Wizard-8
It took the producers of "Uforia" five years before they could find a distributor willing to release it. My guess is that distributors couldn't think of an easy way to market a movie that is very unconventional and doesn't follow an easy-to-report formula. This is a character-based movie, not really one with a substantial plot, but don't let that discourage you from giving the movie a try. The characters are not only all likable, they all have various quirks that make them interesting to watch talking and interacting with each other. As a bonus, the movie has a great country and western soundtrack (and I normally dislike that music genre!) The only real flaw the movie has is the very ending, which seems out of place for a movie that otherwise focuses on characters. But despite that ending, this movie is a gem well worth your time.
moonspinner55
Supermarket cashier in a tiny town outside of Las Vegas believes a U.F.O. is coming soon to take on passengers, and that her role is to spread the word about an intergalactic Noah's Ark. Writer-director John Binder has a very nice feel for desert border towns littered with gas stations and fast food stops but, by taking on so much responsibility behind the camera, his movie comes up short (he obviously could've used some help). Playing this breathless, starry-eyed working gal, Cindy Williams is very appealing; despite some artificial affectations (probably picked up from television), Williams knows how to play for laughs yet also seem sincere about it. She also has a beautiful moment while riding in the car with drifter/boyfriend Fred Ward, excellent as usual. The last reel is squashed and incoherent, but until then this is a pleasantly eccentric outing with no mean agenda other than to provide some quirky fun. **1/2 from ****
Jason Forestein
UFOria is among the strangest films I've ever encountered, but, frankly, I'm better for knowing it. Like True Stories, Raising Arizona, or Repo Man, it occupies that uncategorizable category of films that appeared during the 1980s--a little surreal, a little funny, and a little confusing. Of course, it's also a little great. Plot? I'm not entirely sure it's important to point out what the film's three characters accomplish (not much), but it is important to point them out: Arlene, a woman who dreams of flying saucers and awaits their arrival, Brother Bud, a con artist, and Sheldon, a good old boy. There is a story, and it's bizarre, but those three individuals (emphasis on that word) are the film's sole purpose. As much as anything can be, UFOria is a character study. And what does one need for a character study? Great actors. Fortunately, UFOria has them in spades. Cindy Williams is perfect as Arlene, so hopeful and faithful, and Fred Ward is great as Sheldon. For those that have seen Tremors, please know that that performance was simply a reprise of this one. Finally, we come to that master of American cinematic acting--Harry Dean Stanton. I could warble endlessly about his virtues and world-weary visage. I won't wax poetic. As he does in virtually every movie he appears, Harry knocks your socks off and makes you happy to watch him work. UFOria is not for every taste; it's completely off its rocker, but it's worth it if you can let yourself go. Fans of those aforementioned masterpieces of the 1980s should enjoy this little movie tremendously, if they can find it.
jim-600
I haven't seen this gem in years, which is my loss. I came to IMDB hoping to see that it was out on DVD. Alas, no. The characters are funny and quirky (not Hollywood phony-quirky) and the story unfolds organically. Having grown up in the 1960s, there were moments that made me laugh out loud in recognition.Two in particular: Toby (Darrell Larson) a wide-eyed hippie-innocent and his wife are cuddling their newborn son. Toby asks her "Do you think JesusKrishnaBuddha is too heavy a name for him?" Later, when supermarket checker Cindy Williams asks him if he believes in flying saucers. He replies, with a beatific smile, "I believe in everything." It's a great companion line to the hippie in Louis Malle's "Atlantic City," who is cautioned to buckle her seatbelt on the airplane and replies sincerely, "Oh, I don't believe in gravity."