My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988) User Reviews

Now That's A Nice-Lookin' Alien!

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 3 November 2006]

I don't believe in aliens, but one ever existed and I ran into it, I hope it looks like Kim Bassinger!

Ditsy but humorous in spots and a generally likable movie is how I saw this film. Basinger hardly ever looked better, which is saying a lot. At the time, it was unusual to see her in a comedy after viewing her in tough crime or sex-type movies for awhile. (I didn't see this film until 10 years after it had been released.) She's a decent comedienne, like her ex-husband (Alec Baldwin) has turned out to be, too.

The comedy is more chuckles than guffaws. There is the usual too-liberal "values" espoused here, in which sex on the first date is "cool," even considered that b the teen daughter! The latter, however, "Jessie" (Alyson Hannigan) is a cute kid and not annoying as most teen girls on in modern-day films. The casual sex and general secular attitude toward everything including that "science is everything" were all annoying to me but it's still a likeble movie. The profanity isn't too much, except by Jon Lovitz, who provides much of it. In all, a dumb story but a nice, feel-good ending helps.

"Oh, Dr. Steve, that was sooo good."

[honkus · 5/10 · 9 March 2005]

This movie definitely falls under the "so bad it's funny" category. It is easily one of the most absurd Hollywood movies ever. Some of it almost feels like a Bugs Bunny cartoon starring SNL alums. The writer and director were either in the middle of a massive hallucinogen binge or had just gotten done watching like forty billion bad 1950s movies in a row.

Akroyd is mostly boring, but the look on his face when the ultra sexy Basinger puts the moves on him is priceless -- you can tell he's been in that situation before. The best acting in the movie probably comes from the dog, but as far as human actors go, Alyson Hannigan (the daughter) is an entertaining and refreshing break from the pouty, "my parents are so lame" cardboard cutouts found in most 80s and 90s comedies.

One of the funniest things I've ever seen comes at the party after the wedding. It lasts about a split second, but the band's keyboard player does the goofiest, most ridiculous 'pretending to make music' acting job ever.

Bottom line: the story and dialogue are so completely ludicrous that depending on how goofy a sense of humor you have, this will either be the worst or the funniest movie you'll ever see.

its supposed to be stupid, dont you get it?

[MadRaina · 6/10 · 10 December 1999]

If there is anyone out there who takes this movie seriously has real problems. Your not supposed to take this movie seriously, its a comedy, a COMEDY, cant you just laugh at how dumb it is? The lead cast is god, but its a cool movie because there are a lot of bit parts from people who are now stars in this film. Juliette Lewis has one line, and is the flower girl. Seth Green and Alison Flannigan from Buffy the Vampire Slayer have roles as well. Its not as bad a movie as people say, just dont take it literally.

Great! What are you all talking about?

[hlookie · 15 August 2001]

I'm wondering if everyone who reviewed this was watching the same film that I've seen because there is no way this movie can "endanger your mental growth." This movie is great! It's got a funny script and an interesting storyline...I don't know if people were expecting some kind of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" challenger, but you all need to see this movie for what it is...somehow I doubt it was meant to deliver some deep message about society or help you delve into your soul...it's a comedy that is meant to entertain! Lighten up, people....

Possesses some charm, but is ultimately just a very poor entry

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 5/10 · 30 August 2005]

I'm not much for the 80's. I was too young to remember them(was 4 when they ended), and listening to the music, looking at the hairstyles and watching the movies... it's just not the same. This particular brand of 80's comedy hits a particularly bad note with me; the fish-out-of-the-water, combined with ridiculous sci-fi and with many of the jokes heavily, pitifully overdone. As such, this movie is hard for me to objectively review... so you will have to forgive me if this turns a tad too cruel. Having seen this at least once before, a few years ago, I mainly watched this to see the popular teen actors at a younger age... Lewis, Hannigan and Green. It was quite amusing to see them so young, and I don't regret investing a hundred minutes of half-attentive time on it... again. The film itself is OK... the plot is about as far out as they go, but I guess it's somewhat original and surely an interesting idea. The pacing seems mostly off, and you're often pondering when a scene will move on. This may be that I'm used to newer, more fast-paced movies... but I have few(if any) problems with Hitchcock's films, even his oldest... so I suspect that it's the direction rather than my attention span. The humor is mostly poor, or at least overdone. The gags are maybe funny at first, but when you get down to it, it's basically one joke told over and over, and it's just not that funny or original. The acting seems somewhat shoddy, as well. The characters are mostly one-note jokes, walking clichés, stereotypes, whichever expression you prefer. All in all, this is a fair comedy, considering the time it was made, but it's not really worth watching unless you're a big fan of some of the actors. I recommend this only to very big fans of several of the people involved in making it. 5/10

Enjoyable light fluff

[KevinBeckett · 7/10 · 18 August 2002]

Ok, I admit to a guilty pleasure at 1)enjoying and 2) recommending this movie.

