The 1980s Sci-Fi Dark Comedy Being Pushed Into Obscurity
When horror films were dominating the box office in the 1980s, there were a handful of science fiction films that fared well at the box office. My Stepmother Is an Alien was not one of them. Its lackluster performance in theaters failed to secure a fanbase at the time, in spite of several A-list cast members. Though the film has a respectable cult following today, its absence on streaming platforms might be hinting at the film fading further into obscurity.
My Stepmother Is An Alien
My Stepmother Is an Alien begins with widower scientist Steven Mills (Dan Aykroyd) sending radio waves into deep space. When one of his radio waves collides with a distant planet and disrupts their gravitational field, the affected beings believe that they might be under attack by Earth.
The planet Cosine N to the 8th sends an agent named Celeste (Kim Basinger) to investigate where she becomes acquainted with Mills, his 13-year-old daughter Jessie (Alyson Hannigan), and his brother Ron (Jon Lovitz).
Steven quickly becomes infatuated with Celeste, who appears as a beautiful woman in her Earthly form. The two hook up after a party one night, which seems to seal the deal on Steven’s intentions toward her.
But Celeste is on Earth for a mission, and her hidden accomplice, Bag (who is a one-eyed tentacle that lives in Celeste’s purse) is there to remind her of it as My Stepmother Is an Alien gets a little intense.
As Steven’s feelings for Celeste continue to develop, Celeste begins to grow fond of her host as well. But Jessie catches Celeste doing odd things that signal to the teen that her dad’s new lady isn’t quite what she seems.
Jessie sees Celeste drinking battery acid, removing a hot pan from the oven with no oven mitts, and other actions that make her seem unworldly.
As the emotions between everyone runs even higher and Celeste is finally outed as an alien to Steven, she must make a choice between her new love of Earth and its people and the mission she was sent to perform.
Some Early Appearances Of Stars
My Stepmother is an Alien was far from a hit at theaters. In fact, the film failed to recoup its $19 million production budget, making a meager $13.8 million in ticket sales. The VHS release coupled with network TV airings to drive more audiences to the movie, however, and the subsequent fame of two of the film’s stars helped it to develop a cult following.
Hannigan, who later became a star with supporting roles in the shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and How I Met Your Mother, was not the only teen co-star in My Stepmother is an Alien to get notoriety.
Juliette Lewis, who played the part of one of Jessie’s teen friends, was soon cast in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and Cape Fear. She quickly rose to fame in the early 1990s, achieving more success at the box office than any of the co-stars in the sci-fi film that helped make her career.
Basinger And Lovitz Are Standouts
My Stepmother is an Alien followed a trite and predictable plotline that was wearily supported by semi-humorous dialogue and physical comedy. Aykroyd gives one of his weaker performances in the film, trading in his normal straight man comedy role for one that was intended to be a romantic lead.
It fell miserably flat, though it’s doubtful that even a better script could have saved him or the film from objective criticism.
My Stepmother is an Alien had two sources of comedic entertainment that were worth noting, however. Jon Lovitz played his part to perfection, his comedic timing helping his oversexualized character become one of the film’s saving graces.
Basinger was terrific in her part too, her ability to be aloof and sexy simultaneously a true attribute to an otherwise dull movie.
Stream It Now
GFR SCORE
You cannot stream My Stepmother Is an Alien for free, but the science fiction comedy is available On Demand with Vudu, Google Play, Prime, and AppleTV.
