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Eighties science fiction musical romantic comedy based on a novelty song by Julie Brown and starring Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum as well as Damon Wayans and Jim Carrey before they were famous. Set in an improbably colorful version of the San Fernando Valley wherein bright orange-and-red spacecraft crash-landing in backyard pools and spontaneous musical numbers aren't much cause for comment.
Valerie (Davis) is a nail technician whose relationshp with her boyfriend Doctor Ted (Charles Rocket) is going through a rough patch. Valerie's friend at the Salon (Julie Brown) suggests "vixenizing" to get his attention. The rough patch is made rougher when Valerie discovers Ted is a cheat, and a spaceship containing three furry aliens (Goldblum, Wayans and Carrey) lands in Ted's swimming pool. Valerie, being a sweet sort, wants to help the aliens out so takes them to her friend's salon so they can pass for human until the pool is drained, the ship is dried out and capable of taking off. Ted discovers the boys aren't what they seem, but one philandering doctor is no match for a genius alien in love.
Tropes found in this Film include:[]
- Aliens Speaking English: Zig-zagged. They learn the basics of English from watching TV all day, but they don't speak it immediately very well. And whenever they talk to one another, they always use their own language.
- Anger Montage: See also Defenestrate and Berate, below.
- Bad Girl Song "Cause I'm a Blonde"
- Also, "Brand New Girl" which is about a Good Bad Girl teaching the Good Girl heroine how to act bad to get her boyfriend's attention. ("Your beauty's fresh and wholesome, but science has a cure!")
- Be a Whore to Get Your Man: The entire premise of the "Brand New Girl" number.
Who's on the most wanted list? A brand new girl! |
- Blue/Red/Yellow Furred Alien Space Hunk.
- Brainless Beauty: Lampshaded by the dark-haired Candy in a blonde wig singing "'Cuz I'm a Blond"
Candy: B...L...I dunno! |
- Break Up Song: "The Ground You Walk On"
- Defenestrate and Berate: A variation is done by Valerie with many of Ted's prized possessions in "The Ground You Walk On". Ted isn't actually there to get berated, but the spirit of the song does fit.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Two girls want to take Wiploc home once they see what he can do with his tongue.
- Do You Want to Copulate?
- The Eighties
- Eighties Hair: Lots!
- Everyone Loves Blondes: The "Cause I'm a Blonde" musical number.
- Exotic Equipment: Just seeing Wiploc use his extremely long and prehensile tongue is enough to make Candy shout, "I want his baby!"
- Fan Service: Lots! Both genders.
- Finger-Poke of Doom: Mac's "love touch" which is powerful enough to turn a pair of partnered police officers Camp Gay, and reverse the mutual hatred between Ted and Valerie's cat.
- Flash Back: In "The Ground You Walk On" has memory shots of Val as a klutzy cheerleader and Ted as the captain of the football team, and a more recent occasion where she knocks a barbecue full of steak into the pool.
- G-Rated Sex: It was only a PG rated movie, so they alluded to sex with enthusiastic cuddling and day-glo body paint to illustrate Mac's "love touch."
- Heartbeat Soundtrack: To illustrate Mac and the boys convincing Ted he's losing his mind.
- Huge Schoolgirl: Val
- Human Aliens: Under the brightly colored fur, anyway.
- Informed Attractiveness / Hilarious in Hindsight: The aliens are talked about as being really hot - who are comprised of Damon Wayans, Jim Carrey and, the hottest of them all, Jeff Goldblum. Even in 1989 that wasn't true, though Carrey really is cute in the film, in his off-beat way.
- YMMV. This troper finds Jeff Goldblum VERY attractive.
- Innocent Aliens: For certain values of innocent. Wiploc was such a big horndog his brawling with Zeebo over trying to tune in to space porn is what crashed their ship.
- Interspecies Romance: Mac and Valerie.
- Mars Needs Women
- Metaphorgotten: "A relationship is like a porcelain nail, Ted. You can break it and you can glue it back together, but it's not going to be as strong as it was unless the person is really committed and not bringing home nurses."
- No Social Skills
- Nosy Neighbor: So nosy, in fact, she uses vision and hearing enhancing equipment of a sort you'd expect the FBI to use.
- Police Brutality
- Punny Name: The salon in which Valerie and Candy work is called "Curl Up And Dye" (which may be a Shout-Out to the name of the salon where Mystery Woman (Carrie Fisher) works in The Blues Brothers).
- Real Life Relative: Goldblum and Davis were married shortly after completing this film.
- Stoners Are Funny: Valerie's pool man.
- Title Drop:
Valerie: I didn't want you to think Earth girls were easy. |
- They Would Cut You Up: The reason Mac and Val rescue Wiploc and Zeebo from Ted in the hospital.
- The Unpronounceable: Mac says his full name once, and everybody else shortens it to Mac thereafter, including Wiploc and Zeebo.