Adapted from a novel by David Gerrold, Martian Child aims to please with its amiable eccentricity, but ultimately falls short due to the filmmakers' meddling with the original story.
John Cusack plays David, a widowed science fiction writer who decides to adopt a young boy, Dennis (Bobby Coleman), who truly believes he is from Mars. The film chronicles their budding relationship and the hardships that arise from raising a "Martian." Disappointingly, the film deviates from an important aspect of the original plot, as Dennis is gay in the novel but not in the film. This change results in a loss of much of what makes the novel engaging.
Fortunately, the acting helps compensate for the lack of conflict in the story. As in past films, John and Joan Cusack's sibling relationship translates well onscreen. They have a natural banter that makes their relationship in Martian Child authentic, not awkward. What is awkward is the relationship between David and the expendable Harlee (Peet), David's deceased wife's best friend. Scenes with Harlee fall flat and seem unnecessary.
Coleman, however, steals the spotlight from his more experienced co-stars. The sense of honesty he brings to his character will make you fall in love with the Lucky Charm eating, weight belt-wearing, cardboard box-dwelling Dennis. His evident chemistry with Cusack only adds to Coleman's charm. It's endearing to watch the pair do synchronized alien dances and take hundreds of Polaroids to document Earth. Their relationship is the best part of a film that adds quite a bit of quirk, but little else, to the traditional man-finds-child-who-changes-his-life storyline.
