Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)

Movie Info

I take at least a whole day before I put out!

Valerie Gail (Geena Davis) is looking forward to her big day with her fiancé Dr. Ted Gallagher (Charles Rocket).  When Valerie surprises Ted at home at the encouragement of her friend Candy Pink (Julie Brown), Valerie learns that Ted isn’t the most faithful.  When a spaceship full of aliens crashes in the pool, Valerie has to help Wiploc (Jim Carrey), Zeebo (Damon Wayans), and Mac (Jeff Goldblum) repair their ship and get home.

Directed by Julien Temple, Earth Girls Are Easy is a musical comedy.  The film was based on Julie Brown’s 1984 song “Earth Girls Are Easy” and received average to positive reviews.  Though just a cameo, model Angelyne received a Golden Raspberry nomination for Worst Supporting Actress.

Earth Girls Are Easy was a frequent cable airing in the early 1990s.  It seemed like it was on a lot.  I can remember catching it at times, but rarely (or never) seeing it the whole way through.  Watching it now, it is a bit hard to stomach.

I wanna live in living color!!!

The movie is a strange blend of music, ’50s sci-fi, California, and ’80s culture.  The movie is pretty paper thin in this aspect.  It feels like it is a movie just trying to have fun (not that there is anything wrong with that), but I’m sure you can read into it all about the commercialism and shallowness of the people in the film (at least Davis’s yuppie boyfriend).

The movie followed Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum’s appearance in The Fly and Transylvania 6-5000 (they were married at the time the movie was released), but originally the Valerie role had been seen for someone like Molly Ringwald, Madonna, Lea Thompson, Laura Dern, or Elisabeth Shue.  Julie Brown who helped craft the story made her film debut here and Michael McKean was originally going to be Ted before becoming the stoner Woody.  The movie is generally remembered more for Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans who ended up on In Living Color in 1990.

…and now for a totally forgettable musical number!!!

It is easy to forget that this movie is a musical because the musical numbers are quite unbalanced.  In addition to occasionally bursting into song, the music being sung is also forgettable.  I do like some of the ’50s style look of the alien technology, but I wish that the movie had committed more to the theme (like Mars Attacks!).

Earth Girls Are Easy isn’t a bad movie nor is it a good movie.  It is a very average movie that has a fun throwback feel to it due to its totally ’80s look.  The movie is goofy, fun that isn’t worth seeking out but is watchable if you catch it on TV or streaming somewhere.