What Planet Are You From

"What Planet Are You From?" stars and was co-written and co-produced by Garry Shandling, who probably wouldn't be anyone's likely choice as a successor to Woody Allen's legacy. Yet this comedy is as close as anyone's gotten lately to evoking the spirit of Allen's earliest, funniest films.

In particular, this slapstick farce harkens back to "Sleeper" and "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)."

And that's meant to be a warning as much as a recommendation — at times this film is so dirty-minded that it will probably turn off some of the audience. But the crudity and vulgarity of the material is balanced by the characters' genuine warmth and the film's loopy charm.

The results aren't perfect, but this is certainly the funniest — and smartest — comedy to be released in awhile.

Shandling plays Harold, an Arizona loan officer looking to pass on his genetics by procreating. The catch is, he's actually an extraterrestrial who's come to Earth as part of a galactic conquest scheme.

With help and encouragement from his sleazy co-worker Perry (Greg Kinnear), Harold seems to have found the right person in Susan (Annette Bening), a recovering alcoholic and relationship-dependence junkie who only has one stipulation for their romance — that she won't have sex with him until they're married. To her surprise, Harold agrees, and soon Susan is pregnant.

But complications arise when Harold starts feeling genuine affection for his terrestrial spouse. And to make matters worse, an FAA investigator (John Goodman) apparently discovers his secret.

Though some of the film's success can be attributed to Shandling's good-for-what-it-is performance, credit also has to go to director Mike Nichols ("Primary Colors," "The Graduate"), who never forces the zaniness.

Bening, in particular, benefits from the relaxed atmosphere, resulting in a sweet, appealing performance. And when Shandling's not getting the biggest laughs, Goodman and Kinnear fight for the comic scraps he leaves behind.

"What Planet Are You From?" is rated R for crude, sexual humor, simulated sex, profanity, male partial and female nudity and violence.