Missy Thompson

STAFF WRITER

Stories of adults and children growing up essentially at the same time — while teaching each other different aspects of life — has become somewhat of a cliché. This is definitely the case with the film “Martian Child.” While much of the movie is genuine, many of the key plot points have been done time and time again with coming-of-age stories.

Perhaps the most refreshing thing about “Martian Child” is the innocent acting of Bobby Coleman, who plays Dennis, an orphaned boy who believes he’s from Mars. I’m sure many children feel different, but in “Martian Child,” it actually seems like Dennis might be from Mars just by the way he acts and dresses.

The main problem with “Martian Child” was the inability of director Menno Meyjes and co-writers Seth Bass and Jonathan Tolins to find a way to eliminate clichés. It’s almost too obvious what the eventual outcome of the film will be.

Like with many films of this genre, “Martian Child” exhibits all the makings of a feel-good, family-friendly movie. What’s good about this film is it renders a positive image for kids who feel different from other kids.

In “Martian Child,” David (John Cusack) is a science fiction writer and widower. He lost the love of his life several years ago and hasn’t been able to move on. An old friend of his, Sophie (Sophie Okonedo), invites him to a small orphanage to observe a child named Dennis who lives in a box. Dennis despises the sun and feels safe in the seclusion of his cardboard box.

Sophie hopes the two will bond and David will want to adopt six-year-old Dennis. But first, Dennis must learn how to trust. David brings sunglasses and sunscreen to Dennis to help him get rid of his hatred of the sun. Eventually they begin to learn and trust one another, and David takes the first steps toward making Dennis his son. The new family struggles with day-to-day challenges and the soft-spoken boy refuses to give up his belief that he is from Mars. David even solicits help from his sister Liz (Joan Cusack) on parenting techniques.

In the meantime, David is supposed to be working on his next book, a sequel to an already dull sounding sci-fi thriller. But David is too wrapped up in helping Dennis adjust to being a student and the Earth way of life. Dennis claims that he is only on Earth for a short while before returning to Mars from his mission. No matter how hard Dennis hopes to be from another planet, it’s evident he wants to stay with David.

“Martian Child” is a cute story, but fails to bring a truly unique ending. That may have been one of the reasons the film ended the way it did. But if more thought were put into it, they probably could have come up with a better way to wrap things up.

Using Joan Cusack to play the sister of John Cusack’s character has been done too many times. I know they can act very well separately. The need to keep putting them on screen together is beyond me.

missy@tooeletranscript.com