I picked this one up for two reasons: I'm a big John Cusack fan ("Better Off Dead": pure genius and "Say Anything" is arguably the best teen romance film of all time) and it's PG rating is very family friendly. Add to that the story of a man learning to handle his adopted son and it seemed interesting. On all of those levels, it did not disappoint: Cusack was very good, my daughter enjoyed it and it was a heartwarming story. Despite all that, it was really just "OK'. Cusack plays a man who is dealing with the loss of his wife and looks to adopt a child to develop some kind of meaningful relationship in his life. He becomes intrigues with the kid in the orphanage (Bobby Coleman, who was very good) who spends most of his day in a cardboard box because he is "from Mars". The film follows the challenges of Cusack's character dealing with his grief while he learns to be a parent to a "Martian child". Actually, as the film wears on, you begin to believe that maybe this kid is from outer space. It was fascinating to watch this with my daughter and see her buy into the whole martian thing immediately and completely. In a child's mind, it was just that simple: "Of course he's from Mars. Why not?". Some of the story is fairly typical, especially the team of psychologists montitoring the case and sort of thumbing their nose that this man is simply not qualified to raise this "mentally disturbed" boy. It's a good film if you are looking for an uplifting, family story, but it is not the most entertaining film. It is warm and fuzzy with some very good performances: nothing more, nothing less. Grade: C+
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