COMMENT

New Line will release the serio comedy October 26, 2007

An honest, heartfelt portrait of the redemptive power of love and the true meaning of family, “Martian Child” could be described as a cross between “About a Boy,” the Hugh Grant charming vehicle, and Spielberg's classic “E.T.”

A misfit, David Gordon (John Cusack) grew up dreaming of the day aliens would swoop down from outer space and take him home. Although the Aliens never came, David turned his imagination into a viable career as a sci-fi writer. But he still doesn't fit in. After the tragic death of his fiance two years ago, he has lost grip of his emotional life. Nonetheless, always wanting to be a father, he decides to adopt Dennis (Bobby Coleman), a troubled orphan, who, like the young David, lives in a world of his own. If David longed to be an alien, Dennis believes he is one.

Complications abound since its not easy for a single man to adopt. David is about to give up when he gets a call to come meet Dennis, a bright but troubled kid. Abandoned at birth, and kicked out of foster homes, Dennis has a hard time forming relationships; he lives in an intense, isolated fantasy world. Dennis believes he a Martian on a mission to Earth to study humans.

David understands Dennis perfectly. When he looks at Dennis in his anti-gravity boots and special umbrella hat to shield him from Earths harmful sun, he sees himself.
After a rocky start, adoptive father and son begin to develop real bonds. David overlooks some of the boys odd behavior, like his unusual clothes, or putting things in plastic bags (samples of life on Earth) and storing them in his secret closet.

While David lets the kid be himself, Dennis reciprocates and begins to show David his special gifts, like controlling traffic lights or guessing which elevator is about to arrive. Dennis claims hes using Martian wishes, and he gives one to his new dad. David seems to be just fine with his son being a Martian.

Not everyone, however, approves of how David is handling the boy. When social workers make a surprise visit, David is forced to confess that hes only humoring Dennis in order to bring him back to reality. Overhears this conversation, Dennis runs away, and goes to the place where a spaceship dropped him six years earlier, a place he told David about.

The gifted cast includes John Cusack (“High Fidelity,” Identity,” the upcoming Sundance hit, “Grace Is Gone”) in the lead, real-life sister Joan Cusack (“School of Rock,” “High Fidelity”), Amanda Peet (“A Lot Like Love,” “Somethings Got To Give”), Sophie Okenedo (“Hotel Rwanda”), Oliver Platt (“Kinsey”), and Bobby Coleman.

Directed by Menno Mayjes, who has worked with Cusack on his earlier film, “Max” (about the young Hitler), the film is written by Seth Bass and Jonathan Tolins (“Twilight of the Golds”).