Universal Pictures presents a film directed by Iain Softley. Written by Charles Leavitt. Based on the novel by Gene Brewer. Running time: 120 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for sequence of violent images, and brief language and sensuality).
Critics generally agree that Kevin Spacey lives up to his name in the sci-fi (or is it?) movie K-PAX. Playing a droll alien is something of a stunt role, the equivalent of a fat pitch down the middle for someone as talented as Spacey, writes Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times, and the satisfying thing about K-PAX is not that the actor is good at it, but how he goes about making the role his own. Jay Carr in the Boston Globe simply marvels at Spacey's work in the film: It is a beautifully modulated performance, he writes, with a wide and subtle range of colors and feelings, and a delicious helping of deadpan humor just for dessert. On the other hand, Jeff Bridges has the unenviable role of playing what the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Eleanor Ringel Gillespie calls straightman to Spacey's spaceman. By and large, the movie is receiving lukewarm reviews, the best of them from Rita Kempley in the Washington Post: Primarily, it's a warm, fuzzy and funny duet between Spacey and Bridges, one that brings to mind the interplay between Spock and Kirk. The picture never quite reaches the stars, but it definitely rises above much of what passes for entertainment today. However, Carrie Rickey concludes in the Philadelphia Inquirer: K-PAX is much better served by its actors than by its screenwriters.
This is an ideal role for Kevin Spacey. He is able to convince all he is an alien. He persuasive role encourages others to have hope and believe that even though the saddest of places, a mental hospital can be a haven of healing if only one believes. Intelligently written. Jeff Bridges remains his stalwart self in portraying the self evaluating psychiatrist. This movie is good for what ales ya.