What's the nature of being a parent and of being a child? David is a widower grieving for two years. He writes science fiction and was considered weird as a boy. He meets Dennis, a foster child who claims to be on a mission from Mars, stays in a large box all day, fears sunlight, and wears a belt of flashlight batteries so he won't float away. David takes the six-year-old home on a trial. His sister and his wife's best friend offer support, but the guys are basically alone to... (Full plot summary below)
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What's the nature of being a parent and of being a child? David is a widower grieving for two years. He writes science fiction and was considered weird as a boy. He meets Dennis, a foster child who claims to be on a mission from Mars, stays in a large box all day, fears sunlight, and wears a belt of flashlight batteries so he won't float away. David takes the six-year-old home on a trial. His sister and his wife's best friend offer support, but the guys are basically alone to figure this out. Dennis takes things, is expelled, and is coached by David in being normal. Will the court approve the adoption, and will Dennis stay? Can a man become a father and a child become a son?
Leave your thoughts about Martian Child.
| Spirituality and PracticeFrederic and Mary Ann BrussatA comedy masterwork that touches the heart with its portrait of the survival tactics of an abandoned orphan and the loving ministrations of a widowed science fiction writer who adopts him. |
| CompuserveHarvey S. KartenThe title character is far from lovable, but John Cusack's charm is irresistible |
| Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonCusack seems determined to make this work, and contributes some nice scenes. But he's better than the movie around him. |
| Film BlatherEugene NovikovPart of the reason it works is that the film at least tries to make the Kid something other than a face you'd see on a cereal box. |
| Groucho ReviewsPeter CanaveseThough it panders shamelessly, it's not entirely unwelcome in a time when the PG movie is an endangered species. [DVD review included.] |
| Detroit NewsTom LongDirector Menno Meyjes keeps the sci-fi suspense quotient up just enough to make the ending somewhat disappointingly pat. |
| Associated PressDavid GermainCusack and Coleman are on screen together most of the movie, and the fact that they don't completely overstay their welcome amid the maudlin action says a lot for the restraint they bring to the characters. |
| Miami HeraldConnie OgleCusack, of course, is the perfect Anti-Schmaltz. His rapid-fire delivery makes everything he says sound like it's just pouring from his brain to his mouth, so that even the sappiest dialogue is rendered sincere. |
| Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanAnd in the end, maybe the question of Dennis' origin is irrelevant. He tells David he's come to Earth to try to understand human beings, and that quest is worth a lifetime's effort -- whatever planet you call home. |
| USA TodayClaudia PuigAn occasionally schmaltzy but likable story of healing and redemption. |
