Coneheads (movie)

''Coneheads'' is a 1993 American science-fiction comedy film from Paramount Pictures, produced by Lorne Michaels, directed by Steve Barron, and starring Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin and Michelle Burke. The film is based on the NBC '' Saturday Night Live'' comedy sketches about aliens stranded on Earth, who have Anglicized their Remulakian surname to "Conehead". Michelle Burke took over the role played by Laraine Newman on ''SNL''. The film also features roles and cameos by actors and comedians from ''SNL'' and other television series of the time.

Three years after the release of ''Coneheads'', screenwriters Bonnie & Terry Turner and star Jane Curtin revisited the premise of aliens arriving on Earth and assimilating into American society with the TV show ''3rd Rock from the Sun'', with Curtin instead playing a human character.

Plot

Upon discovering a UFO in American airspace, the National Guard sends fighter jets to investigate, who fire on the unresponsive craft and cause it to crash into the Atlantic Ocean, near Manhattan. The aliens from the planet Remulak aboard, Beldar Clorhone and his "genetomate" Prymaat, survive and quickly adapt to the human lifestyle, despite their conspicuous conical-shaped heads and metallic-sounding voices. Assigned by Highmaster Mintot to conquer Earth (a 'Protoid Re-fueling Station') as 'Fuel Survey Underlord of the Wilderness Planet at the end of the Noctolium Solar Chain', Beldar becomes an appliance repairman, and upon discovering his undocumented status, his boss Otto arranges for a false identity, which quickly alerts the INS. Meanwhile, after the couple discover from fellow Remulakian Marlax Zanthstrom that a rescue vessel will not arrive for seven "Zurls" (many years), Prymaat informs Beldar she is pregnant. Ambitious INS agent Gorman Sneedling and his assistant Eli Turnbull unsuccessfully attempt to capture the couple.

Months later, Beldar has become a respected taxi driver, and the couple live in his boss, Khoudri's basement. After their daughter Connie's birth, they buy a home and move to suburban Paramus, New Jersey, adopting the surname Conehead, where Beldar begins another new career as a driving instructor. Meanwhile, Gorman gets a promotion and decides to leave the Coneheads' case to his replacement, but the case's extreme expense forces him to ensure its closure.

The now-teenaged Connie simply wants to fit in with her peers, though her father greatly objects, especially when she begins seeing auto mechanic Ronnie Bradford. This causes tension between Connie and Beldar, who strongly disapproves of Ronnie, even tearing the roof off of his car and threatening to kill him after he tries to make love with Connie, which irritates her. Despite this, Ronnie and Connie reconcile after talking. Meanwhile, Beldar is preoccupied with winning a golfing trophy at his country club, while Prymaat becomes concerned about his attractiveness to her due to one of his driving students, Gladys Johnson, flirting with him.

Gorman and Eli track the Coneheads to their home, posing as Jehovah's Witnesses to enter. During the conversation, Prymaat discovers their communication device to Remulak is beeping and notifies Beldar that 'the Big Phone' has contacted him, causing him to promptly eject the two. He is then notified of their approaching rescue vessel.

At a costume party that night, Beldar wins the golfing trophy. After Connie is told of their imminent rescue, she returns home with Ronnie, where she almost consummates their relationship using her parents' "senso-rings". Beldar and Prymaat discover them, just as the INS arrives to arrest the Coneheads. Ronnie helps stall the INS while the rescue vessel arrives just in time, and Gorman and Eli are taken aboard with the Coneheads.

On Remulak, Beldar is welcomed home, presenting the Highmaster with various Earthly 'gifts', including Gorman and Eli as slaves. Initially satisfied with Beldar's accomplishments, Mintot notices that Beldar's teeth are capped (something Otto had advised Beldar to do to blend in), accuses him of treason and sentences him to fight the ferocious Garthok ("knarfle the Garthok"), greatly distressing Prymaat.

