Martian child is a charming, family friendly film that oozes with charisma. John Cusack stars as a lonely, middle-aged, widower who writes science fiction novels. He decides to open his heart and home, and adopt a young boy who believes himself to be from Mars. At first I found that the young actor seemed aloof and detached from the film. I thought that Bobby Coleman (the young Martian), and John Cusack lacked chemistry. As the movie progresses, and the story evolves I learned to love his quirky, oddball behaviors. Obviously it is no easy road for a single man to raise a child alone, especially one who seems to have such troubled behaviors. Joan Cusack stars as what else, John Cusack's sister. She is whitty as usual, and plays the part with her usual flair.

The young Martian goes though the usual follies that all young, six year old space travelers must, speaking a foreign tongue, getting picked on by the school bullies, and of course, disliking all earthly food except Lucky Charms. His adversion to the sun leaves him often in sun glasses and carrying around a beat up umbrella. This delightful film does not lack star power. Rounding out the stellar cast is Oliver Platt, Amanda Peet, Angelica Houston and "The West Wings" Richard Schiff. There is a moment towards the end where tears swelled in my eyes, but did not overflow. I was touched by the genuine emotion of the man looking to become a father, and a "Martian Child" longing to become a son. This movie has slipped under the radar, and unfortunatly probably will remain so. It is rated PG so there is no gratuitous violence, no sex, and no foul language. This lack of socially inept behavior will surely keep it from flying off the shelves but if you want to be entertained without losing your lunch, check it out.

Image and Sound:

There was nothing remarkable about the images in the film. The picture was crisp, but there were no special effects worth mentioning. Since all of the alien imagry was primarily in Dennis's mind, there was nothing science fiction, except the cheesy effects of the movie within the movie, which was intentional. I did however enjoy the music by Aaron Zigman who has had a hand in hits like "The Notebook" and dance movies "Take the Lead" and "Step Up 1 & 2."

There are a couple featurettes worth looking at, if nothing else then to take one more look at John Cusack and Bobby Coleman. They show insight about fitting in where you think you can't, never ever giving up and becoming a baseball star against all odds. There are deleted scenes as well, but nothing that could have enhanced the movie. The commentary is with the producers and writers so it is more insightful then commentary done only by the actors involved. It did lack some personality, and John Cusack could have easily made the difference.

Final Words: