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With: Ben Kingsley, Harriet Sansom Harris, Zoe Winters, Jane Curtin, Jade Quon, Anna George, Donald Paul, Cody Kostro, Eric T. Miller, Blair Baker, Lee R. Sellars, Teddy Cañez, Christopher Kelly, Jeff Kim, Aubie Merrylees, Joshua Moore
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Written by: Gavin Steckler
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Directed by: Marc Turtletaub
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 for strong language
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Running Time: 87
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Date: 08/11/2023
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Alien Azaleas
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
It's a trifle, feather-light and visually unremarkable, but the fantasy/comedy Jules, about seniors and aliens, friendship and family, is nonetheless a pure delight, sweet, funny, and irresistibly huggable.
Seventy-eight-year-old Milton (Ben Kingsley) lives by himself in the quiet town of Boonton, Pennsylvania. He passes the time attending city council meetings and trying to get the town's slogan changed. His daughter Denise (Zoe Winters) worries about him and thinks that dementia might be setting in. One day an alien ship crashes in Milton's backyard. He invites the creature in, names it Jules (Jade Quon), and feeds it a steady diet of apples.
At first he tries to tell people what happened, but no one believes him. Nosy neighbors Sandy (Harriet Sansom Harris) and Joyce (Jane Curtin) discover Jules's presence and urge Milton to try to keep him a secret. As the trio spends more time with the alien, helping it gather fuel for the ship, they find their friendships deepening.
Directed by Marc Turtletaub, a longtime producer of many excellent indie films (Little Miss Sunshine, Loving, The Farewell, etc.), Jules has an immediate disarming quality, perhaps due to the cozy small-town setting, or perhaps due to the high-quality performances. Kingsley is not necessarily known for his comedy chops, but he's very funny here, quite deadpan in fact, as he explains why the town logo "a great place to call home" is confusing because it sounds like it could be referring to a phone call.
Curtin is also hilarious, perhaps the funniest she's been since her Saturday Night Live days, ruminating about her time in the big city and belting out a version of "Free Bird" for no particular reason. Harriet Sansom Harris, best known for stage and TV work (but who thoroughly stole her scene in Licorice Pizza), is wonderfully subtle. And Jade Quon, a 4'11" stuntwoman, is utterly awe-inspiring as the alien. Her movements, full of wonder and curiosity, are practically poetic. The trajectory of Jules — the characters arguing, sharing adventures, and eventually becoming friends — isn't particularly surprising, but it gets there with spaced-out ease.
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