Blast from the Past (1999)
Directed by Hugh Wilson
Following a bomb scare in the 1960s that locked the Webbers into their bomb shelter for 35 years, Adam now ventures forth into Los Angeles to obtain food and supplies for his family, and a non-mutant wife for himself.
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6 films that influenced Blast from the Past
What critics say influenced Blast from the Past
This film stands in stark contrast to Pleasantville.
Like "Pleasantville" and some other recent films, "Blast from the Past" offers stark contrasts between the values of the past (Adam) and the present (Eve).
Wilson's Blast is sort of the opposite of last fall's Pleasantville ; this time it is the early-'60s guy plopped down in the '90s, rather then the other way around.
If you're looking for movie comparisons here, try "Pleasantville" in reverse.
Nevertheless, the man-out-of-time storyline for his new comedy, "Blast from the Past," could have come straight from "Encino Man" except that its reference point seems to be "Pleasantville" instead of "The Flintstones."
In the autumn of 1998, New Line Cinema opened Pleasantville , a thoroughly delightful fantasy about a couple of modern-day kids thrown back in time to a world of wholesome family values where everything is (literally) black and white.
One of his early films, Encino Man, cast him as a thawed caveman coping with life in modern-day California (unfortunately, since it featured Pauly Shore, it was virtually unwatchable).
OK, so we’ve seen fish-out-of-water comedies aplenty in recent years, including Brendan Fraser’s hits, Encino Man and George of the Jungle.
Nevertheless, the man-out-of-time storyline for his new comedy, "Blast from the Past," could have come straight from "Encino Man" except that its reference point seems to be "Pleasantville" instead of "The Flintstones."
In a quasi-reprisal of his role in Encino Man, Brendan Fraser plays a man from the past who's forced to adjust to life in contemporary California.
Fraser, who seems to be making a career of movies in which he plays a lunky but sweet fish out of water (”Encino Man,” ”George of the Jungle,” the forthcoming ”Dudley Do-Right”) is perfect as a gentle but upright epitome of old-fashioned masculinity and innocence.
Blast From The Past, directed by Hugh Wilson (Police Academy, Guarding Tess), written by Bill Kelly and Hugh Wilson, and starring Brendan Fraser (George Of The Jungle) is the story of one such family, the Webbers, who actually moved into theirs in 1962 and did not emerge until 35 years later.
Even though "Blast From the Past" focuses on Adam and Eve's obstacle-ridden romance, the movie's director, Hugh Wilson ("The First Wives Club," "Police Academy"), does a good job of conveying the decay -- physical and moral -- of contemporary life.
Directed by Hugh Wilson (Police Academy), the movie takes a few small belly-flops now and then but is quite enjoyable.
That's a relatively clever set-up for what's become a familiar genre: the time-displacement comedy, in which we get a kick out of viewing our era through another era's eyes (or in movies like "Pleasantville" and "Back to the Future," vice versa).
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Blast From The Past, directed by Hugh Wilson (Police Academy, Guarding Tess), written by Bill Kelly and Hugh Wilson, and starring Brendan Fraser (George Of The Jungle) is the story of one such family, the Webbers, who actually moved into theirs in 1962 and did not emerge until 35 years later.
Director/co-writer Hugh Wilson ("The First Wives Club," "Guarding Tess") envisions Adam as a Forrest Gump-like sweetheart bringing naive warmth to the world, and Fraser plays him like Tom Hanks on happy pills.
Wilson, whose previous credits include Guarding Tess and The First Wives Club , dropped what looks like, from the press box, an easy pass.
"Blast From the Past'' is the first screen credit for writer Bill Kelly , who co-scripted with the director, Wilson ("The First Wives Club,'' the overlooked "Guarding Tess'').
As directed by Hugh Wilson ("The First Wives Club" and TV's "WKRP in Cincinnati") from a script he co-wrote with Bill Kelly, "Blast" begins in 1962 with the happily married Southern California couple of Calvin and Helen Webber (Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek).
Director Hugh Wilson ( The First Wives Club ) invested a great deal of thought and consideration into designing the look of the fallout shelter and the portion of 1998 Los Angeles into which Adam first emerges.
Director/co-writer Hugh Wilson ("The First Wives Club," "Guarding Tess") envisions Adam as a Forrest Gump-like sweetheart bringing naive warmth to the world, and Fraser plays him like Tom Hanks on happy pills.
Wilson, whose previous credits include Guarding Tess and The First Wives Club , dropped what looks like, from the press box, an easy pass.
As directed by Hugh Wilson ("The First Wives Club") and written by Wilson and Bill Kelly, "Blast From the Past" inevitably gives Adam an Eve.
"Blast From the Past'' is the first screen credit for writer Bill Kelly , who co-scripted with the director, Wilson ("The First Wives Club,'' the overlooked "Guarding Tess'').