K-Pax (2001)

Jeff Bridges Film Fest Movie #7

Synopsis: Hmm... Jeff Bridges.... good-natured alien takes human form, trades quips with Earthlings while on fact-finding mission in the United States... oh my God, it’s Starman, except Bridges speaks in complete sentences, and there aren’t any car chases, explosions or helicopter gunships!

Blurb From the VHS Jacket: “A stranger who calls himself Prot (Kevin Spacey) seemingly appears out of nowhere following a disturbance at New York’s Grand Central Station. Claiming to come from the distant planet K-PAX, Prot draws the attention of jaded Dr. Powell (Jeff Bridges), whose initial scepticism soon turns to fascination and amazement.”

What Did I Learn?: 1) Aliens love fruit. 2) The best method for curing an obsessive-compulsive mental patient is to...um... strangle him until he recognizes the futility of evading death, and learns to love living.  

You Might Like This Movie If: You know that friendly, but smart-alecky aliens are nothing but trouble.

Really?: 1) I can’t help myself from thinking that if Prot is telling the truth – he’s temporarily in possession of Robert Porter’s body – he would have all the vulnerabilities of a human. Instead, he can ingest Thorazine like it’s lemonade, and he can somehow see ultraviolet light. 2) See: "What Did I Learn?" #2.

Rating: K-Pax is an intelligent, well-written film that works because we’re never entirely sure if Prot is an actual alien entity or a figment of Robert Porter’s imagination. Bridges is quite good as Dr. Powell, but Spacey delivers an incredible performance as a very strange mental patient. Highly recommended. 9/10 stars.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272152/?ref_=rvi_tt