After the Garthok easily and gruesomely kills other criminals sentenced to fight it, Beldar uses his Earthly golfing skills to save himself, killing the creature. Afterwards, he requests to return to Earth to oversee its conquest, taking Gorman back with him as a minion. Mintot agrees and hires Eli as his personal assistant, who quickly acclimates to his new role. Departing for Earth with Prymaat, Connie, and Gorman in tow, Beldar soon prioritizes Connie's feelings over planetary conquest by quickly faking an Earth attack, ordering his invasion force to retreat and proceed to their secondary target in another part of the galaxy, while making it look like a superior weapon has destroyed his spaceship. For rescuing him, Gorman agrees to give the Coneheads Green Cards due to Beldar's marketable talent.

Ronnie arrives to take Connie to the prom. Beldar gives him 55 words of advice, and then uses a massive flash bulb arrangement on his home-built Polaroid camera to document the happy event. As Connie and a now-sunburned Ronnie depart, he and Prymaat review the oversized photo, saying, "Ah, memories. We will enjoy them".

Cast

*Dan Aykroyd as Beldar Clorhone (later Conehead) / Donald R. DeCicco
* Jane Curtin as Prymaat Clorhone (later Conehead) / Mary Margaret Rowney
*Michelle Burke as Conjaab "Connie" Clorhone/Conehead
**Danielle Aykroyd as 3 year old Connie
* Michael McKean as INS Deputy Commissioner Gorman Sneedling, the main antagonist of the film
* David Spade as INS Agent Eli Turnbull
* Chris Farley as Ronnie Bradford
* Sinbad as Otto
*Michael Richards as Arnold
* Eddie Griffin as Raymond
* Phil Hartman as Marlax Zanthstrom
*Adam Sandler as Carmine Weiner
*Mitchell Bobrow as Tanner
*Jason Alexander as Larry Farber
* Lisa Jane Persky as Lisa Farber
*Dave Thomas as Highmaster Mintot
*Laraine Newman as Laarta, Prymaat's sister, Marlax's wife and Connie's aunt
* Garrett Morris as Captain Orecruiser
* Drew Carey as Manny Manson
* Kevin Nealon as Kevin
* Jan Hooks as Gladys Johnson
* Parker Posey as Stephanie
* Joey Lauren Adams as Christina
*Julia Sweeney as Principal Eva Sweeney
* Ellen DeGeneres as Coach Rosa Scott
* Tim Meadows as Manny Jones
* Peter Aykroyd as Highmaster Mentot
* Jonathan Penner as Air Traffic captain
* Whip Hubley as F-16 pilot
*Mark Fulton (uncredited) as Toni
* Jon Lovitz (uncredited) as Dr. Rudolph, dentist
*Tom Arnold (uncredited) as Tommy

In addition to Jane Curtin appearing as a regular cast member, Jan Hooks, Phil Hartman, Julia Sweeney, Kevin Nealon, and Laraine Newman all appeared as guest stars on ''3rd Rock from the Sun'', which was created by ''Coneheads'' co-writers Bonnie & Terry Turner and featured a similar premise of aliens making efforts to assimilate into American society. Additionally, co-writer Terry Turner cameos in the film as the sketch artist that Seedling describes Beldar to. Dan Aykroyd's real life daughter Danielle and brother Peter appear as 3-year-old Connie and Highmaster Mentot respectively.

Production

Tom Davis, who created the characters on ''Saturday Night Live'', wrote the first version of the screenplay. He was unhappy with choices made by the producers, including setting the Remulak scenes in a gladiators' arena, rather than the suburban environment that he envisioned.

While there are some differences, ''Coneheads'' mostly follows the same plot as in the animated special that was created ten years earlier. Similarities include the Coneheads being stranded on Earth, Beldar working as an appliance repair man, and Connie dating an earthling named Ronnie.

The film mostly takes place in Paramus, New Jersey. Some scenes were filmed in New York City and the New Jersey towns of Jersey City

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