:70
Average Rating:5/10
Consensus: Despite some charms, overt emotional manipulation and an inconsistent tone prevents Martian Child from being the heartfelt dramedy it aspires to be.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for thematic elements and mild language
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Nov 2, 2007 Wide
Box Office: $7,486,906
Synopsis: After decades of playing single men in romantic comedies from the classic SAY ANYTHING to the critical favorite HIGH FIDELITY, the year 2007 marks a change for John Cusack. With roles as fathers in... After decades of playing single men in romantic comedies from the classic SAY ANYTHING to the critical favorite HIGH FIDELITY, the year 2007 marks a change for John Cusack. With roles as fathers in 1408, GRACE IS GONE, and MARTIAN CHILD, the beloved actor grows up and deserves some of the highest praise of his career. In MARTIAN CHILD, David Gordon (Cusack) is a successful science fiction author, plagued by both the death of his wife and writer's block. When a group home worker (Sophie Okonedo) tries to pair him with a young boy named Dennis (Bobby Coleman), David initially resists. But once David spends time with Dennis, he realizes how special the boy is. The outsider (and sci-fi fan) in David thinks he might just understand Dennis best since the child believes that he's from Mars and he'll return there soon. David and Dennis struggle to create the most unconventional of families, as Dennis strives to learn more about being human. MARTIAN CHILD is a moving drama that works because of the genuine performances of everyone involved, but it rides on both the experienced shoulders of Cusack and those of his young costar, Coleman. Both excel at communicating their characters' isolation and eventual connection, but it's Coleman's work in his first major role that is such a pleasant surprise. Supporting turns from Cusack's sister Joan (who plays his sister in the film) and Amanda Peet add emotional depth to the sweet story. MARTIAN CHILD is based on the autobiographical novel by David Gerrold, who is most famous for writing the STAR TREK fan favorite "The Trouble with Tribbles." [More]
Starring: John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt
Starring: John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Sophie Okonedo, Bobby Coleman, David Kaye, Richard Schiff
Director: Menno Meyjes
Director: Menno Meyjes
Screenwriter: Seth Bass, Jonathan Tolins
Producer: David Kirschner, Ed Elbert, Corey Sienega
Composer: Aaron Zigman
Studio: New Line Cinema
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Reviews for Martian Child
Martian Child feels artificially sweetened rather than genuinely moving.
[Cusack] just can't seem to conjure up a reservoir of emotions to make Martian Child human.
It's a minor but affectionate flick that knows sometimes all kids seem like they're from Mars, and those without parents don't have much guidance in knowing how to be human.
This is, wonderfully, a smart and snappy -- never sappy -- portrait of a budding parent-and-kid romance, and a lovely ode to nonconformity, to being your own person even if the rest of the world has some issues with that.
The whole Ha, ha! Dennis is a young Norman Bates thing gets quite creepy.
John Cusack is the only bright spot in an otherwise sentimentally sloppy drama that telegraphs its plot points with a blinding laser beam.
Coleman ... seems to have been cast not for his chemistry with Cusack but for his adorable lack of key baby teeth.
Menno Meyjes handles this Nick Hornby–esque story like a special Oprah episode. Throw in some muted magical realism, and you’ve got everything you need for a fine performance undercut by banal storytelling.
Director Menno Meyjes pulls an engaging film out of the potential claptrap, while also putting across a message about the beauty of nonconformism.
The title character is far from lovable, but John Cusack's charm is irresistible
There are absolutely no surprises as the film disintegrates into its own cutesy display.
Cusack and Coleman are on screen together most of the movie, and the fact that they don’t completely overstay their welcome amid the maudlin action says a lot for the restraint they bring to the characters.
The problem with Martian Child is that it wants to be a story about outcasts, but Dennis doesn't come off as a cute little rebel.
Martian Child was directed by Menno Meyjes, who wrote the screenplay for The Color Purple, and written by the distinguished team Jonathan Tolins and Seth Bass. How could so many good people go so wrong?
John Cusack's favored co-actors (Oliver Platt, Joan Cusack, and Angelica Huston) add color to a sweet movie that intermittently gets bogged down by poor pacing.
The only thing that saves it from being a Lifetime movie is Cusack's ever-present charm and personality.
A comedy masterwork that touches the heart with its portrait of the survival tactics of an abandoned orphan and the loving ministrations of a widowed science fiction writer who adopts him.
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