It Came from the Sky (TV Movie 1999) Poster

(1999 TV Movie)

User Reviews

Review this title
13 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
7/10
A Showcase of Talents
Matt7330 January 2001
Even though the story is not that impressive, the casts are brilliant! Everyone was acting to the limit, making this movie a showcase of talent.

Kevin Zegers is simply great! He never seemed to forget what his character was supposed to behave, with the same gestures all the time. I don't know if it's because of the tight supervision by the director...

All in all, it's a different kind of movie, and I'm sure you can still enjoy it, whoever you are.
2 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Charming fairy tale
mermatt30 May 1999
This is a charming little film. It isn't full of special FX or big action scenes. It's a sweet fairy tale about an emotionally disturbed boy who mysteriously summons a couple of cookie "saints" to help save his parents' shakey marriage and to help bring him out of his own fear.

The cast conveys the charm hidden beneath the surface of the story, and the story itself is touching. See it if you get a chance.
7 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
3/10
Don't laugh, they did their best.
Valley_Of_Fire3 January 2003
Let me put it this way, whenever my family wants a film to compare a movie to, we pick It Came From the Sky. If we watch a poor movie, we'll say, at least it wasn't as bad as the one with the airplane.

It really is a testament to the saying that Hollywood "chews you up and spits you out" when you consider the amount of well known people in this film- Chris Lloyd, John Ritter, Yasmine Bleeth (of Baywatch fame) among others. Mr. Lloyd is a wonderful actor, he has done great work in such films as One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest- this film is not in the same ballpark.

The plot is hard to describe, or hard to understand, it starts with a feuding family (at least I think it does, it's been a while since I've seen it), and a mentally retarded boy. One day the boy is playing with a toy airplane and (oddly enough) a plane crashes into their house. (After that scene, the airplane isn't mentioned again) Did the boy perhaps cause the crash? The movie doesn't say, because that would make for a more interesting film. Rather, the film is about how the resisdents of the house become friends with the people in the plane (Llody and Bleeth). I guess there's an interesting idea behind it all, the people bring several things to light about the family (the boy is becoming sexually aware- in a rather gross scene, the father (Ritter) has been rebelling against his wife by eating meat in private and so on). A film could be made out of that idea, but it would be more interesting if they just appeared at their door, rather than crashing into their house.

Maybe the two people are angels, maybe the boy willed them, maybe they're the reason he's obsessed with aliens, airplanes, things that come from the sky. The film doesn't answer these questions, which is admirable, some films are better left unsolved, so the audience can discuss them. This one doesn't fall into that group. It would be better if it wasn't so outragous (we don't need to see the imprint of an erection to know that its there for example), and if it had a better script. The actors are good, but not in this movie. I don't reccomend seeing this film, unless you like the people in the cast, or like this kind of film. I didn't like it, but other posters have. I guess I was too busy wondering about the fact that if the people are angels, they're not very good ones. Sure they might've helped the family, but they left them with a big hole in their roof.
2 out of 13 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
3/10
I had to shake my eyes back into regular place and size after watching this annoying movie.
mark.waltz16 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
If you want to spend 90 minutes with a middle-aged couple who hates each other (John Ritter and JoBeth Williams) as a young squealing woman (Yasmine Bleeth) going gaga over the spoiled treatment by dumb millionaire Christopher Lloyd, than you get a bigger glutton for punishment than I am. A very young Kevin Zegers is the only one who escaps punishment simply because he gains sympathy for having a mental disorder as Ritter and Williams son.

Labeled a fantasy, there's certainly nothing fantastic about it. Outside of Zegers, none of these characters are interesting enough to keep me interested, and even when Bleeth and Zegers we came to create some kind of bond (caused by Lloyd pressing his private plane into Ritter's home), I just couldn't warm up to Heart character simply based on her vocal fry and dim demeanor. They really also should have thought of another title because this indicates something like a monster coming from the sky, all of the two characters in the private plane that crashes are rather monstrous even if they are human.
0 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
Intense in a subtle way
csobero6 May 2007
This is one of those independent movies where you can tell by watching just how much the actors got into the material. Arguably, they all shine magnificently here in this intriguing piece. The vast majority of the action in this movie takes place in the living room and kitchen of a house, and the close proximity of all the characters to one another heightens the tension incrementally, making their moments seem much more real and easy to relate to.

The movie follows a couple, the Bridges, who are growing apart under the stress of taking care of their disabled son. While their marriage is on the brink of collapse, their living room roof literally collapses when a plane carrying a mysterious and wonderfully romantic couple crashes on their house. What happens in the next few hours in the characters' lives is a transformation as they come to terms with their secrets and insecurities.

