Aliens in the Attic
Carter Jenkins and Austin Robert Butler in Aliens in the Attic
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Monday, 10, Aug 2009 02:16
Directed by John Schultz, in cinemas August 12th, starring Carter Jenkins, Austin Robert Butler, Ashley Tisdale, Ashley Boettcher, Robert Hoffman, running time 85 mins.
In a nutshell...
A commercial, gadget-laden comedy for kids.
What's it all about?
An all-American family take a vacation in the sticks, only for their down-in-the-mouth adolescent son Tom, along with his sister and cousins, to stumble upon a bunch of aliens, who just so happen to be hell-bent on laying waste to the Earth.
After discovering that the extra-terrestrials' weapons only work on adults, the gang must stave off the threat of a complete invasion by battling the beasts without letting their parents in on the act.
Who's in it?
The star turn in this most lighthearted of lighthearted comedies, is High School Musical alumnus Ashley Tisdale (Bethany Pearson), who delights in her cheerleader-esque role without threatening to diversify too far from the cheese-heavy roles that made her famous.
Robert Hoffman plays typical older-boyfriend Ricky while Carter Jenkins (Bad News Bears, various TV appearances) plays the tech-geek who comes of age, with genuinely-endearing Ashley Boettcher as little sister Hannah Pearson
Austin Robert Butler plays cool cousin Jake and Henri and Regan Young (Art and Lee Pearson) round off the earth's defence squad as the younger brothers of Jake.
As an example.
"Hello humans." - Skip
"Please tell me you see that too?" - Jake (to Tom)
"We come in pieces." - Skip
Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars
This has got about as much chance of nabbing an Oscar as its got of sprouting a sequel directed by Martin Scorsese - pretty slim, if that wasn't clear enough.
What the others say
"A surprisingly likeable execution of a very thin premise: Tiny aliens invade Earth." - E Online
"With an unappealing cast of kids that includes at least one member of High School Musical, most of us may end up rooting for the space invaders. Fun seems to be the alien concept here." - news.scotsman.com.
So is it any good?
Mummy, how do I make a hit kids-comedy, with the distinct possibility of additional marketing opportunities such as toys, posters and video games?
Well, little one, you need a star, possibly one from mega-bucks Disney franchise High School Musical, and a dash of sex appeal as said star dons a bikini (for the older kids). Then, throw in one cute-as-a-button little girl, some mediocre CGI aliens-with-attitude and a sprinkle of one-liners. Once you have all that marinate in a fresh script co-written by Oscar-winning scribe of Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and bake for 85 minutes.
Is it as bad as all that? Is it just one long advert for the inevitable Nintendo Wii game?
No, not quite. It has some comedic moments, most of which come from a stolen alien device which allows the kids to take control of Tisdale's on-screen older boyfriend, with hilarious bouts of hurting him in many different ways.
It won't win any fans for its originality but it does have a certain wholesome charm, and I'm sure kids will love it.
Fast-paced, fun, gadget-laden comedy for kids, too few laughs to be a crossover hit for adults, but add three onto the score if you are under the age of twelve.
5/10
Gary Huddless