By AMBER FURST
amber@du2.byu.edu
'Blast From the Past' is a semi-funny, romantic movie that is clean enough to take a date to.
Brendan Fraser plays Adam, a child who is born in a bomb shelter his parents have built during the cold-war in the 1960's. His parents believe that America was hit by a nuclear weapon and cannot return to the surface until 1997.
His parents, played by Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek, are weird enough to make living underground for so long believable. Both actors have unusual facial features that work well with the creepy plot of living underground alone in a bomb shelter.
Thirty-five years later, Adam returns to the real world, to Los Angeles in 1997, to find supplies and a wife.
This is where the street-wise Eve, played by Alicia Silverstone, enters the story. With names like those, it seems impossible for them not to end up together.
The first half hour is devoted to Adam's underground life with his parents. The film makes it obvious that it wants to foreshadow upcoming events. I wonder if Adam's boxing and dance lessons will come in handy later on?
The movie does have the occasional laugh out loud moments that succeed in playing off Adam's innocence without seeming too forced. 'Blast From the Past' relies on stereotypical scenes and characters for the majority of the comedy.
Dave Toley plays the gay friend, Troy, who has the wisdom as well as the humor. Also, there is a religious cult group in the film that plays up their 'weirdness' for the audience's sake.
For all the time that the movie spends underground, it does not spend nearly as much time with Adam's life above ground.
It would have been nice to have seen a longer scene in the swing club Adam goes to pick a wife, or his first baseball game. Adam and Eve squeeze a lot of chores in the hour they have in modern day L.A., including a make over for Adam.
Fraser does not stray from his roles of the past as the goofy yet loveable guy. His large size and happy voice make him more believable as someone who has never been in the real world. Also, he wears better clothes in this than in 'Encino Man' and 'George of the Jungle.'
Silverstone seems to be pushing the pouty faces and whiney voice that worked so well in 'Clueless.' Fortunately, she and Fraser had good chemistry throughout the movie.