The acting here is solid by seasoned pros. Bleethe is surprisingly good (I had always assumed she wasn't particularly talented given her "Baywatch" stint, but the girl can actually act), and Ritter and Williams are so convincing, you feel like they are a real estranged couple. Lloyd proves he is even more effective as a dramatic actor than a comedic one (if you can imagine that), and Zegers brings real compassion to his portrayal of a disabled boy without falling into schmaltzy stereotypes we see so often on film.

Kudos to the writing and the casting.
9 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
You don't need to "see dead people" do you?
uds322 August 2003
Absolute touching and worthwhile gem. For a TV movie as well, an enormous credit to all concerned. If you can't SEE that...and predictably - many of you saw no more than an "average, boring, run of the mill tale with has-been actors".....then its pitiful. Emotions run deep here and you need to submerge your thoughts and perceptions below that which your visuals dictate.

With strong elements of PHENOMENON, PALE RIDER, SIGNS but most tellingly - WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? in its wake, this is an ultimately feel-good fantasy for the thinking adult. Whoever sees in Ritter a dislikeable person here, sees NOTHING, any more than Bleeth is actively portraying a brain-dead bimbo. Arguably Christopher Lloyd's best role, the brilliance of the film lies in its script...IF you're listening...if you know what the hell you're listening TO that is! Did two strangers crash their plane into the roof and make a big hole? yes they did...now why IS that?

Kevin Zegers is nothing short of awesome in his role as the seemingly autistic young son with a predilection for the alien tongue. While with less screen time, his performance blows HAYLEY JOEL OSMONT out of the water here. JoBeth Williams is just dynamite too as his incredibly supportative and loving mother.

In the same way that the equally script-driven COHEN AND TATE was such a great film, tha "action" rarely moving beyond the confines of an automobile, IT CAME FROM THE SKY succeeds despite the entire film taking place in the one house (to repeat...as per VIRGINIA WOOLF)

That leaves the wondrous ending....lets not talk about it!
10 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
10/10
Great cast made this motion picture work!
ddbsamuel14 July 1999
I really enjoyed this movie! Christopher Lloyd and Yasmine Bleeth were perfect together. John Ritter and JoBeth Williams were so good together as the couple who were about to break up. My heart was breaking for them. I think that Kevin Zegers is the only one who could have played this part so well. Great story of a troubled family and the strange house-guests who drop in on them and help them rekindle their romance and zest for life. Very well filmed and directed. I kind of got lost at the very end. I am not sure if the strange house-guests were aliens or not. There were a lot of unanswered questions. But all in all it was a great movie. It looked like this could be a pilot for a weekly series with Christopher Lloyd and Yasmine Bleeth mysteriously showing up and helping folks in trouble. See it if you get a chance. A beautiful picture!
6 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
Claustrophobic 'play-like' movie with superior script.
teachermarkthailand25 July 2020
With only 5 players and all of them accomplished, notable ones, this TV movie already had a headstart. The script elevates this to almost a 'theatrical level release, though.

The story itself is simple enough... a marriage is being put to the test after a boy is almost drowned in a swimming accident. Years later the unresolved guilt and the ensuing blame games have all but destroyed the marriage.

An eccentric and delightful couple enter their home and the rot of their lives rises to the surface. Eventually, the issues are all dealt with and the future looks somewhat brighter for the family. The visitors go on their way to Las Vegas for their Valentine's Day break.

Yasmine Bleeth (as Pepper Upper, which is my new favorite name) is a revelation as the (supposedly) 'ditzy' girlfriend. Amazingly sexy and sensual with easily the best lines in the show, steals this away from the others... but only just. John Ritter manages to convey a remarkably complicated portrait of a man who you should be sympathetic towards, but his own mean spirited bitterness won't quite let you.

