Blast from the Past (film)

Blast from the Past is a 1999 American romantic comedy film based on a story and directed by Hugh Wilson, and starring Brendan Fraser, Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Walken, Sissy Spacek and Dave Foley.

In 1962 an eccentric scientist who, like so many people at the same, thought that a nuclear war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was possible, built a bomb shelter in his basement. During the Cuban missile crisis, when he thought things were going escalate took his pregnant wife into the bomb shelter. When a plane flying over lost control, the pilot bailed out and the plane crashed into their house which activated the shelter's locks (designed not to open for 35 years). She gives birth to a boy whom they name Adam. So Adam grows up being taught and exposed to all culture up to 1962. When the locks open, they're shocked to see how the world has changed they decide to stay inside. However their supplies have run out, so Adam goes out to get some more but gets lost and is helped by a girl called Eve.

Adam tells his parents that he and Eve can't stay. He asks them to set the lock timer for only two months this time, and then he will return for them. He and Eve use the money from selling the stocks to build his parents a new home in the country, identical to the home that was destroyed, with an interior that resembles the homey interior of the fallout shelter.

Cast

• Brendan Fraser as Adam Webber
• Alicia Silverstone as Eve Rustikoff
• Christopher Walken as Calvin Webber
• Sissy Spacek as Helen Webber
• Dave Foley as Troy
• Joey Slotnick as Soda Jerk / "Archbishop" Melcher
• Dale Raoul as Mom
• Rex Linn as Dave
• Nathan Fillion as Cliff
• Jenifer Lewis as Dr. Nina Aron
• Hugh Wilson as Levy
• John F. Kennedy (uncredited, archive footage) as Himself (reveals existence of Cuban missiles)
• Fidel Castro (uncredited, archive footage) as Himself
• Nikita Khrushchev (uncredited, archive footage) as Himself (shakes fist at the U.N.)
• Cynthia Mace as Betty
• Harry S. Murphy as Bob
• Carmen Moré as Sophie

Reception

Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film had an overall score of 58% of the comments positive based on 78 reviews.^[1] On Metacritic has a score of 48%. Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars saying "the movie is funny and entertaining in all the usual ways, yes, but I was grateful that it tried for more: that it was actually about something, that it had an original premise, that it used satire and irony and had sly undercurrents."^[2]

Box office

Blast from the Past opened in North American theaters on February 12, 1999 and took in $7,771,066 earning it 5th place at the box office for the weekend.

References

External links

• Blast from the Past at the Internet Movie Database
• Blast from the Past at AllMovie
• Blast from the Past at Box Office Mojo
• Blast from the Past at Rotten Tomatoes