This Is Planet Earth

The 1980's were probably the greatest decade for teen films. It was the decade of John Hughes, Heathers, Fast Times, etc. With so many memorable movies that spoke to young America, it was easy for some really great coming of age films to slip through the cracks. The quirky Doin' Time On Planet Earth was one of them.

A few years before he made his name as the creator of Beverly Hills 90210, Darren Star penned this original little script about teen alienation...yes, this is a bad pun. Nicholas Strouse plays Ryan, a misfit teen who lives in a Holiday Inn that his family owns in Arizona. He takes a survey which leads him to believe that he is actually an alien.Two whacky conspiracy theorists, Adam West and Candice Azzara, confirm his beliefs and convince him that the spinning restaraunt on top of his dad's Holiday Inn is actually a spaceship to take him home. Probably one of the many reasons I love this movie, because I grew up in a town with a Holiday Inn that had one of these.

This is one of those great ones that squeeked by. No advertising and only a week in theaters. It was directed by Charles Matthau, Walter's son. He proves that talent runs in the family. Strouse isn't the most charasmatic lead, but the supporting cast is great, as are some nice cameos from Roddy McDowall, Hugh O'Brian, and Maureen Stapleton. West and Azzara ham it up in every scene they are in and totally steal the film.

This one pops up occasionally on late night tv and I couldn't recommend it more.