The plot is weak, the situation implausible and the secondary characters are weak. So why do I give this movie a 7/10?

Dan Aykroyd and Kim Basinger, who have some of the funniest lines in any movie.

They are both excellent as 'fish out of water' he as a nerdy social misfit and she as the space travelling investigator who has to find out how Dan Aykroyd's character was able to contact her planet from a primitive Earth.

It is a movie that definitely grows on you with repeated viewings.

Easily one of the Fifty Worst Movies Ever Made

[squeezebox · 1/10 · 28 December 2004]

It's easy to say a movie is "one of the worst I've ever seen." Often, the person saying it doesn't really mean it. They're just exaggerating. I've done this myself, when speaking of movies such as BRAM STOKER'S Dracula or BAD BOYS. I'm fully aware that they are not nearly as objectively bad as, say, ROBOT MONSTER or CAT WOMEN OF THE MOON, but I personally found them awful.

The same can not be said for MY STEPMOTHER IS AN ALIEN. It is a genuinely dreadful waste of time, money and talent, so much so that it's existence seems to defy the laws of reality. How did this moronic trash heap of a movie ever get made, or even released? How did the negative of this movie not wind up burning in an incinerator somewhere? I need not go into the plot, which is basically summed up in the title. Literally, that's pretty much it. It's SPLASH with an alien instead of a mermaid.

The fact that this movie is actually derived from an original (dramatic) screenplay about a girl unable to cope with the fact that her father has a new girlfriend in the wake of her mother's death staggers me. It just goes to show that the people who make the decisions at big studios about how to make screenplays they've acquired more marketable are a bunch of clueless idiots.

It lumbers along like a wounded walrus until the unbelievably idiotic finale, in which Dan Aykroyd and Kim Basinger convince the aliens that she should stay on Earth by performing a duet of a Jimmy Durante song. I am not kidding.

This is one of those movies in which the studio barely hides its contempt for its audience. Theoretical studio meeting dialog:

"Let's see. This thing's kind of a downer. People prefer to laugh. Dan Aykroyd's funny. Oh, and so is Jon Lovitz. Put them in there. Hmmm. This whole new stepmother thing is king of leaving me cold. Ooooo, what if she were an alien! Kids love aliens. E.T.? STARMAN? Can you say 'Box Office Hit'? Oh, Kim Basinger's really popular this month. Put her in there. The screenplay? Ummm, I didn't think of that. Whatever, get the usual hacks to throw something together. Oh, and my kid saw Jimmy Durante in TV the other night, so figure out a way to stick that in there, too. I don't care if doesn't make any sense, do it. I guess that's it! Meeting adjourned."

Not bad at all (if you can accept something totally silly).

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 23 February 2006]

During the period when Richard Benjamin wasn't acting in any movies, he turned to directing, and "My Stepmother Is an Alien" was one of the results. It features nerdy astronomer Steven Mills (Dan Aykroyd) accidentally doing something that causes alien Celeste Martin (Kim Basinger) to get sent to earth. Naturally, she has to learn about everything step by step, causing some really wacky situations.

This movie's nothing special, but good for a laugh. You probably really like the scene where Celeste asks her purse "What is sex?". Also starring Alyson Hannigan, Jon Lovitz, and Seth Green. Oh, and most of us probably know that Aykroyd had already played Mr. Conehead on "SNL".

Lame '80s humour

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 28 January 2016]

MY STEPMOTHER IS AN ALIEN is one of those films with a great title but little in the way of a real plot to go with it. It's a typical lame '80s comedy in which a bunch of dated aliens beam down on Earth and one of them adopts the rather unlikely form of Kim Basinger in order to infiltrate mankind's society. What follows is an endless barrage of dated jokes, unfunny jokes, and just plain weirdness.

I'll admit from the outset to not being a fan of Basinger, although she's well cast as an alien character here; there's always been something a bit weird about her, after all. Dan Aykroyd is stuck in the 'everyman hero' type role and can do little with it, although there's novelty value that arises from seeing future stars like Alyson Hannigan, Seth Green, and Juliette Lewis when they were but children.

