Release Date: 12 Feb 1999
Run Time: 98 minutes
Origin: USA
Mimi's Rating: 3 bottles of cooking sherry out of 5
Adam Weber has spent 35 years of his life locked with his parents in their underground bomb shelter. Now, in the modern day, his parents are sending him out to find supplies... and a non-mutated wife.
The story begins in 1962 with eccentric scientist Calvin Webber (Christopher Walken), who believes nuclear war with the Soviets is imminent. When Calvin becomes alarmed by the Cuban Missile Crisis, he takes his pregnant wife Helen (Sissy Spacek) into his secret fallout shelter. Ironically, a passing aircraft fighter experiences a mechanical failure and ultimately crashes into their house, leading Calvin to assume the worst; he activates the shelter's 35-year time-lock. How will they handle life underground? Find out in: Blast from the Past!
Blast for the Past is a light and charming little rom-com that relies heavily on the charisma of its stars. Christopher Walken is perfect as the eccentric patriarch of the family. He has a fantastic (but short) Walken freak-out early in the film. Walken expertly portrays how Calvin is enjoying the situation he has gotten his family into. His wife, played by Sissy Spacek, does a grand job as a trapped woman descending into alcoholism and hopelessness. Then we get to their son, Adam, played by Brendan Fraser. Brendan is giving peak Himbo energy here. He's so charming he carries the second half of this movie on his performance alone.
When Adam leaves the shelter on his mission to find supplies (and a wife), we get plenty of comedic interactions between Adam and the people of 1999. It's classic fish-out-of-water stuff elevated by Brendan's comedic skills. He has a meet-cute with Eve (Alicia Silverstone), and we get the 'rom' in this rom-com. Silverstone herself is only serviceable in the role; thankfully, the rest of the cast makes up for it. We get some typical rom-com stuff here, nothing to write home about. The last third of this movie is pretty bland, to be honest. And the voiceover ending feels like it was tacked on.
I'm not the biggest rom-com fan, but this was so charming and enjoyable to watch (most of the time, anyway). I appreciated the actual design of the fallout shelter (I even found myself missing it towards the end). The sequence when Adam explores the surface world for the first time is some of the best comedy in the movie. Brendan just kills it.
So, if you want something light and fluffy to watch, try Blast from the Past.
Bonus: Dave Foley appears as that classic 90s/2000s staple, the gay best friend.
Why you should watch:
The charming performance by Brendan Fraser is well worth it. And Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek are a great bonus.
You're a fan of rom-coms.
The fallout shelter setting is well-done and the overall concept is pretty unique.
Why you shouldn't watch:
You don't like rom-coms.
The ending doesn't quite hit the landing.