It is these two performances that somehow manage to almost drown out the rest of the cast. It's a TV movie so things tie up nicely. Well worth heading to YouTube to check out.
3 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
Thoughtful, entertaining comedy-fantasy-drama
indy_go_blue4420 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I stumbled onto this movie while looking for a cheapy monster flick. At first disappointed, I continued to watch because of the actors. It was obvious that there was a major strain in the household, that it was focused on the boy, but the question running beneath most of the movie is why? Yes there are times you have to stretch your credibility, like with the boy causing the plane to crash into the roof and the two people stepping out of it unharmed. So that makes it fantasy, so what? The interaction between the main characters as their relationship develops, the return of romance into the life of Ritter and Williams characters lives are done very well and I think without being cloying, if you accept the premise that a tragedy and guilt have driven them apart. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, when the reasons for everything become clear and the families bond of love and trust is reestablished. Exactly what Jarvis and Pepper are doesn't matter to me, whether angelic or simply alien and actually added some spice to the movie. We don't have to be told everything. I also thought the soundtrack by Sam Phillips was super and I've become a big fan of hers. I've tried and tried to find the song that closed out the show, but apparently it's never been released.
4 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
This was a feel good movie
Tudybugs23 January 2004
I loved this movie. I thought John Ritter & Jo Beth Williams were great. The characters were all believable. I thought this movie was unique. I was drawn into almost immediately. I almost, switched the channel when I saw the title of the movie. At first I thought it was a science fiction movie and realized right away it wasn't or was it. The movie did leave you to wonder.
3 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
Neat story but foul language ruined it.
acearms16 November 2003
This was an entertaining movie about a 13 year old boy, portrayed by Kevin Zegers, and a couple of guardian angles, Christopher Lloyd and Yasmine Bleet, looking after him. Say what, they had to be, its revealed in the last scene. The really foul language of the Ritter and Williams characters almost ruined it for me, and was totally uncalled for. IT ADDED NOTHING! Otherwise, this would of been great family entertainment rather than R rated. Zegers did a superb rendition of a kid physically handicapped due to a near drowning incident which left him less than totally functional. Worth the time to view.
2 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
.....and fell flat on it's face.
Mikee-Mollisch20 July 2004
Wow! I can't believe I could ever be bored enough to sit through this picture in it's entirety. Nearly every line of dialogue seemed to drop on the floor, as this picture seemed to be trying to emulate the quirky charm of a small independent film,

but it was more like torture. I'm afraid I've stunted my development by making it half way !

While there might have been a redeeming ending, had I been able to suffer through it . . . . . I couldn't, with the lame dialogue, hugely awkward silences, and complete lack of flow to it. The supposedly romantic "How (Lloyd) & (Bleeth) Met" story was stupendously bad. I couldn't begin to find Lloyd or Bleeth right for their parts. A talented director might be able to decide whether this was supposed to be funny, or sad, or dramatic . . . but to me it was just AWKWARD drivel.

  • This may be the worst TV movie I've ever seen. . . . what were they thinking ?
6 out of 19 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Acting is generally very good, though the film isn't much to speak of
millennia-27 April 2001
At times, 'It Came From the Sky' is little more than standard, movie-of-the-week fare, jam packed with tedious scenes and bad dialogue. But there are moments where it seems to break free of that mold, to expand beyond the territory usually covered in TV movies, which is why I am giving this movie a 7/10.

The cast, comprised mainly of fading stars whose better years are far behind them. Yasmine Bleeth, of TV's 'Baywatch' is in a role made for her as a sexy but dim witted girlfriend of a man four times her age, a rich oil tycoon played by Christopher Lloyd. John Ritter fares the worst, making his character completely unlikeable, and the scenes centering around him are easily the film's worst. Kevin Zegers, as the film's protagonist, is possibly the brightest part of a dull film. JoBeth Williams also manages to rise above the weak screenplay and create a genuinely interesting character, and one wonders why she was ever attracted to John Ritter in the first place.

I have to get back to Bleeth for a second here. She is so unimaginably entertaining in her role, it's hard to believe that she isn't more of a star. That isn't to say that she's a good actress, as she obviously isn't, but her screen presence is enormous, and she has fun with the character.

I've noticed that many of the reviews here seem to be written by teenage girls who have a crush on Zegers. If that's all they could get from his character, or the film in general, then it's too bad. Prior to this, the only film I'd seen him in was the entertaining, if shallow, horror flick 'Shadowbuilder', and I was blown away by his performance here. Along with Haley Joel Osment of The Sixth Sense, he's easily one of the most talented actors of his generation, and I'm surprised he doesn't get more roles other than tepid family films like 'Air Bud' (I haven't actually seen that movie, I'm going on purely critical response here).

I'm not going to waste your time talking about either Ritter or Lloyd's characters, as they were horrible and average, respectively, nothing worth noting. However, I was impressed by JoBeth Williams, who's been unfairly reduced to films such as this from hits such as 'The Big Chill' and 'Poltergeist' earlier in her career. Not only is her chemistry with both Bleeth and Zegers superb, but her character is probably the deepest in the film, and has a hard to describe commanding presence.

Well, I'm low on time so I'll wrap it up quickly. The production values rarely rise above the norm for TV movies, and most of the film is a bore, though the ending is amazing. If you do rent the movie and are tempted to turn it off part way through, don't... stay around for the absolutely chilling finale.

7/10 (I know, I'm being generous, but the film does have a lot of good points)
2 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed