The Mating Habits of The Earthbound Human

– David Hyde Pierce, playing an alien (credited as infinity-cubed in the opening credits), narrates a ..

Type:
Movie
Rating:
6.40 / 10
Duration:
One Hour and 28 Minutes
Release Year:
1999
The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human (1999)

David Hyde Pierce, playing an alien (credited as infinity-cubed in the opening credits), narrates a courtship in a late-20th century American city as an extraterrestrial nature documentary. The relationship "footage" is played straight, while the voice-over (with its most often wildly inaccurate theories) and elaborate visual metaphors add comedy.

Story Timeline:
Producing Country:
USA
Filming Locations:
Genre:
Editor's Pick for:
Release Date:

03 Sep 1999

Language:

English

MPAA Content-Rating:
R – Restricted

Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. Contains some adult material. Parents are urged to learn more about the film before taking their young children with them.

Director:

Jeff Abugov

Writer:

Jeff Abugov

Main Actors:

David Hyde Pierce, Mackenzie Astin, Carmen Electra, Markus Redmond

Plot:

An anthropologist from an alien planet provides voice-over commentary for a documentary look at human courtship, mating, and reproduction: "complex, perverse, tragically beautiful: the earthbound human." The commentary gets some of the details comically wrong (explaining the slap on a newborn's back: "they don't like the looks of the child so they beat it"), but gets right the overall idea. We follow Billy and Jenny from their meeting at a club, initial misunderstandings, his losing her phone number, finally connecting, walks on the beach, soulful talks, meeting each other's parents, friends' advice, and the gradual taking of the relationship to new levels.

Production:

Earthbound Human Productions

Ratings:
Internet Movie Database:
6.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes:
33%
Metacritic:
26%