Prisioneros en el planeta Tierra

Young Nicholas Strouse due to a combination of interesting circumstances learns he might be the leader of an alien race who while they might not have powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men certainly he and those like him feel they're just Doin' Time on Planet Earth. Is he the one to lead these misfits home?

Well not if it's going to interfere with his big brother Timothy Patrick Murphy's wedding this Saturday to Isabelle Walker, the daughter of Hugh O'Brian who once ran for president. But after Strouse starts getting e-mails from a pair of serious UFO fanatics like Adam West and Candace Azzara, he starts to think there might be something to him really being an alien.

Doin' Time on Planet Earth is a bit above the usual teenage coming of age party film and part of the reason is the incredibly hammy and overacted performance of Adam West who is just having one grand old time leading a band of misfits. The film is worth a look just to see him alone, burlesquing his Batman persona.

Martha Scott is in this, looking a bit lost as to how she got roped into this film. Matt Adler is fine as the perpetually hormonal best friend of Strouse and Andrea Thompson is miles from no-nonsense Detective Jill Kirkendall from NYPD Blue as the lounge entertainer and stripper who fulfills all of what Strouse really needs.

It is sad though that this was the farewell film of Timothy Patrick Murphy, best known for being Mickey Trotter on Dallas, who died way too young of AIDS. That young man had it all, looks, charisma, and a goodly share of thespian ability. He was a particular favorite of mine from the Eighties.

Doin' Time On Planet Earth is far from the worst film of this kind I've ever seen and you might get a few genuine laughs from it.

Doin' Time on Planet Earth is seriously off-the-wall stupid comedy and one that might make you wonder why Adam West was never in more comedy like this (I've only seen him in parts making references to his role as TV's Batman).

An alienated teenager learns that he is the leader of an alien race and he must help them to return to their planet. This wacky series of events occurs during his brother's weekend wedding, which he was ordered by his family to behave as normally as he possibly can. Add to the mix Matt Adler as the kid's horny best friend and the B52's, and you have yourself some good times. There are so many funny little occurences going on, it's a scene man!

It's a good little film.

I have to disagree with the previous review of this movie; I thought it was okay. I saw it once or twice on cable a few years ago and was amused. The lounge singer, for example, I found to be funny (The "Stop in the name of love" scene was a riot) and the other characters in the movie were equally out there. This is one of those movies you can't take too seriously. I'm not saying it's a great movie, but you have to look at as an off the wall comedy.

Nice to see 47 other people have heard of this film. Maybe in another universe (or planet, ala the film), it would've been more well-received. I only know of it from The Movie Channel airing it frequently around 1989-90. Since then I've yet to lay eyes on it again. Most will be unimpressed or bored, but if you like a lot of quirk to your films, you may be surprised. From rotating, airborn restaurants, gawky teens, a bird in a beehive hair-do, a so-horrible-he's funny lounge singer, and an Arabian college recruiter, this gets points for oddballness. Strouse is perfect as the kid who doesn't quite fit in, having an extra vertebrae and been struck by lightning several times. Plus a habit of over-analyzing his life, to the point of being ridiculed by his own family. Adler is good as his by-the-numbers, sunglass-clad 80s buddy, and Thompson adds some trashy sex appeal with her temptress. And I'll admit, another reason I liked it, was the lead character had the same name as me. To find a "Ryan" in any film is a rarity, but also one where the hero is such an outcast, was fun. The ending gets a bit outlandish and doesn't really resolve anything, but it seemed to the filmmakers point anyway. I mean, what else can you make of a story about a geeky 17-year-old who may be the half-human, half-extraterrestrial leader of a clan of weirdos from the planet B-52? Exactly.

From the normal teen who thinks he's abnormal to the point that his exploration of his "strangeness" makes him strange, to the truly strange couple who are convinced he is their leader from another world.

Its a sci-fi, comedy and, though the humor is subtle, it is very enjoyable.

Adam West was in top form as the real leader of the "alien" earthlings, and the nightclub singer was hilarious as he belted out the most ridiculous songs as if they were top ten hits. I think the subtlety of the humor might actually be what attracts me most to it.

Definitely worth watching again and again.