DVD Review
Blast from the Past
In
a space of a scant seven years, Brendan
Fraser has established himself as the world's most desirable naif, a
leading man whose charm lies in his open, friendly smile and his characters'
total lack of guile. His latest romantic comedy, Blast From the Past,
available on a special edition DVD, offers Fraser's newest variation on the
innocent heartthrob.
Innocent Adam Meets Worldly Eve
In Blast From the Past, Fraser plays Adam Webber, whose birth in 1962
has the misfortune to coincide with the Cuban missile crisis. His crackpot
scientist father (Christopher
Walken), convinced that nuclear bombs are dropping, locks himself and his
very pregnant wife (Sissy
Spacek) in his backyard suburban L.A. bomb shelter with the air lock set
for 35 years. There, Adam is born and raised by his parents to be a courtly
young gentleman with old-fashioned manners, values, and a love for the song
stylings of Perry Como.
Adam's first taste of the world at large comes when the air lock finally opens, just as the family's seemingly endless supply of warm Dr. Pepper and other provisions are about to run out. Adam is sent aboveground for supplies and to find a wife if he can find a girl who's not too mutated from radioactive fallout. Adam meets no mutants, but he does find the cranky, cynical Eve (Alicia Silverstone) who initially dismisses Adam as an out-of-it loser. It isn't long before ice princess Eve melts, though, in the laser beam of Adam's smiling baby blues.
At 112 minutes, Blast From the Past is a tad too long. It seems to take forever to get Adam aboveground and into the main story. To be fair to director Hugh Wilson, it's easy to see why he would want to stick with Walken and Spacek down below. They are both a delight, clearly relishing their atypically goofy roles. (Spacek, in particular, sparkles as the frustrated, cocktail-guzzling — but always — genteel wife and mother.) Silverstone does what she can with a thankless role requiring whiny petulance through much of the movie. As Eve's gay best friend who watches the couple fall in love with amusement, Kids in the Hall alum Dave Foley shines. Blast From the Past, though, clearly belongs to Fraser. Whether swing dancing, demonstrating his love of Perry Como to Eve, or throwing himself into the ocean he's just glimpsed for the first time, Fraser invests Adam with enormous warmth and sweetness.
Truly Special Edition for DVD-ROM Equipped
Blast From the Past, the DVD, comes in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound with
both widescreen and full frame editions of the film, both editions hilariously
introduced by Christopher Walken in a snippet from the film where he describes
one of his inventions. Though this is billed as a special edition, for viewers
equipped merely with a DVD player, the special features are not that special.
The DVD features the original theatrical trailer, cast and crew biographies,
and "The Love Meter" game. Billed as an interactive game, "The
Love Meter" game is silly, but since it features commentary by the film's
characters, it is pretty funny — at least the first couple of times through.
For those equipped with DVD-ROM drives on their computers, Blast From the Past does provide more of a special edition experience. DVD-ROM users have access to Blast From the Past's screenplay with scene access. Other DVD-ROM features include web links, swing dance steps that can be printed out (if there's anyone out there who can actually follow those things), e-postcards, and a wealth of "bomb shelter" games, among them bingo and poker. All in all, the DVD-ROM features on the Blast From the Past DVD provide the perfect complement to the breezy fun of the movie.
Critics Roundup
Roger
Ebert |
Los
Angeles Times New York Times USA Today |
Some film critics do not provide a rating system using stars. Reel.com's editors closely read those critics' reviews and then attribute a star rating that approximately reflects each critic's general opinion.
See how thousands of opening-night moviegoers across the country rate Hollywood's latest, from A+ to F!
| Male | Female | |
| Under 21 | B | A- |
| 21 to 34 | B- | B+ |
| 35 and Up | C+ | B |
