"MONSTERS VS. ALIENS" with the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogan, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett and Kiefer Sutherland. Directed by Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon. PG for sci-fi action, some crude humor and mild language. 1 hour, 34 minutes.
3 1/2 Stars
It's Susan Murphy's wedding day. The weather is perfect, the dress is spotless. She's all ready to get hitched to the man of her dreams, Derek, a TV weatherman.
What could possibly go wrong?
Well, she could get hit by a meteorite, grow to 50 feet tall from the radiation, have her hair turn white and be shipped off to a top secret government holding pen for monsters and other weird creatures.
That would certainly put a crimp in the bridal bouquet.
So begins "Monsters vs. Aliens" a smart, funny animated comedy that doesn't once trade sweetness for laughs.
While in captivity Susan (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) meets a quartet of other unlikely creatures, like a 350-foot grub named Insectosaurus, the half-man, half-insect mad scientist Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie), the fish-man known only as "Missing Link" (Will Arnett), and B.O.B. (Seth Rogan), a gelatinous blob whose utter cluelessness and amicability provide some of the film's biggest laughs.
Susan and the others get a chance at freedom when an enormous alien robot lands in California with hostile intentions. Defeat the robot, Gen. W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland) promises, and they'll gain their freedom.
Of course, that's easier said than done, but along the way the formerly retiring Susan gains confidence in herself and finds a surrogate family amongst her new misfit friends.
The jokes are quick and plentiful in the film, sending up various sci-fi and B-movie conceits, and are aided abundantly by the stellar voice work, most notably by Witherspoon, Rogan, Sutherland and, filling in as a vainglorious president, Stephen Colbert.
More significantly, it's nice to see a movie where the heroine doesn't have to trade in her femininity in order to kick alien tail.
The film, it should be noted, uses the latest 3-D technology and is full of meteors, bouncing balls and other things flying out at the audience. It all looks rather snazzy, though it still feels like little more than a gimmick to me.
If you do go see it, however, try to catch it on an IMAX screen, where the visuals and 3-D effects really come to life.
"Monsters vs. Aliens" is no gimmick though; it's a sweet, funny family film that even the occasional off-color joke can't derail.
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