Movies I Love: The Great Googa Mooga Known as Evolution

Sometime science stinks. That’s the game we play baby.

Everybody has a film they’ve watched dozens of times. For some reason a particular movie will connect and prove to be perfect background fodder or comfort food. Most of these movies are not on the AFI top 100 or considered classics. However, they have tons of personality (think Big Trouble in Little China) and get better with each viewing.  I’ve probably watched 2001’s Evolution more than any other film. It ranks alongside Ernest Scared Stupid, Hot Fuzz, Hot Tub Time Machine, The Replacements, Goon, Star Wars, Shawshank Redemption, Knight’s Tale and Indiana Jones as my most watched movies of all time.

Come on, come on, my widdle red lobster. Come on, my sexy little crustracean. Come on…

The creature design from Phil Tippett (Star Wars, Willow, Starship Troopers, Dragonheart, Robocop) is wonderfully varied and each beast has a distinct personality that ranges from deadly to squishy.

Ivan Reitman’s (Stripes, Ghostbusters, Dave) Evolution is a perfect HBO/TBS/TNT film because it is a breezy little thing that features relationships that hold up. I love the little moments when David Duchovny throws a hat thirty feet into a trash can or Orlando Jones is solid gold dancing in an elevator. Evolution is packed with fantastic dialogue, funny moments and likable characters. It has its faults and Reitman even admitted that he “mucked up the ending a little bit.” However, I love the bumps and bruises and think they give the movie more personality. I love that it was Julianne Moore’s idea to be a klutz. I love Sean William Scott singing “you are so beautiful” to trap a flying creature. I love that Orlando Jones gets a fly in his leg, they threaten amputation and Duchovny says “Isn’t there anything else you can do? He thinks he’s an athlete.”

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The stand outs of Evolution are David Duchovny and Orlando Jones. They come across as intelligent frat boy professors who have no problem rescuing one another from giant alien sphincters and saying “liar, liar, pants on fire.” They have a lived in relationship that feels organic and enjoyable. Whether they are hitting on students, harassing ex-girlfriends about stolen shirts or dealing with Sean William Scott they are relaxed and cool. I love how they keep a straight face throughout the proceedings and there is genuine hurt when Jones learns that Duchovny lied to him about his military work. Roger Ebert summed them up nicely with this quote:

Kane (Duchovny) and Block (Jones) have a nice double-act together; like the characters in “Ghostbusters,” they talk intelligently, possess wit and irony, and are not locked into one-liners. Jones even gets a laugh out of a significant nod, which is not easy in a film at this decibel level.

I would love it if Jones was cast as a character in the X-Files remake. It annoys me that he hasn’t gotten better roles. He is funny, smooth, intelligent, immensely likable and can keep a straight face when saying “Great Googa Mooga!”

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Evolution revolves around a meteor falling to earth and spawning a cornucopia of attacking aliens. Their evolution is unprecedented as they grow from cells to slugs to cute/deadly creatures in days. The government gets involved and screws everything up (No! No government. I know those people) and it is up to two adjunct professors, a pool boy and Julianne Moore to defeat the creatures. I loved the odd couple pairings and all four have wonderful chemistry.  Even when the comedy revolves around butt exploration you can’t help but smile as the actors fully commit.

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I think the reason I like this movie so much is because it is an unpredictable hybrid that wears its niceness on its sleeve. I love that it builds to Orlando Jones getting sucked into an alien’s butt while Duchovny yells “Give me back my friend, you big sphincter!”  It features good people who are willing to be sucked into big sphincters because they know their friends will bail them out. It is a big budget film that actually features an original idea. It may not be Shakespeare but it is more fun that it has any right to be.

Evolution is a re-watchable delight that doesn’t come around often enough. If you haven’t watched it check it out and let me know what you think!