Movies from the 90s are currently on my re-watch list. At least I think A Blast from the Past is a re-watch. Honestly, I cannot remember, but either way, I did just give it a watch.
A Blast from the Past (1999) Film Review
All 35 years of his life, Adam Webber (Brendan Fraser) has lived in a bomb shelter. The year 1962, his genius father Calvin (Christopher Walken) is more than a little paranoid about the crisis with Cuba. And so, to make sure he and his wife Helen (Sissy Spacek) are okay, he builds a kind of underground house, complete with all the necessities. The shelter locks tight and is designed to stay so for 30+ years. For these years, the family lives in contentment, mostly. Until one night, the door unlocks.
This means they can reenter society, but when dad becomes ill, Adam must get supplies in the world all by himself. Once there, he finds an interesting world full of a variety of people, including a pretty yet unusually opinionated girl (Alicia Silverstone).
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I’m quite sure, at some point, I did see this film. It’s a fun trek into the bygone past that’s mostly fun. The film uses an interesting time in history to create a comedy around the subject and this makes it more fun to watch. Plus, the cast is dang good, too. Walken was in, among MANY other roles, the Sarah, Plain and Tall films. Sissy Spacek has been in numerous popular films, and this seems a perfect fit for Fraser. Likely still mostly enjoying her success as Cher from Clueless, Alicia Silverstone plays another sassy heroine who is fun.
What’s more, the way filmmakers progress the “outside” world to fit the picture Calvin has of what the world would look like post bomb is fun. It’s also done in a way that could be authentic. There is some overemphasis on one “joke” that I don’t love in the film, but overall, it’s just a cute outing that revisit both an era long done and one more “modern.”
Overall, this is just an entertaining and mostly comic experience. It’s a fun way to spend an evening. It’s also a better film in the PG-13 genre if you’re looking or something that’s more fun than content driven. There’s some laughs, a sweet would be love story and just the general feeling of protectiveness by a loving father. All in all, a cute film.
You can find A Blast from the Past, at publication, with Hulu.
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Content: there is some profanity, mostly minor with exception to an f-word. There is also one term used that most find tasteless and offensive (the character using it doesn’t know this). There’s some sexual content, more implied than anything else. There’s a question of whether someone is a “virgin” and questions what the term “laid” means. There’s a joke or two about different sexualities. The film is PG-13 and is overall, tame for the PG-13 genre.
Photos: Warner Bros. / New Line Cinema
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