The American sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live has spawned some blockbuster movies – The Blues Brothers (1980) and Wayne’s World (1992), for instance – but this Dan Aykroyd creation sank without trace.
Aykroyd is reunited with old TV colleagues Jane Curtin (best known for the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun) and Laraine Newman for this dismal comedy about a family of aliens (Aykroyd, Curtin and Michelle Burke) trying to get to grips with life on Earth.
Beldar (Aykroyd ) and Prymaat (Curtin) were meant to conquer Earth, but when a wrong turn at Machu Pichu crash lands them in the middle of New York’s East River, they find themselves stranded and forced to assimilate into mainstream America.
The coneheads find safe haven in Paramus, New Jersey, where they become typical hard-working parents raising their 16-year-old daughter Connie (Michelle Burke).
The coneheads fit in surprisingly well with their “bluntskull” neighbours in suburbia until they are targeted by an unscrupulous Immigration Service official.
Despite cameos from younger generation Saturday Night Live comics, such as The Wedding Singer‘s Adam Sandler and Chris Farley, plus an appearance from Spinal Tap‘s Michael McKean, the characters are long past their sell-by date, and Aykroyd and co sadly fail to recapture past glories.
Beldar
Dan Aykroyd
Prymaat
Jane Curtin
Seedling
Michael McKean
Connie
Michelle Burke
Turnbull
David Spade
Ronnie
Chris Farley
Larry Farber
Jason Alexander
Lisa Farber
Lisa Jane Persky
Otto
Sinbad
Khoudri
Shishir Kurup
Dr Rudolf
Jon Lovitz
Marlax
Phil Hartman
Laarta
Laraine Newman
Coach
Ellen DeGeneres
Highmaster
Dave Thomas
Director
Steve Barron
