Jules

Among all the big-budget films that are the staples during the summer film season, it's so nice to have a small independent film, or two, during this time to give us a break from all the adrenaline and massive amounts of CGI. One of those small films is in the form of "Jules", a delightful film about a man discovering a UFO that crashed lands in his backyard and subsequent friendship from that point.

"Jules" follows Milton Robinson (Ben Kingsley) who lives a quiet life of routine in western small town, Boot City, Pennsylvania, but finds his day upended when a UFO and its extra-terrestrial passenger crash land in his backyard. Before long, Milton develops a close relationship with the extra-terrestrial he calls 'Jules'. Things become complicated when two neighbors, Sandy (Harriet Sansom Harris) and Joyce (Jane Curtin) discover Jules. Shocked at first, they soon develop a bond with Jules as Milton did. The government being as snoopy as they are, start closing in on suspicions of something 'odd' going on in that town. What follows is a funny, wildly inventive ride as the three neighbors find meaning and connection later in life--thanks to this unlikely stranger. 

Others to round out the cast are Zoe Winters as Denise, Milton's daughter, Jade Quon as Jules, Donald Paul as Agent Mann, Anna George as Dr. North, Cody Kostro as Danny, Eric T. Miller as Tim, Patrick Noonan as Cop #1, Lee R. Sellars as Chief, Jeff Kim as Agent Shu and Teddy Canez as Mayor Martinez.

This was touchingly directed by Marc Turtletaub ("Gods Behaving Badly" '13, "Puzzle" '18) plus shorts. The way that this filmmaker presented this film as a touching and heartwarming production was creative as it was so unusual given the premise. Usually, once the alien is discovered, all hell breaks loose and it truly becomes a cat and mouse game with the authorities at that point. One can tell that this director was in close communication with the writer. It was brilliantly written by Gavin Steckler (TV). The amazing aspect of this is that the film is written by a writer with no feature film experience. I have mentioned in prior reviews that if a writer has enough TV or shorts experience, it can take them far. Well, that must be the situation here, because this script was delineated with such subtlety and richness that once I was immersed in this story, I felt like I was on this amazing trek to truly enjoy another place and amazing characters in a story that transcends all concerns outside the theater walls. The bond between Milton, Sandy and Joyce with Jules was genuine and iron clad. 

This film was a, sort of, cross between "E.T. The Extra-terrestrial" and "Lars and the Real Girl" whereas in E.T., the alien just wanted to go home as with this film, and as with "Lars and the Real Girl", it was charming in that Lars so wanted for all to believe in his 'girl' Bianca, just as with this Jules was charming, so it wasn't a task to help him. This is a film all should see for its whimsy and heartwarming story. Why can't there be more films like this to be offered?

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                       Rated: PG-13                                   87mins.