Everyday Mom

Hmmm. . . Martian Child, might we be talking about one of mine?  Well no not really, but I can fully identify with David (John Cusack) in this wonderful romantic drama based on an award-winning short story by David Gerrold.  We took our kids to a free movie night at a new theater that just opened at a local mall.  This was the only show not sold out.  Lucky for us, we had already decided that it was the best of the choices for us as a family.  So, we weren’t disappointed.  After seeing the film, we truly were not disappointed. 

 It was a wonderful film that really touched me as a parent.  John Cusack plays David a science fiction author who just lost his wife.  He dearly loved his wife and is lost without her in his life.  One of their dreams together was to have children.  With the help of his wife’s best friend, Harlee played by Amanda Peet, he decides to adopt.  Sophie (Sophi Okonedo) is a social worker who recommends that David adopt Dennis (Bobby Coleman), a little boy at her shelter who believes that he is from Mars.  She knows that David could identify with him given his own backward childhood and knowledge of the things that currently interest Dennis.  Upon arriving at the shelter to meet Dennis, he finds him living in a box, afraid of what he might encounter here on Earth.  David quickly bonds to Dennis and begins to really consider his ability to be a good parent.  After varied advice from his agent and his sister, played by his real-life sister, Joan Cusack, he decides to give it a try. 

 Dennis has a lot of issues that stem from being left as a child.  He claims to be from Mars as a way to cope with the situation.  David balances allowing Dennis to be himself with teaching him to embrace the world around him, trust in others, and love again.  At the same time, David is learning to love again as well.  He and Harlee begin to fall in love with Dennis and with eachother. 

 I was touched by this story especially as a parent.  We all struggle to allow our children to be who they are while we teach them to adapt to the world around them.  Sometimes they all seem like beings from another planet with thoughts and actions that we as adults do not understand.  At each stage in their lives, they feel like they don’t fit in.  They feel foreign.  All of us should surround them with acceptance and love that will help them be extraordinary while keeping their feet here on Earth. 

 This is a great family film.  I would recommond that parents and children see it together.  It will remind you that we are all alien in our own way.  Even this everyday mom wonders from time to time which planet these children of hers came from!