Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out Review – Family Friendly Entertainment

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Category: Film

Published on Monday, 13 February 2023 10:59

Written by Janet Walker

Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival, presents a story of changes and challenges as life interferes and throws a serious curve into the best made plans.

The film begins with a young Calvin, played by Thomas Cummins, and his father, Cyrus, played by Will Forte, stargazing on the roof of their home waiting for the appearance of a comet that only appears every ten years.

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As the young boy is watching the skies, his father steps back inside the house, suddenly a disruption, the comet appears and both his parents vanish into the night.

Immediately the film moves into modern times, a new family is moving to Pebble Falls. Itsy, played by Emma Tremblay, an aspiring journalist and despondent over the sudden move from Manhattan to the, OMG, middle of nowhere and her younger brother, Evan, played by Kenneth Cummins, who embraces the move, are now confronting life outside the big city.

Itsy’s longing to return to the big life in New York City has no boundaries, and when she is approached by Heather, played by Landry Townsend, who tells her about a news writing scholarship being awarded by the school and the winner spends the summer attending NYU and living in Manhattan, she is all in.

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Heather decides Itsy should befriend Calvin, played by Jacob Buster, who is considered the local science and space obsessed freak with a wild story of his parents being abducted by aliens, and gather all the information she can about him and then she will write the story.

As the story moves Itsy and Calvin become friends, and as both feel like outsiders, they develop a bond all the while she is reporting her “findings” back to Heather. With Calvin, believing her friendship is transparent, and honest, he reveals the truth about his beliefs, that his parent were abducted by aliens, and the comet that took them is returning this year and if he can calculate the location accurately he could see them again.

Itsy, whose vision is not emotionally shaded, does some internet searching on her own and one the weekend when her parents are away, she and Calvin go on a road trip through Utah. It was only supposed to be the two of them, but her younger brother, Evan, sneaks into the van which makes the trip more interesting.

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The trip was more than just a road trip, as Itsy decides they should stop at a local diner. A waitress appears, Vera, played by Elizabeth Mitchell, and we see immediately that Calvin recognizes her. She explains on that night, ten years ago, she felt if she didn’t leave then she never would, and she couldn’t stay. She abandoned her family to save herself which as far as Calvin was concerned was simply a lie.

As his theory behind his abandonment begins to unravel, he returns to school to find his entire friendship on the front page of the school newspaper and realizes that Itsy was playing him for the story.

Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out is an entertaining, family friendly film. Teenage angst and the emotional roller coaster associated with moving, leaving an established life, and friends, and working through the personalized pain is played out well. The film highlights both sides well: resilience and teenage agony.

Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out is a story about embracing what makes us different, finding belonging, and staying true to yourself. See it.

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Country: USA.

Language: English.

Run Time: 87 Min.

Director: Jake Van Wagoner

Screenwriter: Austin Everett.

Producer: Jake Van Wagoner, Micah Merrill, Maclain Nelson, Austin Everett Jeremy Prusso.

Cast: Emma Tremblay, Jacob Buster, Will Forte, Elizabeth Mitchell, Kenneth Cummins, Matt Biedel.

Sales: Visit Films.