In John Sayles’s ingeniously quirky 1984 film Brother from Another Planet, an extraterrestrial (Joe Morton) tries to blend into the human populace but is betrayed by his stilted naïveté. Morton is black, and that added a piquant commentary on race and alienation. Not so here, where Eddie Murphy treads similar turf as the title ET, dressed up as if a lost member of the Bee Gees and dumped onto the streets of New York. For a nanosecond, Dave’s awkward assimilation shines; then we learn that he’s actually a spaceship helmed by a mini Murphy and crew inside the animatronic head. The Lilliputians have an energy crisis of sorts back home; that gets lost, however, as Dave jumps into a hot-dog-eating contest, shits quarters, and bonds with a single mother (Elizabeth Banks). Murphy gives it his best shot, but the humorless script and the overuse of funhouse FX by director Brian Robbins implode Dave on the launch pad. 92 Minutes | Boston Common + Fenway + Fresh Pond + Chestnut Hill + Suburbs
