The Martian Child DVD

As a fan of John Cusack, and yes I'm still waiting for a truly great film from him, I rented this combined with the fact that it is based on a true story, more or less, of David Gerrold who, among many other things, wrote the Star Trek episode, The Trouble With Tribbles. He took on the challenge of adopting a boy from a foster home as a single father after the death of his wife.

The movie is pretty much that same scenario, with Cusack taking on a child to kind of fill in the hole left by his wife's death. The kid being eight and bounced around in foster care was a big enough challenge, but like Gerrold, he also took on the challenge of a boy so emotionally abused that the boy took on the reality that he must be from another planet. This boy believes, as much as a mentally and emotionally abused child might, that he is from Mars, complete with hiding from the sun and wearing affectations to complete his fantasy.

Now with this you could have one of three films. The Hallmark channel film, The Lifetime channel film or a gutsy indy film about the struggles of the day to day care of such a special needs child. Now I'm going to say that what we wound up with was pretty solidly a Hallmark channel film that never really challenges you or the characters and all is well at the end. That being said, the tone of the film is fine, the acting is fine, particularly of the odd, Martian boy as played by Bobby Coleman. He deserves high praise for his ability to control and improv his character though being only eight years old. It's worth it to see this performance alone. There is also a good turn by sister Joan Cusack who is really begging to be given something more to do in this film as she chews her way scene to scene and by Amanda Peet (Saving Silverman, Igby Goes Down, The Whole Nine Yards) as John's love interest.

The film is engaging and worth a look as a passing some time laundry film for Cusack fans, but I really would have liked to see the nuts and bolts of this relationship. The guy is an author on deadline and he's trying to take care of a seriously emotionally helpless little boy who was just dumped somewhere with his sister (and where is she?) and apparently tried out and returned by at least one prospective adoptive family, I mean there is more than enough meat here for a really serious drama, with some comedy... the stuff he does as a Martian is pretty cool for an eight year old actor... and I really would have liked to see that movie much more than this one. In that regard, if you ask yourself if this another half hearted attempted at creativity by Hollywood, well yes.

(Isn't it something like 85% of Hollywood output is rated generally poor in an average consensus like at Rotten Tomatoes? And they wonder why American box office is in a slump? But I digress...)

So I give it 2 of 5 stars, 3 if your a Cusack fan just for a breezy, generally good family type film that you can watch in a group or casually ignore as you do laundry.