First Hit: I liked some aspects of this film and others just seemed false and formulated.
I generally like John Cusack films so I was curious to see this film.
The film begins with John mourning the loss of his wife. To fill this hole in his life he thinks about adopting a child because this is what he and his departed wife had planned to do.
There isn’t much depth leading to this decision nor is there much in the way of counseling here to give John’s character a deeper background on his wanting to adopt or his pain. He ends up choosing a young boy who believes he came from Mars.
Over time you get some background on the child (Bobby Coleman) but not enough to make it work for me.
The formula is that John takes this child on, goes through ups and downs with this kid, only to build his resolve to love and be there for this kid no matter what.
The kid tests him and the ultimate test is he runs away and puts himself in a dangerous position. John saves the day.
What did I like about the film? There was a sweetness to some of the scenes and I loved the plate throwing scene; how it started seemed real and how it ended was perfect.
Also some of the scenes with the gardener (Amanda Peet) were endearing and you knew that she would become involved with John and Bobby at the end.
Overall: At best this is probably a DVD film to rent.