The special effects in the film have dated, not to mention the fashions and hairstyles, and overall it only raised a few chuckles along the way. Overall I think the '80s wave of alien comedies (such as MORONS FROM OUTER SPACE and EARTH GIRLS ARE EASY) was a disappointing one, an assembly of movies that did little to progress either the sci-fi or comedy genres in any way.

charming little story

[babeulous · 7/10 · 26 October 2001]

This movie was fun. I don't know why everyone is ragging on it. Deserving, nerdy guy gets the girl and saves the world. Nice salutes to movies of the '40s. If the plot's weak, it's because there's not much conflict, no diabolical scheming bad guy. The characters are all sweet and real enough that you care about them. Ms. Basinger is pretty, but if you want to see her do sexy, see _Cool World_.

If Jeannie from "I Dream of Jeannie" were an alien

[view_and_review · 1/10 · 10 February 2020]

You can always tell when a narcissistic horny guy has written a movie. This movie was a thinly veiled attempt to make a movie about a nymphomaniac alien that loves sex with a largely undesirable and nerdy man.

Celeste (Kim Basinger), an alien, came to Earth and promptly flattered, kissed, screwed, and married Dr. Steve (Dan Aykroyd). Not only did she have sex with him, but she loved it and after marriage she cooked, cleaned, and everything else a man would want in a wife. I think "Beautiful Nymphomaniac Homemaker Alien" would've been too tacky of a title and they would've had to to make it no less than an 'R' rating.

Celeste did all of these favors for Steve ostensibly to save her planet. She needed him to send another transmission to her planet to save it, which didn't make any sense. How does a transmission from another galaxy save your planet?

All that aside, Kim Basinger is not cutout for comedy. She is not funny. She's better suited for... for... umm... something else. I didn't even finish the movie the absurdity factor was so high. It was bordering on fatal dosages strong enough to kill brain cells. I figured, you've already taken precious time from my life I can never get back, you're not taking my brain cells too.

Still delivers big laughs, one to watch when your world has some gray skies

[inkblot11 · 8/10 · 29 May 2008]

Widower Dr. Steve Mills (Dan Ackroyd) is a two-bit astronomer who wants desperately to send a light beam "out of" the solar system. He fervently believes there is life on other planets but his experiments have been known to damage expensive equipment. Therefore, his boss has told Steve that he will get the boot if he breaks anything else. Needing lightning to bolster his beam, Dr. Steve begins his next attempt at intergalactic communication in a thunderstorm when the system suddenly gets a "superboost" of power, which he can't explain. The result is that the radar shows his light went into another GALAXY, hurrah, but, soon after, the entire system goes south. Steve gets thrown out on his ear, of course. He goes home to his thirteen year old daughter, Jessie (Alyson Hannigan) and contemplates his next move. His womanizing brother, Ron (Jon Lovitz, absolutely hilarious) throws a party to cheer him up, too. But, crashing the get-together, is a beautiful blonde, Celeste (Kim Basinger) who flirts with Steve and wants to know his science secrets. That's because she is an alien whose planet was damaged by Dr. Mills' light beam. She has only a short time to get the good astronomer to send the jolt again so that her world will be saved. But, naturally, Steve must not know she is not an earthling. From alien "eyes" in handbags to drinking car batteries to convincing Steve to marry her, will Celeste succeed in her rescue attempts? If you are world weary, I heartily recommend this old charmer. It is very funny, probably Richard Benjamin's best effort, and it has a terrific cast, too. Ackroyd is wonderful but, then, so is Basinger in a role for which she has probably never garnered any praise, which is a big shame, for she is very funny and sweet. As for Lovitz, he could make a stone laugh and he is in excellent form in this one. All of the other cast members, including Hannigan, in her first big role, are fine. There is an abundance of terrific sight gags and special effects and the script is humorous, polished, and offbeat. As for the costumes, they are impressive, with Basinger looking like a dream. In short, do not be an alien to this film. There have been many films in cinematic history which have been praised high above this one but there are very few that actually deliver the laughs and enjoyment of this truly winning flick.

Hey... it's not THAT bad! It was really kinda funny! =)

[SoCalGal · 7/10 · 4 June 1999]

I rather enjoyed this film! I actually thought that it was a crack-up! Okay, so it's not the funniest movie that was ever made. So what?! Not every comedy was written by Neil Simon or Woody Allen. Of course, the fact that I saw it when it was first released (more than 10 years ago) might have something to do with my enjoyment factor. The special effects, especially by today's standards, are pretty corny. But, all in all, it was enjoyable. And hey, after all, where else can you get to see T.V.'s Buffy the Vampire Slayer stars, Alyson Hannigan and Seth Green, when they first appeared as boyfriend and girlfriend, years before their television romance began?!

