There are a couple of inspired performances worth noting, however, namely by the resident bad guy, No. 2 (Ed Helms from TV’s The Office in fine form) and No. 3 (Gabrielle Union), the captain’s compassionate love interest. In one of the film’s best scenes, No. 3 and the captain get the Cliff’s Notes on Planet Earth by watching It’s a Wonderful Life together, a sweet moment that inspires their relationship to upgrade from co-workers to “more than just good friends.”

Unfortunately, moments like those are too few and far between. Unlike the moving depiction of loneliness that morphs into a memorable love story in Wall•E or the inspiring story of a family sticking together for survival through thick and thin (and helping others, too) during the Great Depression in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, there’s nothing but sappy, fortune cookie wisdom about embracing your uniqueness and “how even the smallest people can make a big difference in the world” in Meet Dave. And with such little takeaway value and so few laughs, it’s not worth the cost of movie tickets and popcorn with better family film options available.

CAUTIONS:

• Drugs/Alcohol:  Social drinking shown.
• Language/Profanity: Several instances where the Lord’s name is taken in vain.
• Sex/Nudity:  Couples are shown kissing a few times. No. 3 (Gabrielle Union) wears a very form-fitting Star Trek-esque costume. Gina also wears cleavage-baring shirts. One of the space crew guys is blatantly gay and asks to be called Johnny Dazzle.
• Violence:  Dave gets ran over by Gina’s speeding car after walking into a busy intersection. There’s also a hold-up of a convenience store where Dave ends up intervening. A few tense moments also happen toward the end when Dave tries to return home.
• Rude Humor:  There are several scenes where scatological humor is involved—one when Dave extracts money from his backside, complete with scrunched-up faces that make one think something else is coming out. Ditto for a scene after Dave has consumed enough hot dogs—85 total—to win a contest and has to dispose of them in a bathroom stall (we hear what happens after the fact).

 
Christa Banister is a full-time freelancer writer, specializing in music, movies and books-related reviews and interviews and is the author of two novels, Around the World in 80 Dates and Blessed Are the Meddlers. Based in St. Paul, Minn., she also weighs in on various aspects of pop culture on her personal blog. 

For more information, including her upcoming book signings and sample chapters of her novels, check out her Website.