Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

My Stepmother Is an Alien Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 13, 2021

The relatively recently reviewed Kevin Can F**k Himself: Season 1 brought to mind the kind of odd "transformation" of the supposed American housewife and/or domestic partner in sitcoms from the 1950s to the 1960s. As I mentioned in our Kevin Can F**k Himself: Season 1 Blu-ray review, the 1950's tended to emphasize all knowing fathers, with Mom the agreeable (and typically perfectly coiffed and dressed) helpmate. But the 1960's started to offer what I termed "clueless" males as those seen in Bewitched and/or I Dream of Jeannie, where they were partnered with women with some kind of superpowers. I also mentioned the very little remembered one season sitcom My Living Doll, which offered a savvy male scientist in charge of a woman robot who did in fact have super powers, but who was kind of clueless anyway. My Living Doll might seem in a weird way to be a kind of small screen preview of at least some aspects of My Stepmother is an Alien, a comedy that probably misfires more than it really should, and which is built around the premise of a nerdy but obviously smart scientist named Steven Mills (Dan Aykroyd), whose experiments with a high intensity beam (or something like that) wreaks havoc with the gravity of a far distant planet, which in turn brings naive extraterrestrial Celeste (Kim Basinger) to our little nook and cranny of the universe in order to investigate.

Bryan Reesman's agreeable commentary included on this disc as a bonus feature makes the case that My Stepmother is an Alien wants to be a gloss on those cheesy 1950's science fiction films that many of us grew up on courtesy of late night or weekend afternoon reruns, but part of the problem may be that the film actually started life as a drama, as Reesman also gets into. In some ways, it might be more interesting to chart whatever course this screenplay took to become the odd mishmash it ended up as, though it's hard to see this premise really working as a straight faced narrative in any case. That said, a lot of the comedy in My Stepmother is an Alien is kind of hyperbolic, especially when Jon Lovitz erupts on screen, as Steven's brother Ron.

Basinger actually acquits herself rather nicely as the bizarre alien who, upon crashing a party to meet Steven, is proffered a plate of snacks, but opts for a cigarette butt instead. Basinger has to traffic in both physical comedy (although one suspects a body double was used for some of the gymnastics) and verbal humor, and manages to deliver on both counts, even if the writing here doesn't always support guffaws. Some of the jokes are in fact resolutely juvenile in nature, with several coming courtesy of Celeste's "secret weapon", a one eyed tentacle creature that hides in her supposed designer purse and is named Bag. Bag actually comes off at times rather similarly to the snarky ALF, from this same general time period.

The trajectory of this story is completely predictable, but it has its sweet side, especially as Celeste and widower Steven develop a relationship which also includes Steven's daughter Jessie (Allyson Hannigan). The best parts of My Stepmother is an Alien can be the almost throwaway bits as Celeste starts experiencing human life. A slew of complications that arise in the third act, especially some involving Celeste's home planet and a kind of ruling elite there, seem unnecessary and don't really contribute much to any comedy quotient.

The film has a charming kind of vintage looking production design in terms of the cluttered room where Steven conducts his experiments, but some of the still old school composited special effects are actually quite good, and were done by the inimitable John Dykstra. A whole sidebar featuring Jimmy Durante is kind of ingratiating if also a bit odd. The film's weirdest element is on the behind the scenes side of things. Ann Prentiss, sister-in-law of director Richard Benjamin, provided the voice for Bag in this film. Those up to speed with some of the gonzo "scandals" that have rocked various Hollywood types may know that not that long after this film wrapped, Prentiss was arrested for assaulting her father, and then evidently tried to hire a hitman to kill a number of her relatives, including Benjamin. She ended up being imprisoned for the rest of her life, dying in confinement in 2010.

My Stepmother Is an Alien Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

My Stepmother is an Alien is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:

My Stepmother is an Alien was restored in 2K by Sony Pictures Entertainment. 4K scanning by Picture Shop, Hollywood from the 35mm Original Picture Negative. Color grading by colorist Mike Underwood, and digital restoration completed at Picture Shop, Hollywood. Audio restoration was completed at Deluxe Audio Services, Hollywood, sourced from the original 35mm stereo magnetic tracks. Restoration supervised by James Owlsey for SPE.

This is a great looking transfer that preserves the film's nicely suffused palette, while also offering an organic appearance courtesy of naturally resolving grain. There are some spikes in grain during the composited effects, as should be expected, but I certainly noticed no compression issues. The palette offers some really bold and vivid colors, starting with Basinger's memorable red dress and lipstick in her first appearance as Celeste. Fine detail is generally excellent throughout, and some of the close-ups offer really substantial precision in things like facial features and fabric textures. There's a slight tendency toward brownish flesh tones at times, kind of oddly often in the "office" sections, but on the whole things look natural. Whatever restoration gauntlet the element was put through has all but eliminated any major signs of age related wear and tear.

My Stepmother Is an Alien Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

My Stepmother is an Alien features a nice sounding LPCM 2.0 track that achieves some relatively wide imaging in moments like the spaceship landing, or later developments with the "messengers" from Celeste's home planet. The film has some really fun music, beginning with Tom Jones' memorable interpretation of Prince's "Kiss", and all of the scoring sounds full bodied and problem free. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

My Stepmother Is an Alien Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Bryan Reesman


• Cosmetic Encounters: Directing My Stepmother is an Alien (HD; 14:08) is an audio interview with Richard Benjamin that plays to stills and scenes from the film.


• Trailer (HD; 00:32) struck me as more of a teaser for television broadcast.


• Image Gallery (HD)

Additionally, Arrow provides their typically well appointed insert booklet. Packaging features a slipcover.

My Stepmother Is an Alien Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kim Basinger is an incredibly appealing presence in My Stepmother is an Alien, but she's so appealing that some may not help but wonder how much better the film might have been with sharper writing that was able to take advantage of Basinger's facility with line readings the same way she marauds through the physical comedy side of her performance. There's an undeniably affable mien to much of this film, but it also never quite hits the comedy gold bullseye. Technical merits are solid and the supplementary package very enjoyable, for those who may be considering making a purchase.