My movie unwatchable

[talllwoood13 · 2/10 · 26 November 2021]

This has to be one of the worst movies I've ever seen all of 2021 and I watched every Steven Seagal movie so that is saying something.

This movie starts off with this sleazy Tom Jones song that goes on and on like make of the tired jokes that I guarantee no one in this movie that should have been direct to VHS was laughing. Thankfully this turd bombed. How anyone had careers after this is beyond me.

The "Star" studded cast is.

Dan Aykroyd who is not the least bit funny on this, like 99.9% of skits on SNL I'm sorry he couldn't act in this movie AT ALL. Maybe two times in the movie I believed his silly character.

Kim Basinger who made a lot of bad life decisions like marrying Alec Baldwin

Seth Green which it's good to see he hasn't grown an inch since 1988. He is about as short as some of the toys he plays with on his brain dead series Robot Chicken which I'm surprised is still on tv

and Jon Lovitz which as some of you in your 30s may know is the film critic guy in the simpsons and that tv show that bombed.

The special effects are atrocious in this movie. Yes this was 1988 and the budget was shoe string at best but if you can't do something don't do it.

It's pretty bad when Ron (Jon Lovitz) is the most likable character in this show with his extremely one dimensional personality. All he wants to do is sleep with women and has that Rolls Royce besides that he just breathes and berates everyone. He would give the adult movie star Ron Jeremy a run for his money who can out sleaze each other so good for him for playing such a role.

The main character Steve is an M. I. T. Graduate and as some of you know is one of the best schools in the world. Yet he works in some dingy lab for $25,000 salary which is about as big as his brothers dick, inflation can't have raised that much in 33 years give or take. His brother the sleazy one Ron lives in a much better house, dresses way better and boasts his very expensive car. Yet Steve lives in some average house and has a daughter. Something isn't adding up. Steve comes off as INCREDIBLY naive as does everyone in this movie. It's almost like 90 day fiance when that desperate man flies to Ukraine like 3 times before finally meeting Lana I think her name was. I'll say this once and I'll say it many more times Dan cannot act. Stick to selling overpriced vodka bottles. With enough of them I'll believe your character. Dan is fired for blowing up what I imagine is 100s of thousands if not more dollars worth of gear trying to communicate with aliens and all the machines that can prove he did blew up before he can prove himself. The dad is single, he has been for a while, he can't cook so they microwave everything which sounds like a slightly older version of my brother.

The daughter Jess is unrealistic in many ways. She can't act but at least she isn't some super model or something. She's "real" if that makes sense.

This film is so poorly cast. One idea I would have done if this came out today is to put. Bryan Cranston (Hal From Malcolm In The Middle) in this movie instead. Even though he would have been roughly 32 when this would have came out. He is much more likable and would have pulled off the role so much better. The dialogue is so poorly written and the films score is atrociously awful. 80s "comedy" or not this movie would not even be dollar store good. Though it doesn't get boring enough for me to want to turn it down like many movies I've seen with much higher budgets there is some pretty good pacing.

Celeste is so out of place and it works, out dated references about the monkeys, richard nixon who most kids would not know today. It adds character but it's amazing how many can make people act this level of idiots. That awkward kiss scene went on FAR too long and I love how she smokes hot dogs and eats cigarettes. This just shows us that if you're hot which Kim really isn't in my opinion in this movie you can get away with pretty much murder, then again having to kiss Dan Aykroyd who can blame half of Hollywood for saying no to this role from much prettier actresses. I forgot Kim was in 8 Mile with Eminem. I think a huge reason I watched this movie was because of the borderline hentai purse. It gives her all sorts of super powers most people would love to have these days The aliens are surprised how quickly humans are advancing and they look just like us for some reason. I was legitimately looking forward to showing this movie to my friend just for the sci fi purse.

It takes an absolute talent to make a kiss that awkward in the movie. You would need drugs to take you out of this solar system to laugh at any of the jokes in this movie up to this point I feel. Maybe Jim Belushi read this script one day, got so high to make it funny that he just dies from it. Was this some rich kids passion project he wrote for his billionaire dad and his dad made it to shut him up? I mean seriously the tiny glimmer of star power or not this movie wouldn't get green light in a million years by any other studio. The only thing the script is any good for is toilet paper.

Dan can't act, he can't deliver a SINGLE line. Wow SNL you lost a treasure when he made this movie!

