US President James Dale (Jack Nicholson) and his Press Secretary Jerry Ross (Martin Short) discover there is an army of Martian flying saucers hovering around Earth. Professor Donald Kessler (Pierce Brosnan) believes the aliens are peaceful, although General Decker (Rod Steiger) warns they may be a threat. A welcome committee is prepared for the aliens, but suddenly the Martians attack with their powerful weapons to destroy the entire US Congress.
(watching an alien on TV)
First Lady: I'm not allowing that thing in my house.
President: Sweetie, we may have to. The people expect me to meet with them.
First Lady: Well they're not going to eat off the Van Buren china.
(later)
President: What do you think, Marcia?
First Lady: Kick the crap out of 'em.
Art Land (Jack Nicholson again), a cowboy Las Vegas real-estate developer wants to cash in on the invasion, but the Martians soon attack Vegas. His wife Barbara Land (Annette Bening), TV hostess Nathalie Lake (Sara Jessica Parker), and Kansas teenager Richie Norris (Lukas Haas) are excited by the invaders. First Lady Marsha Dale (Glenn Close) and daughter Taffy (Natalie Portland) don't really care.
Martian Translator Device: All green of skin... 800 centuries ago, their bodily fluids include the birth of half-breeds. For the fundamental truth self-determination of the cosmos, for dark is the suede that mows like a harvest.
General Decker: What the hell does that mean?
The Martians want to destroy Earth just for the fun of it. They enjoy killing people and they pose for photos in front of buildings before blowing them up. The green bubble-headed aliens chase people and kill them while their electronic translator says, "Don't run, we are your friends". All they say is, "Ack-ack!". They like Tom Jones so much they join his back up singers. The song "It's Not Unusual" is prominently featured. Fortunately they are ultimately destroyed by Slim Whitman's "Indian Love Call" song, with it's incomparable falsetto.
MARS ATTACKS! is an epic spoof of 1950's alien invasion movies with a retro attitude. It's loosely based on a "Topp's" 1960's bubble gum trading card series. The excellent special effects are over-the-top, unpolished, and sometimes deliberately cheesy--perfect for the movie. There's not much of a plot, just an immensely entertaining roller-coaster ride with many sight gags of Hollywood stars being tortured or killed by giggling invaders.
The cast also includes: Danny DeVito (gambler), Michael J. Fox (Jason Stone), Tom Jones (himself), Jim Brown (Byron Williams), Pam Grier (Loise Williams), Lisa Marie (Martian girl), Brian Haley (Mitch), Syvia Sidney (Florence Norris), Ray J (Cedric Williams), Paul Winfield (General Casey), Brandon Hammond (Neville Williams), Jerzy Skolimowski (Dr. Zeigler), Janice Rivera (Cindy), O-Lan Jones (Sue Ann Norris), Christina Applegate (Sharona), Barbet Schroeder (Maurice), Chi Hoang Cai (Mr. Lee), Vinny Argiro (Mr. Brian), and many others, including a cameo by Godzilla.
The trading card series was written by Len Brown, Woody Gelman, Wally Wood, Bob Powell, and Norman Saunders. The screen story and script are by Jonathan Gems. Music is by prolific Danny Elfman and is suitably creepy. Tim Burton produced and directed.
Unfortunately, MARS ATTACKS! was a disappointment at the box office, possibly because Tim Burton is not very popular for some inexplicable reason. With a budget of $80 million it grossed over $100 million. INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996) is essentially the same story and was released the same year. It was a box-office smash hit, even though it's mostly a boring soap opera with a few scenes of alien space craft and some good visual effects. MARS ATTACKS! is a better movie.
