Lorelai Wilcox
In August 2023, the movie “Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out” released on streaming. I discovered this movie about a week ago, and I wish I had known about it sooner. Not only does this film fall into the science fiction genre, but it mixes in classic comedy and coming-of-age elements. The best thing about this movie is how it seamlessly blends serious themes with fun, quirky characters.
The movie begins with one of the main characters, Calvin (Jacob Buster) witnessing what appears to be his parents’ abduction by aliens. He is stargazing, with his father (Will Forte), waiting for Jesper’s Comet to appear. Then, Calvin’s dad leaves to check out a strange car in their driveway. While he is gone, Calvin sees the comet fly across the sky. Immediately after, Calvin hears his dad shouting his name; he rushes downstairs, but both of his parents are gone.
Ten years later, Itsy (Emma Tremblay) and her family make the move from New York to the tiny town of Pebble Falls. While the rest of her family is happy, Itsy is not. She is upset about leaving her friends, life, and journalistic aspirations behind her in New York City. And Itsy is willing to do almost anything to get out of Pebble Falls.
On her first day at her new school, Isty runs into Heather (Landry Townsend), who offers Isty everything she is looking for. Heather claims that if Itsy works with her to write about the weirdest thing in Pebble Falls, they can win a place at a summer writing program in New York City. The only catch is that it isn’t a what that Itsy has to research, but a who: Calvin Kibler.
Itsy has already met Calvin, and to say those interactions were weird would be an understatement, but Itsy is determined to find a way back to New York. Slowly, Itsy works her way into Calvin’s life, but things get complicated when Calvin admits that he honestly believes that his parents were abducted by aliens. He tells her the key to seeing them is the return of Jesper’s Comet, which is happening in forty-one days. And when they return, he intends to go with them. Itsy begins to realize that this is more than a sensational news story: this is a kid who lost his parents ten years ago and is still trying to find them.
Despite her reservations, Itsy commits to spending even more time with Calvin. He thinks Itsy is helping him prepare for the comet’s return, but in reality she is still working on her story. Despite herself, Itsy is impressed by how much research Calvin has done and how intelligent he is. Slowly, the two began to form a genuine relationship.
Itsy knows that Calvin’s parents were not really abducted by aliens, despite the proof that Calvin shows her. He even gives her photos from the night his parents were abducted that he never had the chance to develop. Itsy promises to develop them for him, even though she knows his parents were not abducted by aliens. She believes that Calvin deserves to know what really happened to his parents, so she takes him on a road trip the week Jesper’s Comet is set to return. Their final destination is a diner, where Calvin’s mother is working.
What follows is one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the whole movie. This scene is a moment of both growth and transformation for Itsy and Calvin.
When Calvin realizes his mother is alive but abandoned him without saying goodbye, all he wants is an explanation. His mother says, “I was just so desperate to get out of that little town … I was willing to give up anything.” This hits Itsy hard, and she realizes she has been so set on getting out of Pebble Falls that she was willing to sacrifice her relationship with Calvin. After this she tries to tell him the truth about the article she has been writing with Heather, but Calvin is too distracted to give her the chance to explain. His deep belief that aliens abducted his parents has been shattered.
The next day things go downhill quickly. When Itsy goes back to school, she realizes that Heather chose to publish the article behind her back and Calvin has read it.
After school, she runs to Calvin’s workshop, but he is gone. Devastated, Itsy goes back home, not knowing where he is. With nothing left to do, and no way to salvage their shattered relationship, Itsy begins looking through the photos she took with Calvin. In the one she promised to develop for Calvin, the one from the night his parents disappeared, she sees a UFO.
She rushes to find Calvin, not wanting him to miss the return of Jesper’s Comet. When she finds him, he is ready to give up and confesses that he has spent too much time thinking about leaving, rather than what would happen if he stayed. When Calvin’s dad appears on a UFO, Calvin decides to stay with Itsy. The two officially become boyfriend and girlfriend.
Both characters realize that leaving is not the solution to their problems. Their ability to live an amazing life is about who they are with, not where they are.
The relationship between the two main characters, the theme of this story, and all the funny, cute interactions in the script are all things that make this film fantastic. Some films struggle with overly preachy or ambiguous themes, but this film took it out of this world.
To be fair, I do have a few critiques of this film. Firstly, about halfway through the movie, the pace was very slow. It felt like things could have happened much faster in the middle of the movie. I love good character development, but even I felt a little impatient. The pacing fortunately does pick up during the last forty minutes of the film. Secondly, there were some scenes where the humor did not work. For example, early on Ity’s brother falls through the roof of the family’s new house. It is meant to be funny, but it just seemed weird and made Itsy’s family dynamic confusing.
All in all this was a well-told story with good acting, fun characters, and a satisfying ending. If you are interested in watching it yourself, it is currently free on Pluto TV. My rating is 7.5/10 stars.