Why is there such a romanticization of Jimmy Durante (The ah-cha-cha-cha) guy. At least in the first Home Alone movie there was the black and white movie Angels With Filthy Souls but it was mentioned very little. But no, this is almost the back bone of this atrocity. I'd rather there be more Debby Goes To Dallas or other references to this movie especially during that "sex" scene where even Tommy Wiseau (The Room, 2003) looked more realistic and was a far superior scene. I get it though the aliens don't have sex any more. How would we do if we found out about it 3 minutes ago.

Kim marries Dan way too quickly. How he got a room full of people to watch him get married and all is beyond me. I mean you don't see Dan with that many friends, it's like a fever dream. Are we sure Dan didn't get brain damage in the explosion in the lab? I mean you'd have to be to wear that ugly powder blue suit but we get it Dan is not into style he's a scientist who works for peanuts. Which makes no sense like 95% of this movie.

Why is the daughter so naive and supportive does she have a mental disability? I mean I should be questioning the writer(s) but they aren't in front of the camera.

I seriously wonder in this movie if second takes were in the budget.

I love how Kim can make stuff perfectly just by touching menus, goes home and can perfectly cook everything at some dive diner. If Dan ate all that food he would have been perfect to be in The Flintstones as Fred Flintstone, if he ate two tables worth he could have been Betty when Rosie O'Donnel was Betty in that movie.

The daughter finally notices something is wrong when she watches Kim drink battery acid and eat batteries. I wonder if the writers of this movie did any acid. The daughter tries to tell Dan about the mom being an alien but Dan being under the spell of the prettiest woman he'll ever sleep with doesn't care. He won't listen to reason. I love how he doesn't run after her because he's too fat. Even when the Lisa Robin Kelly scare crow looking woman hits the daughter with her car. So many overdose jokes ok I might stop!

Kim blows her cover. When Dan asks Kim about her being an alien he looks like a really bad cosplay of the angry video game nerd. However I admire that they address the issue what happens if they don't do what they need to do to help her planet.

The hentai purse wants to kill the earth when Kim doesn't.

Steven Seagal was funnier than ANYTHING they said on this movie in SNL, ah ha, see that's why I mentioned him!

How did this movie not win every single razzi available. Cat Woman Haley Barry was in is miles ahead of this.

Someone should try to replace every line of this movie with The room quotes and it would make as much sense.

This has to have one of the laziest, most awful endings I've seen all year. I am ashamed to say I watched this train wreck to the end but holy crap it was awful.

Hey, it's not that bad!

[neekfenwick · 11 March 2002]

I rate this film as "so bad, it's kinda good". It reeks of everything I feel the Eighties was trying to get away from when it became the Nineties, however nostalgia will forever hallow certain themes, in a "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" sort of way.

Certainly by today's standards this movie is very corny and lacks any real depth sought by movie lovers everywhere, but it has a lot of tongue in cheek charm that other movies lack. It's possible I only say these things because I first saw the film when quite young and I remember liking it... that's a great way to end up liking films that other people really cannot get along with.

As a summary, I couldn't sit down and watch this film with any of my friends, but it would be a perfect companion on a slow evening when I'm ill and had a few beers and need my mind taking off things. Like this evening.

My Stepmother Is an Alien

[phubbs · 3/10 · 21 January 2019]

Hello what have we here? A lost gem from deep within the archives of Dan Aykroyd's filmography? Nah.

Apparently the early drafts for this story were supposed to be based around...child abuse? Clearly a serious matter. Yet, apparently, the bigwigs at Paramount thought the idea might work better as...a comedy?? Anyway long story short the idea never came to fruition until many years later with a fresh rewrite and director. Somehow after all that we got this wacky sci-fi comedy which has to be based on those old 50's sci-fi B-movies surely...?

Its the basic old fashioned science fiction spiel. The somewhat eccentric scientist Steven Mills (Dan Aykroyd) accidentally sends a radio signal beyond our galaxy, into the next, which strikes an alien planet causing disruption to their gravity (we don't see any of this naturally). So these aliens send one of their own to Earth in order to find out who did it, how, and why. The spaceship lands on the beach in plain view of an urban area but no one sees or hears a thing. Did I forget to mention that this alien (called Celeste) is Kim Basinger? Well there you go, and naturally Mills falls in love with her.

Yes its the old notion of an alien race coming to Earth and just happen to end up looking like a stunning blonde Earth woman. At first I thought the human appearance was a cover for their true alien features, but no! Apparently all the women on this far off alien world look like supermodels, because of course they do. Oh and just to make matters even cornier, these super hot sex bombs don't know what kissing is and gave up sexual intercourse many many decades ago (because they found it pointless and icky...don't question it) and have forgotten what its like. So it looks like Steve is in for a treat right here folks!

