REVIEW
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 Alien Autopsy
2006
Certificate: 12 | Runtime: 95 | Director: Jonny Campbell
Starring: Declan Donnelly, Ant McPartlin, Bill Pullman
 
Based on the true story of how London based Ray Santilli (Donnelly) and Gary Shoefield (McPartlin) managed to make a hoax film showing the apparent autopsy of an alien at Roswell. The film follows them from the beginnings of their idea, through the making of the film itself, and their eventual problems when the hoax attracted worldwide attention.
Alien Autopsy would have been a far better film if it had just concentrated on the making of the hoax itself. But it doesn't, and instead the hoax is really only a subplot in a film about two not very interesting people, played by two not very good actors.
I had my doubts when I heard about the casting of this film, and my concerns have turned out to be accurate. Neither Donnelly or McPartlin play anything other than themselves - were the real Santilli and Shoefield really cheeky chappy television presenters? I think not. On balance, McPartlin is probably the better of the two, but his role is by far the smaller one. To make matters worse the film criminally under uses wonderfully entertaining actors in the form of Omid Djalili and Morwenna Banks, and Bill Pullman's role consists of just sitting around looking like a slightly trimmer Michael Moore.
The only plot that should be of any importance is how the duo alleged they travelled to America, saw an original film from 1947 (which was later destroyed), and then decided to replicate it themselves. However, alongside this we get a load of nonsense about a gay Hungarian art dealer and an investigative journalist snooping around. Also, the relationship between the two men is examined as it begins to fray, but since this isn't overly interesting, and neither of the actors can pull it off, it seems like a waste of time.
When we come to see the hoax being filmed it's a different story altogether. For 20 minutes or so, the film is hilarious, charming and incredibly entertaining. The supporting characters take over the scene with wonderful results, as brains fly off tables, people slip over in blood and the grandmother persists in offering refreshments to everyone involved. This is what the film should have been about, because elements here represent situational comedy of the finest order.
Alien Autopsy frustrates me more than anything else, because it could have been one of the most original British comedies in recent years. As it turns out, it's no more than a vehicle for two television presenters to launch film careers, with one fantastic scene stuck in the middle of it. In all fairness, it's not just their performances which harm the film, because it tries to appear as more than it really is and comes across as too serious and dreary.© David Mercier
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