It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

As an avid action, horror, comedy, and anything non-rom-com fan, I hate the typical Hollywood bull of same old same romantic comedies they are constantly spitting out expecting audiences to appreciate!But on its release, I was lucky enough to fall upon this little gem of a film from the hilarious Gary Shandling - What Planet are You From?From the get-go this film is hilarious, with Gary's dead-pan humour and ridiculous faces. Annette Benning is fantastic as is most of the other cast who fit their roles perfectly and look like they are having a blast doing so!Carrying enough romance without being sickening, the film is almost perfect with constant laugh out loud moments and an over-all feel good achievement by the end of it.Was great to see it again after so many years and found it even funnier this time around!

I can't say I hated this film. In fact, in a lot of areas, it was pretty good. You have Garry Shandling, who is a veteran comedian who does a pretty good job playing a likable guy in this movie, and he plays very well off of Annette Benning. However, there were too many weaknesses in this movie to recommend.For one, the plot of the film almost fit better into a late night Cinemax (or Skin-a-max) movie. In fact, late one night when I had nothing to do, I actually caught a movie where two women in bikinis were sent down to Earth for the sole purpose of having sex with humans. So to see middle-aged, A-listers tackle this kind of flimsy plot gives the movie a bit more strength, but fails in a lot of areas to actually be the kind of laugh-out-loud movie that "The 40 Year Old Virgin" was, for example.Of course, "The 40 Year Old Virgin" came out five years after this movie did, but it was a bigger hit (and was far less forgettable) because it was smart and had a surprising amount of heart to it. The laughter in that movie came out of compassion for the main character, who was put into many realistic scenarios. Making a funny movie about an alien whose primary mission is to fornicate takes away any kind of heart the movie could have, and no laughter based on familiarity follows. For further proof, compare the scenes in both movies where the main character displays his cluelessness about condoms. The one from "The 40 Year Old Virgin" is much funnier.Needless to say, realistic scenarios also went right out the window. I just saw this movie and thought, "There is no way people would actually react that way". For instance, no one in the movie thought it was as weird as they should have for the Shandling and Benning characters to get married after just one date. Plus, the baby they ended up having was born in only three months (I think), and the doctors in the movie just mentioned that fact so matter-of-factly, as if these things happen all the time. It would seem to me that in real life, more doctors would be brought in from all over the world to witness this medical miracle, not to mention the baby would be subject to various medical examinations.Of course, the "artifical" penis that hums served as the running gag of the movie, although it really wasn't all that funny to begin with. But with it came so many plot holes. Among them, Shandling character was able to copulate infinitely, yet it didn't seem like he himself had any sort of orgasm. I'm going to leave the plot holes at that. If you see the movie, you'll know what I mean.But there were some strengths in this movie. For instance, Greg Kinnear played a really shallow S.O.B., and he played it so well. John Goodman really can't go wrong in a movie, especially as a P.I. Ben Kingsley was also good as the planetary leader who ultimately becomes the villain. Kingsley added a nice dramatic touch. Benning proved that she can do comedy just as well as drama, and she was overall great in this movie. And Linda Fiorentino was just sexy beyond belief. She can play a great seductress.So is this movie forgettable? Not really. There are some moments of brilliance, but the story could have been better and could have used some more realistic elements regarding human reactions. Coming from veteran director Mike Nichols, this movie almost seemed a bit lazy compared to "The Graduate" and "The Birdcage".

At the risk of sounding patronizing, I wanted to like this movie. I really did. I really appreciated the premise, and I was a longtime fan of Shandling. I was a faithful viewer of "It's Gary Shandling's Show", and less so of "The Larry Sanders Show" as I never had HBO.Something just did not work here. All the gags fell flat. Shandling was not in any way appealing in this role. You can see that since this movie, he hasn't exactly been lighting up the screen.Anette Benning is such a good actress that she did not embarrass herself in this film, and almost made lemonade out of lemons here. But not quite. Even an actor of her talents could not prevent the cinematic equivalent of The Hindenburg from going down and exploding.This was one of only two films I saw in a theater that I have ever walked out on before they were over. I stomached about 50% of this flick before I could stand no more and walked out. (The other film was Eddie Murphy's "Boomerang".) I had to stop for a burger on the way home just to cheer myself up. Avoid at all costs.

No faint praise here. On my fourth viewing, I was still howling with laughter.Garry Shandling is virtually unique in his ability to deliver an earthy joke with a light, even elegant, touch.Even this pic's defenders allow that it's not high art. Maybe not. But then again, just maybe.