The odd thing is, apparently the males of this alien world are all white middle-aged men in what looks like nuns attire? So are all the males like this or are the ones we see the elders? I only ask because we are told that all the women look like sex bombs, so...Also the fact that these aliens from a galaxy far far away look identical to humans and...ah who cares.

So these aliens are basically identical to humans in the looks department, but they have superpowers it would seem. Again the rules to this movies universe are somewhat all over the place but from what I can tell these aliens can do pretty much anything. They have super strength. They can resist extremely high temperatures. They can make objects fly and hover. They can make solid objects pass through other solid objects. Oh and they drink, or live off, battery fluid. So what the hell are these things?? What kind of organic creature would live off battery fluid??

Then there's the little snake-like alien with a single eyeball that lives in Celeste's special handbag. What is that supposed to be?? Another alien lifeform? Something the humanoid aliens created? What??!! It also has tonnes of magical superpowers. This snake is also able to project large holograms of information for Celeste at any given moment. Not sure if only the aliens could see these though, I'm guessing so cos the humans never react to them.

Now I'm a big big fan of Dan Aykroyd, I think he's a comic genius and has been involved with multiple classics both large and small. But alas here he falters. I can see exactly what he's trying to do throughout this movie, but he fails. His genuine wacky charms, fat physical comedy, facial expressions, and endearing technical jargon which he often delivers at breakneck speed, are all present here, but it just feels lacking. He's clearly trying to capture that Ray Stantz magic for this story but it falls flat amongst the cheap effects, bad sets, and weak costars.

This movie came along one year before Tim Burton's Batman so Kim Basinger was still technically small fry. She was mainly known for her steamy antics with Mickey Rourke in '9½ Weeks' so this goofball family comedy seemed like an odd choice. Who else would you cast as a super sexy blonde bombshell at this point? So Basinger naturally fits the part of the sexy alien, but anything else? Not really no. I have always thought Basinger was all looks and not much else (even in Batman 89) and this doesn't sway me. She really cannot act at all. She has no comic timing, looks uncomfortable in many scenes, and isn't funny. Unsurprisingly the only scene where she does come to life is where she has to strip for Aykroyd's character. It's plainly obvious they stuck that sequence in because that's all she could do and what she was known for.

As for the rest. Well there's classic actor Joseph Maher. A young and thinish looking Jon Lovitz. The voice of Harry Shearer as Carl Sagan. And the very young trio of Alyson Hannigan, a seriously young Seth Green, and a blink and you'll miss it cameo from a teen Juliette Lewis.

So in the end Steve manages to send another radio signal to Celeste's planet and stop the gravity issue from destroying it. Hurrah! But wait! The snake thing in Celeste's handbag has orders to wipe out the planet because they thought the humans did it on purpose. Funny how they don't try and communicate with any high ranking humans to talk about this, considering they're intelligent beings and all. Nope they just decide to blow up the Earth. Luckily this plot is foiled and the middle-aged male aliens decide not to blow up the Earth after Celeste shows them how great it is (and the sex and sneezing, yes sneezing).

Instead they allow the pervy character played by Lovitz (who basically plays the same character he's ALWAYS played) to go back to their alien homeworld so he can teach them all about humans, Earth, and how they have sex...lots of sex. You know cos all the women look like supermodels...remember that? Yep hilarious.

So in the end I really can't recommend this. I hadn't seen this since I was a mere sprog and couldn't remember a thing. Clearly I had high hopes for this being a wacky sci-fi starring Dan Aykroyd but alas no. The whole thing looks cheap as chips. The sets are poor and the effects are terrible with hideous bluescreen. The acting is dire as is the humour and bottom line the story is just utter nonsense. Yes its a nutty comedy but you gotta have SOME ground rules. Disapointing ain't the word!

3/10

Good entertainment

[donlhumphries · 7/10 · 8 April 2002]

This is a movie which "grows on you". At first viewing you might think it is just a lot of silly nonsense, but then see it again and take a more considered view. Of course it is light entertainment, and not meant to be taken too seriously. But, in my opinion, it has a good story-line, and is well acted - Dan Aykroyd, Kim Basinger, etc - and holds your interest throughout. It is a better movie than many people give it credit for, and should become a classic. It has its poignant moments too. It has become one of my favourite films, and I reckon it's worth 7 out of 10.

Hannigan

[daPeda · 5/10 · 16 February 2004]

The movie as a whole is a little lame for a light family comedy. But some scenes between the four main characters are really funny.

