Martian Child

Review by Rebecca Grace - AFA Journal, March 2008
 

  From New Line Home Entertainment comes the DVD release of Martian Child, a story of unconditional love as told through the relationship of David, a widowed sci-fi writer, and Dennis, a boy who thinks he’s from Mars.
  Two years after the death of his wife Mary, David decides to adopt an eccentric little boy to fulfill the adoption plans he and his wife had prior to her death. Dennis believes he is a Martian on a mission to figure out “human beingness.” But that doesn’t stop David who sees a lot of himself in the child.
  Despite difficulties, David and Dennis are drawn together by an unexplainable force called love.
Martian Child is rated PG for thematic elements and mild language. The topics of death and rejection are addressed. There is one use of the “d”-word and one use of God’s name in vain, as well as the use of “bloody,” “stupid” and “dumb.” Alcohol is shown at a party, and there are two references to eastern religions. The film also contains immodesty and some slightly sarcastic references. Viewers may question the adoption of a child by a single parent as well as a scene where Dennis and David break things in the house and have a ketchup fight as a means of letting go of insurmountable hurt. There are some references to Martian powers and a sexual innuendo and kiss.
  While some of the content is questionable, the message of Martian Child is a redeeming one that will leave the heart smiling.