We Come From Nil
Eddie Murphy and his crew, including Gabrielle Union, Ed Helms, Kevin Hart, Pat Kilbane, and others go on a daring mission from their home planet, Nil, to seek out a mysterious ‘rock’ that fell from space to Earth. This ‘rock’ has the ability to save the planet Nil from an environmental disaster they’re facing, but when the ‘rock’ inadvertently falls to Earth, it’s up to this crew to visit Earth and find it at any cost.
Even though the Nil look human, they’re extremely tiny compared to humans on Earth, and they also are very unfamiliar with Earth in general, and its people. This combination makes for a lot of awkward comedic moments that work well. One of my favorite scenes is when the ship – which keep in mind looks just like a real-life Eddie Murphy – meets people for the first time. Not knowing how to behave, the crew of the ship make the ship mock the human they’ve just met, which of course seems very odd to the human.
Anyway, the crew tracks down the ‘rock’ to a young boy named Josh played by Austyn Myers. Josh was star-gazing one night when what he thought was a meteor came crashing into his room. His mother, Gina, played by Elizabeth Banks, doesn’t initially believe him, but she begins to believe that something is strange when she, well, meets Dave (the crew named themselves this in order to help blend in). Perhaps predictably, Dave and Josh become friends and this drives a lot of the story as it allows Dave and its crew to learn more about humans on Earth, get closer to the ‘rock,’ and it helps foster the relationship between the Captain and No. 2 (Gabrielle).
A lot of the comedy in Meet Dave, most really, relies on the awkwardness of the Nil interacting with humans on Earth. It may seem silly, but it actually worked surprisingly well and coupled with the film’s other themes, Meet Dave turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable film that I think can really appeal to a wide audience, which is exactly what it’s intended to do.
‘Dave’ on Blu-ray
Meet Dave on Blu-ray comes to us on a single layer 50GB disc. The picture and audio are great, as you would expect from such a recent movie. There are several extras too:
-Crew Profiles – This extra allows viewers to select eight different areas on the ship for further detail. For example, you can select the head region for more information about characters that worked in that area. When selecting this region, No. 2 (Gabrielle) comes on screen in character and talks about her role in the ship’s operations. The other seven areas are similar.
-Gag Reel – A two minute, forty-second gag reel is presented in HD.
-Deleted Scenes & Alternate Ending – There are four deleted scenes in HD, and an Alternate Ending in HD that is about forty seconds.
-Making of – A twenty-two minute HD feature about, you guessed it, the making of the film. Cast and crew, not including Eddie Murphy, talk about the origins of the film and each other; lots of behind the scenes footage included.
-Fox Movie Channel Presents…Life After Film School – A twenty-nine minute feature in SD in which director Brian Robbins is interviewed by three students in film school.
-Fox Movie Channel Presents…Making A Scene – A ten minute SD feature in which some of the cast and crew of Meet Dave talk about the sidewalk scene and its importance in the film.
-Fox Movie Channel Presents…World Premiere – A four and a half minute SD feature including cast and crew interviews on the evening of the film’s opening in LA.
All told, Meet Dave is a surprisingly good family comedy that is well worth a watch. On Blu-ray, this is well rounded package, including a good movie, a fine presentation, and a nice bundle of extra features.