And Alyson Hannigan really showed a lot of talent in the longer takes (I also think she besides Amber Benson was the best actress in the buffy cast), like when she helped her father dress for the wedding or at the breakfast or when Basinger reveals her true mission and Dan comes home from work. I noticed this long before hannigan became well known.

So, instead of a 3-4/10 this gets 5 from me.

Underrated feel-good movie

[FlorianLaur · 7/10 · 16 March 2021]

It's interesting for me to see the ratings of most current comedies are often 6 or above, although in reality, they are mostly crass, stupid and not funny in the least. Many of these underrated 80s movies, I saw as a kid. I liked them then and I still like them now. Twins, Mad House, this one...all of them have horrible ratings, but are far superior to any of the current crap Hollywood churns out.

I think it's because movies of the 80s and 90s still focused on a story. Yes, the movie is cheesy in parts and some things look dated, but I feel that adds to its charm. The stories aren't as generic as they are today and you actually laugh. Even the hoaky scenes that are supposed to make you feel something actually work and the movies give you a positive feeling.

The cast fits well together. Dan Akroyd does his usual routine. Kim Basinger shows her funny side again, as she did in Blind Date (also underrated). Allison Hannigan is recognizable already and cute. Jon Lovitz is Jon Lovitz and has some of the best jokes. Heck, even watch out for Dan's colleague and his properly named science band, the "Loga rhythms" ;). Highly recommended for a re-rating and if you want to just laugh and forget your sorrow for some time:).

More Kim Basinger Crap From Outer Space

[strong-122-478885 · 2/10 · 7 July 2013]

Well, darlings - Here we go again - Kim Basinger plays Celeste Martin, the "dumbest-bimbo-of-an-alien" to ever set foot on the face of this goddamn planet.

This so-called Sci-Fi/Romance/Comedy was obviously geared to totally capitalize on Basinger's chilling facade of beauty. And at every opportunity it did just that.

You know, I, for one, am sure relieved that this flick didn't try to capitalize on Basinger's brains - 'Cause if that were the case we'd all really be in for the scare of a lifetime.

Celeste's ridiculous mission here on Earth is to find the means to reverse the effects of a ray that was sent from our planet to hers, which has drastically altered the gravity situation there.

Unfortunately, the idiot creator of this ray, scientist, Steven Mills (played by that big, fat, lard-assed, doofus, Dan Aykroyd) doesn't even know how the hell to re-create it. Thinking Mills to be a total liar, Celeste, naturally, resorts to (what else?, but) sexual seduction and (get this) the promise of marriage to get Mills to cough up the secret.

Like, talk about low-brow comedy at its all-time lowest. There wasn't a single, solitary funny, or worthwhile joke in this entire film.

You know, I had always thought that beings from other worlds would be of a far superior intelligence to that of human beings. But this flick proves this assumption to be utterly erroneous - Especially when you've got the likes of that bimbo-brained Basinger at the helm, as a space traveler.

CHEER! - (7 stars out of 10)

[BJG-Reviews · 7/10 · 26 April 2019]

The stage curtains open ...

Thirty one years ago, on our very first date together, my future wife and I went and saw this movie in the theater. We both walked out of it feeling it was kind of stupid and not very good. I guess you could say, this movie was a good gauge to see how compatible we were. I watched it again to see how I would feel about it over three decades later - and yes, I still felt it was very silly, but I actually enjoyed it this time around.

After scientist, Steven Mills (Dan Aykroyd), unwittingly sends a radio wave transmission to a neighboring galaxy, an alien in the form of Celeste Martin (Kim Basinger), is sent to find the source. A second radio wave is needed to be sent to correct a gravitational problem on an alien world that the first wave caused. Meanwhile, Mills and his daughter are still coping with the loss of his wife - but soon after Celeste arrives on the scene, all memory of her seems to be forgotten. In a race against time to save her home planet, Celeste does all she can to get Mills back on the case.

This movie was very silly - especially with this advanced alien species learning our earthly ways. Even so, Kim Basinger's performance was delightful and fun. Aykroyd played the constantly dumbfounded-by-her-methods role well, as the two characters offset each other in a good way. Alyson Hannigan (before her American Pie years) was good as his devoted and supportive daughter. It was also fun to see early Seth Green and Juliette Lewis sightings, and I've always been a Jon Lovitz fan.

Perhaps I enjoyed this film for it's sentimental value. Perhaps it was the campy sci-fi comedy that only the 80's could bring us. Whatever it was that attracted me to this film all these years later, it comes with a recommend. Super silly, completely unbelievable - but totally enjoyable and entertaining.

What is the point of this film?

