Blast From the Past (1999)
65%RT Audience Score: 56%
Awards & Nominations: 1 nomination
Cute idea, but not consistently funny
Blast From the Past is a movie that takes you on a wild ride through time, but not without a few bumps in the road. While some critics found it to be a squandered opportunity, others praised the clever script and first-rate cast. Personally, I found it to be a bizarre hybrid of romantic comedy cliches and social commentary, but Brendan Fraser’s goofy charm made it all worth it. Plus, any movie that can deliver scintillating humor and a force field of energy around its lead actor is a win in my book. So, if you’re looking for a blast from the past with a side of laughs, give this one a shot.
Production Company(ies)
Cranium Entertainment, Idiot Savant Pictures, Particular Crowd
Distributor
New Line Cinema
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
1972 Canyon Drive, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for brief language, sex and drug references
Year of Release
1999
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital SDDS
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 51m
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Language(s):English, French, German, Latin
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 12, 1999 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 22, 2012
Genre(s)
Comedy/Romance
Keyword(s)
Blast from the Past, Brendan Fraser, Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Walken, directed by Hugh Wilson, written by Bill Kelly and Hugh Wilson, comedy, romance, PG-13, box office gross $26.5M, New Line Cinema, Renny Harlin, reviewed by Jack Mathews, Desson Thomson, John Hartl, Carrie Rickey, Jonathan Foreman, Mark Caro, David Nusair, Maitland McDonagh, Leah Rozen, Yael Shuv, Laura Danese, Alan Jones, starring Sissy Spacek, Dave Foley, Joey Slotnick, sound mix SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, fallout shelter, nuclear apocalypse, Pasadena, California, eccentric father, dangerous restocking mission, subterranean refuge, gorgeous Eve Rustikov, romantic comedy, fish-out-of-water story, Cuban Missile Crisis, chemistry, touching moments, charming, campy
Worldwide gross: $40,263,020
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $72,273,244
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,177
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 7,881,488
US/Canada gross: $26,511,114
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $47,588,189
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,096
US/Canada opening weekend: $7,771,066
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $13,949,280
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 830
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $35,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $62,825,976
Production budget ranking: 656
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $33,831,788
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$24,384,520
ROI to date (est.): -25%
ROI ranking: 1,539
Alicia Silverstone – Eve Rustikoff
Christopher Walken – Calvin Webber
Sissy Spacek – Helen Thomas Webber
Dave Foley – Troy
Joey Slotnick – Soda Jerk, Archbishop Melker
Director(s)
Hugh Wilson
Writer(s)
Bill Kelly, Hugh Wilson
Producer(s)
Renny Harlin, Hugh Wilson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (80) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (46) | Rotten (34)
Blast is finally a squandered opportunity, a lot of situation with very little comedy.
January 3, 2018 | Rating: 2.5/4
Jack Mathews
Newsday
TOP CRITIC
Blast From the Past saves its best for first.
March 21, 2014
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Fraser is the sweet, goofy engine that drives this movie. The script doesn’t do enough with his reactions to a world that bears little relation to the Cold War planet Adam has been told about, but Fraser still manages to suggest volumes.
March 21, 2014 | Rating: 2.5/4
John Hartl
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
Garish and not funny enough, Wilson’s shapeless satire plods on, squandering its nice premise and its appealing actors. Miraculously, Fraser has a force field around him and manages to radiate energy in this comic black hole.
March 21, 2014 | Rating: 2/4
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
Thanks to a clever script, tight direction, a first-rate cast and the dynamite combination of Brendan Fraser and Alicia Silverstone, Blast from the Past blows away the recent crop of romantic comedies.
March 21, 2014
Jonathan Foreman
New York Post
TOP CRITIC
That’s a relatively clever set-up for what’s become a familiar genre: the time-displacement comedy, in which we get a kick out of viewing our era through another era’s eyes. But this movie’s eyes, Adam’s, are awfully twinkly and not too focused.
March 21, 2014 | Rating: 1.5/4
Mark Caro
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
…an irresistible premise that’s generally employed to entertaining (if somewhat erratic) effect…
June 7, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
[A] bizarre hybrid of romantic comedy cliches and less-than-subtle social commentary.
March 21, 2014 | Rating: 2/4
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide
Once the movie decides the air is clear and Fraser begins walking the earth, Blast becomes much spottier at hitting its comic targets and suffers from a bad case of the cutes.
March 21, 2014
Leah Rozen
People Magazine
Any movie with a rhyming title should be treated with suspicion. And Blast From The Past — two films inconveniently rolled into one creaking rom-com — is as bad as it gets.
March 21, 2014 | Rating: 2/5
Yael Shuv
Total Film
This fresh idea delivers some scintillating humor.
March 21, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
Laura Danese
Christian Science Monitor
It’s pleasant enough, with Fraser’s goofy charm particularly winning.
March 21, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
Alan Jones
Radio Times…
Plot
Adam Weber is the child of an eccentric inventor and his wife. Following a bomb scare in the 1960s that locked the Webers in their bomb shelter for 35 years, Adam Weber must venture out into Los Angeles and obtain food and supplies for his family. He meets Eve, who reluctantly agrees to help him out.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Brendan Fraser’s “goofy charm” is particularly winning in Blast from the Past, according to one critic review.
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