38) Coneheads (1993)

(2 out of 5)

"We come from France." 

Director

Steve Barron

Cast

Dan Aykroyd - Beldar Conehead
Jane Curtin - Prymaat Conehead
Michelle Burke - Connie Conehead
Michael McKean - Dep.Comm. Gorman Seedling
David Spade - INS Agent Eli Turnbull
Jason Alexander - Larry Farber
Lisa Jane Persky - Lisa Farber
Chris Farley - Ronnie Guestsetter
Phil Hartman - Marlax Zanthstrom

Laraine Newman - Laarta Zaanthstrom

If you asked me or anyone else who knows a good movie when they see one what the best movies based on a skit from "Saturday Night Live" (SNL) are, the answer will likely be either "The Blues Brothers" (1980) "Wayne's World" (1992) or both. Well, no one asked me, but I'll toss my commentary out there anyways. Those two are the best SNL movies to date.

I've counted 11 movies based on SNL skits including those two I've just mentioned as well as "Wayne's World 2" (1993) and "Blues Brothers 2000." 
There's also the SNL movies "It’s Pat" (1994), "Stuart Saves His Family" (1995), "A Night at the Roxbury" (1998), "Superstar" (1999), "The Ladies Man" (2000), and "MacGruber" (2010). And then there's "Coneheads" from 1993. It's perhaps the strangest of the SNL movie line-up. 

The movie "Coneheads" went through a short-lived life of popularity back when it was released. I place emphasis on the word "short-lived." Now, it's an oddity of the past for those who remember it, or even for those late to the game. 

The concept started on SNL in 1977 about aliens from the planet Remulak who are stranded on Earth and try to assimilate to the American way of life. The joke is that they can't blend in well primarily because they have big cone-shaped heads. They go through all the motions, albeit awkwardly. 

They also eat a lot of food, or as they put it "consume large quantities." 

In the skits, Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin play parental units Beldar, the familial patriarch and Prymaat, matriarch. Comedian Laraine Newman plays their daughter Connie on the show. 

And the last name "Conehead" is their attempt at an Angelized version of their Remulak name "Clorhone." The last thing these Coneheads want to do is stand out. Of course, everything about them stands out. There's your comedy! 

The Coneheads speak in a stiff, overly formal, robotic monotone manner. They treat every situation and encounter like someone referring to a technical manual. They take everything literally because they're aliens who don't understand human behavior in general. Social norms aren’t instinctive to them. 

Michelle Burke, Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin in "Coneheads."

Basically, they approach everything in day-to-day life such as work, family life and human relationships with rigid logic and alien curiosity trying to figure out the purpose behind it all. This is how the comedy behind the strangeness of human customs surfaces. 

That's what this movie is all about. 

In "Coneheads," Beldar (Dan Aykroyd) and Prymaat (Jane Curtin) crash-land on Earth near Manhattan after they fail at an attempted invasion. So, now that they're stuck here. 

All they can do is wait to be rescued. In the meantime, they try to blend in while their rescue ship arrives to their aid. They have a long wait ahead of them. 

What's funny is that other people around them try not to notice their cone-shaped heads. Beldar takes on a fake identity, goes by the name Donald R. DeCicco, and obtains a fake ID and false Social Security number. 

Government agents, however, are aware that these aliens are in town illegally. INS agents led by Deputy Commissioner Gorman Seedling (Michael McKean) and Agent Eli Turnbull (David Spade) make it a priority to apprehend "Donald R. DeCicco."  

Otherwise, the Coneheads live a quiet life, and even have a daughter whom they name Conjaab, or "Connie" for short, played by Michelle Burke. 

Several years later, when Connie is already a teenager, the Coneheads are finally contacted by their rescue ship. 

Beldar is torn between returning to Remulak and conquering the Earth as originally planned or staying where he is on Earth for the sake of his family's happiness. 

Seeding and Turnbull are still pursuing them and won't quit until they have enough evidence to apprehend them. They even go so far as to disguise themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses to get inside their house and ask them questions. 

The late Chris Farley stars as Ronnie, Connie's boyfriend for added hilarity.  

"Coneheads" is nothing more than a ridiculous comedy. That's certainly no revelation, even for those who've never seen it. I'm sure the title alone makes that clear. 

With the topic of illegal immigration where it is in today's social climate, the film certainly says a lot even as a comedy. 

The manner in which the Coneheads speak gets tiring quickly. By the end of the movie, it's grating! And the fish-out-of-water premise is stretched very thin. 

Chris Farley as "Ronnie" in "Coneheads."

I admit I was a little fascinated to see how Beldar and Prymaat would react at seeing Connie act like a typical teenage Earth girl trying to be independent of her parents and do what all her peers are doing. And, thankfully, Connie doesn't speak with the same monotone manner as her parents, but she still has the same superior intelligence as they do. I think she's the best character in the movie. Kudos to Michelle Burke for portraying both a superior intelligent alien with all the mannerisms and personality of a typical teenage girl. She pulls it off well. 

Otherwise, the comedy is repetitive. Look how the Coneheads act in this situation. Now look how they act in this new situation. Look how better they are at everything than humans are. Do you see how humans pretend not to notice their oddities and quarks? That's the comedy through the whole movie. And after being on Earth for eighteen years or so, they still act just as nieve and surprised at the encounters that fall before them.    

Their cone shaped heads is the only truly funny setup in the movie, save for a few random jokes here and there. It's not enough though to carry the movie along all the way to the end. 

The site gags littered throughout, particularly how much food these aliens eat, did get some laughs out of me but they don't help save the picture. That gag of the Coneheads consuming large quantities of food is used over and over again as well.  

To its credit, Aykroyd and Curtin are great in their roles, reacting comedically as best as they can, and just doing as much as they can with what they have to work with. Plus, there's a cavalcade of cameos and stars in the cast, including a lot of former cast members from SNL. 

Everything else, including a lot of the comedy, is simply weak or overly used. 

"Coneheads" is another alien sci-fi comedy that only stands out among the rest simply because it's based on SNL content. Otherwise, there's not that differnt than any other ridiculous alien comedy.