After Wayne’s World became a surprise hit in 1992, Saturday Night Live skits became all the rage in Hollywood for the next decade. Sometimes it gave us A Night at the Roxbury and other times it gave us It’s Pat: The Movie. And it also gave us Coneheads in 1993.

Like any Dan Aykroyd-written film, it’s incredibly ambitious and filled to the brim with interesting characters and situations. I’m not here to say that it’s the funniest film ever made or even the best Dan Aykroyd film. But it’s definitely worth a watch for the following reasons.

Numerous Cameos by Comedic Actors

So many famous comedians are in this movie, and they play their roles extremely straight. Michael Richards, Eddie Griffin, Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Adam Sandler, Jon Lovitz, Drew Carey, Jason Alexander, Parker Posey, Kevin Nealon, Julia Sweeney, Ellen DeGeneres, and Tim Meadows all make brief appearances.

None of these actors call attention to themselves, which makes their appearances that much funnier and more surprising. It’s the fact that they’re in this movie at all that inspires awe and appreciation for such a wonderful cast this movie managed to assemble. It’s a time capsule of famous faces. The whole movie can be spent saying, “Hey, I know that guy!”

The First Chris Farley/David Spade Collaboration

Speaking of famous faces, Coneheads was the first film starring both Chris Farley and David Spade. Two years before they created the film everyone loves, Tommy Boy, they found themselves in supporting roles in Coneheads. They never actually share the screen, but it’s fun to see them in this film, nonetheless, knowing what they would go on to do together.

Funny Jokes

Seeing obviously strange-looking aliens claim to be from France, speak in a flat monotone all the time, and use vocabularies far beyond regular parlance to convey the most basic ideas is already quite funny. What elevates the comedy of Coneheads is the social commentary.

A story of aliens living among us could easily be done in a serious or even scary manner. Coneheads turns this concept on its head by showing how a couple of stranded aliens do their best to blend into both urban and suburban America. Their efforts yield all kinds of humorous circumstances.

The only thing I wish the film had done was allow its jokes a few more moments to breathe. Especially at the start of the film, there’s little chance to process a joke before it moves on to another gag. Thankfully, the movie finds its footing a lot better after the Coneheads start raising their daughter.

Serious Themes

Isn’t it intriguing how many serious topics this movie is willing to at least broach? Marital fidelity, teenage romance, enforcement of the law, religious discussions, and illegal immigration are all on the table, even if they’re generally touched on lightly or even comedically.

I applaud this movie for having the gumption to do this. Several years before Men in Black took illegal aliens to a whole new level, Coneheads first introduced the concept with plenty of wit. Beldar and Prymatt Conehead come to Earth as a young couple, and they accidentally begin their family on this planet instead of on their homeworld of Remulak. There’s a lot of meaty drama to be mined from that concept, along with the fact that they are illegal aliens to the United States pursued by overzealous government bureaucrats.

Faithful Husband and Wife

The thing I like best about Beldar and Prymatt’s relationship is that their faithfulness to each other is tested in unique ways. Beldar is tempted by an Earth woman, but he proves himself to be an honorable “man” by staying true to his wife. And his wife fears that she’s not appealing enough to her husband, so she makes an extraordinary effort to make him see that she still loves him after so many years of marriage.

There’s something wonderful about seeing a strong marriage depicted in a mainstream movie. A faithful husband and wife are not exactly the most common things we see in modern films, so it’s nice to watch how this kind of story can still be dramatic and something worth showing.

The Daughter’s Story

Connie Conehead (of course her parents would give her an Earthling name that sounds like something they’re familiar with) is quite possibly the best part of the movie. She’s the audience’s perspective on the absurdities going on.

She is a child of two worlds. Her parents may have raised her to be a certain way, and she feels a natural pull to the more alien side of her life. But she’s also surrounded by human friends and a world that is giving her a completely different view of life. We, too, have spent the first part of the film with the Coneheads, but we’re also familiar with how the real world works.

Seeing how Connie navigates young love, sports, teenage girl friends, and other aspects of Earth life is fascinating, as is her sudden removal from that world and introduction to Remulak. The smartest thing this movie does is hold back on its reveal of Remulak until the end of the film so that the audience sees it the same way Connie does: a brutal world full of monsters and darkness. Quite a contrast from the sunny, friendly world she’s used to.

Watching a child born to illegal immigrants reintroduced to her ancestral home she’s unfamiliar with adds another layer of depth to that serious theme. Her first encounter with her homeworld makes her pine even more for the only home she’s ever known on Earth. And Beldar finds a way to give her what she wants because he loves her like any Earth father would.

Not a Mean Bone in Its Body

A lot of comedies today come across to me as mean-spirited. There’s not a lot of charity shown. Instead, we’re supposed to laugh at people in uncomfortable situations. Coneheads is a fish-out-of-water type of comedy, which means it has plenty of opportunities to have characters point and laugh at the oddities of Beldar, Prymatt, and Connie. But almost no one ever does.

The most astonishing thing about Coneheads is how kind everyone is to the titular family. Beldar’s employers praise his work ethic. His neighbors are actually respectful and grateful to be so close to him and his wife. A young man is romantically interested in Connie in spite of her being taller than him, as he puts it. Sure, they notice the Coneheads’ most obvious feature, but they’re polite enough to not say anything rude about it. The one exception of a rude golfer punctuates how nice and thoughtful everyone else is, and it serves to reinforce that personal insults have no place in this movie. Everyone who gets to know Beldar loves him.

It’s so refreshing to watch Coneheads and enjoy how wholesome it feels. There’s none of the usual tropes of mean bosses, coaches, neighbors, or anything like that in this film. Even in the one scene that skirts the line where Beldar goes into a communal shower, none of the men who see his bizarre anatomy comment on it, though they do give him some concerned looks. That comes across more as fish-out-of-water humor than anything overtly mean.

A Worthwhile Comedy

I recommend checking out Coneheads. It’s got a lot of heart, the story and themes are pretty solid, the characters are interesting, many of the jokes land, and it feels like a return to simpler times. If you want to see a movie where the aliens are French, they consume mass quantities of food with ease, and they sleep standing up, you won’t be disappointed by Coneheads.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

All images are the copyright of their owner.

Want to Support the Deja Reviewer?

If you’d like to support the Deja Reviewer, please consider donating a few dollars to keep this site going strong. I’ll even send you an original joke if you do! Try it, and prepare to enjoy a good chuckle.

$5.00