Main Cast: MacKenzie Astin, Carmen Electra, Markus Redmond, Lucy Liu, Lisa Rotondi, David Hyde Pierce
Release Year: 1999
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
If aliens from another galaxy were to observe ordinary people as they look for love in contemporary America, what would they make of it? That is the premise of The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human, which takes the form of a documentary in which a camera crew from an alien civilization spies on a couple from Earth as they meet, fall in love, and navigate the bumpy road to matrimony, as a helpful narrator explains what's going on. The Male (Mackenzie Austin) encounters The Female (Carmen Electra) at The Sacred Meeting Ground (a nightclub in Los Angeles), and thus begins a long series of dates, conversations, sexual episodes, meetings of parents and friends, and finally marriage, as an expert (David Hyde Pierce) enlightens us as to what it all means. The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human was written and directed by Jeff Abugov, best known for his work in television on the series The Golden Girls, Roseanne, and Grace Under Fire; the supporting cast includes Lucy Liu, Markus Redmond, and Lisa Rontondi. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Sharon Wyatt - The Male's Mother; Jack Kehler - The Male's Father; Leo Rossi - The Female's Father
Credit
Sam Irvin - Associate Producer, Victor Ho - Co-producer, Kristin M. Burke - Costume Designer, Jeff Abugov - Director, Stephen Myers - Editor, Michael McCarty - Composer (Music Score), Helen Harwell - Production Designer, Michael K. Bucher - Cinematographer, Larry Estes - Producer, Jeff Abugov - Screenwriter
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. Among the themes explored is the possibility that, when describing their interpretation of other species' acts and feelings, humans may be getting everything wrong.