[JamesHitchcock · 5/10 · 27 June 2007]

It is sometimes said that men are from Mars and women from Venus, and "My Stepmother is an Alien" is a romantic comedy about two lovers who are, quite literally, from different planets. Dan Aykroyd plays Steve Mills, a scientist searching for extra-terrestrial life. Kim Basinger plays the extra-terrestrial life he succeeds in finding. The basic idea is that one of Mills's experiments results in a beam of light being sent to a distant planet where, by some unexplained freak of physics, it causes catastrophic damage to that planet's gravitational system. By an even odder freak, that damage can only be reversed by another beam of light, so the planet's rulers dispatch the beautiful Celeste to Earth to try and persuade Mills to repeat his experiment. Mills, a lonely widower with a teenage daughter, ends up falling in love with, and then marrying, Celeste, not realising that she is not of this earth. The only person who does realise- hence the title of the film- is Mills's daughter Jessie (played by Alyson Hannigan of "Buffy" fame in her first film appearance).

Celeste has supposedly been briefed about life on Earth before her mission, but although the inhabitants of her planet are supposedly very wise their information about Earth is either ludicrously out-of-date or ludicrously inaccurate, and most of the jokes in the film arise from Celeste's misunderstandings about earthlings and their ways. (For example, at a party she helps herself to an ashtray full of fag-ends in the belief that these are something to eat. Her own race appear to subsist on a staple diet of battery acid). During the course of her stay on earth, Celeste discovers a number of things that do not exist on her home planet- most notably sex (her people reproduce asexually), but also sandwiches, Shakespeare, sneezing and Jimmy Durante.

Scientists in comedies are often portrayed as batty, eccentric, absent-minded professors (e.g. Robin Williams's character in "Flubber"). Despite his background as a comedian, however, Aykroyd does not play Mills in this way. Indeed, he generally seems to be playing straight man to Basinger's funny woman. Celeste's wayward behaviour does not arouse Mills's suspicions; he is so besotted with her that, whatever she does, he explains away as a Dutch custom (Celeste has told him that she is from the Netherlands) or puts down to lovable eccentricity.

Kim Basinger can be a gifted comedienne, as she showed in films like "Blind Date" and "Nadine", but a comedienne is only as good as her material, and here much of the humour falls very flat, although there are some amusing scenes, such as the one where Celeste discovers what kissing is. (She is enlightened by her companion Bag, a talking, one-eyed snake-like creature who lives in her handbag, who shows her a series of film clips involving kissing, all of which she re-enacts with Mills).

As other reviewers have pointed out, the plot of "My Stepmother is an Alien" resembles that of "Splash" (which starred the Basinger lookalike Daryl Hannah), but it lacks the earlier film's charm. When it was recently shown on British television, it was advertised as a Sunday afternoon family movie, but much of the humour- especially the love-scene and the scenes involving Mills's disreputable, womanising brother Ron- seems too sexual in nature for most family audiences. On the other hand, the overall tone is too mild and sentimental for the film to work as a bawdy comedy. It is not an outstandingly bad film, but it is difficult to see exactly what the point of it is. 5/10

Awesome 80's movie

[chrystal-lozano · 8/10 · 7 November 2005]

I thought this movie was hilarious! I don't understand how this movie got an average of 4 stars. I remember liking this movie when I was a kid and I still love this movie today. I bought the DVD and watch it often. Kim Basinger and Dan Akroyd are wonderful in this delightful film together. Not too many movies can make me laugh out loud. Sure this may be a cheesy film but what 80's movie wasn't cheesy? The eyeball is also hilarious! One of my fav scenes in the movie is when the eyeball is teaching Celeste what sex is, both of their reactions throughout that scene are so funny and unforgettable. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who likes comedies.

Not Bad

[GreyRoBoT · 7/10 · 5 August 2003]

This movie wasn't that bad. I saw this with my friend while I was home flipping through the channels. It had some funny parts, but mostly i found myself thinking, "What the hell is this?" Weird movie, but I thought it was worth it to see younger versions of Seth Green and Alyson Hannigan. Don't go out and rent this movie, but if its on tv, you might want to take a quick look.

Why did they even bother?

[Mrs_Darko · 1/10 · 28 March 2001]

Oh dear. This has got to be the worst film I have ever seen. The plot is hardly original, the jokes fall flat, and Dan Ackroyd is the star. Why they ever spent money on this movie is a mystery to me. It's one redeeming feature are the appearances of pre 'Buffy...' era Seth Green and Alyson Hannigan. Their costumes have got to be the funniest part of the whole movie.

If you want to see a decent movie, rent out anything but this. If you are suffering from insomnia on the other hand...