Today on Classic Science Fiction comedies: Evolution (2001) movie review

A classic that belongs in a Tiny Science Fiction Comedy Hall of Fame consisting of three movies

April 21, 2025

Where watched: On the big screen (don’t hate me cause I’m old)

Categorization: Science Fiction

Non-spoiler review: An alien menace comes to earth and underqualified scientists are the heroes who need to stop it.

Back in 2001, Evolution came out about the same time as the Pearl Harbor movie. I remember going to the theatres to watch Evolution one weekend with my family, and then Pearl Harbor the next weekend. After the credits started rolling on Pearl Harbor, I distinctly remember my dad getting up from his seat and whispering to me “we should have just watched Evolution again”. For years after it became a recurring joke in my family; if we watched a movie that was too long, boring, or serious, one of us would complain that we should have just watched Evolution again. My family rewatched Evolution several times over the years (it came out on HBO) and it remains a favorite for a rather shallow reason - it is just so darn fun to watch.

But is this reason really as shallow as it seems? How many Science Fiction comedies can you say are truly just fun to watch?

Evolution might be an unapologetic comedy, but it perfectly hits what I have said time and time again is the essential core of Science Fiction, in that it is both believable and relatable. I mean, what are the odds that aliens arriving on earth are going to be met by earth’s brightest and bravest? This movie got the premise just right – that is, if and when aliens come to earth, they are more likely than not to be met by the below-average joe who will go straight to his local science teacher for wisdom and backup – and no end of shenanigans will consequently ensue.

And now for the elder goblin gripe you have been waiting for – I simply cannot remember the last time that a Sci Fi movie this clever and funny came out, and this movie came out more than twenty years ago (I feel my hair slowly turning white as I write this). I would welcome any recommendations, but the only other Sci Fi comedy I enjoyed which was as funny and smart as this one is Galaxy Quest. Unlike the vast majority of what passes for Comedy nowadays, these two movies are funny without trying to be and without having to resort to cheap sex, slapstick, or nonsensical jokes. I do hear that Comedy is the hardest genre to write, but come on, two movies in 30 years or so? I mean, I knew that the modern day is currently experiencing a winter of sorts of good romantic comedies (The Valet being the last recent one I truly enjoyed) – I only just realized that for Sci Fi comedies, we are going through something more akin to mass extinction event.

Is it because Science Fiction is no longer sexy these days? But people have managed to make quite good, “serious” Sci Fi movies and series in recent years, like Dune and Black Mirror and I guess to an extent that I am sort of already bored with, Star Wars, so I guess that can’t be true. So what is it about Science Fiction comedies that have defied the ability and oodles of money of HoIlywood and the streaming giants?  I mean, I may be wrong, but I always thought comedies did better in the box office because they appeal to all ages. I am really racking my brain here, but I cannot for the life of me recall any attempt, even, at a funny Sci Fi movie in the last decade. The closest I can think of was Ready Player One, but that only had a few funny moments (which, to be fair, were quite good), and was not a comedy per se.

Oh, maybe the Guardians of the Galaxy, actually? I did enjoy the first one that came out a few years ago…  (quick Google) oh Dear Lord, that came out more than 10 years ago now. Well, that was fine, and I only watched the first one. Perhaps it’s time for me to do a rewatch and see if it and its sequel belong in what is now looking to be a very small Hall of Fame of Sci Fi Comedies.

(Another quick Google and scroll through IMDB) – OKAY – having refused to believe that there were only two good Sci Fi Comedies ever made in history, Google yielded another VERY OLD, classic -  Men In Black. Fine, that one is very good, but to my point, that one is even OLDER than Evolution, having come out in 1997, apparently (sulkily glares at Google result onscreen). Its sequel is not memorable so it can’t go into the Hall of Fame.

And I am looking at some of these lists on Google and am absolutely scandalized that some people consider Everything Everywhere All At Once one of the best Sci Fi movies ever made, not to mention call it a comedy. For me, this movie was completely unwatchable and unrelatable, and it didn’t make me laugh once (and not for lack of trying). How many times do I have to say it? Sci Fi concepts are to tell a relatable story about humanity, not just to make a movie about Sci Fi concepts. The last thing I remember about that movie was a guy doing a butt plug thing to transport to another dimension or something equally stupid and pointless -  I couldn’t and didn’t even finish it after seeing that. I don’t think any true lover of Science Fiction could. It is a mockery of a genre created by some of the greatest and most brilliant writers in history. The Sci Fi Hall of Fame comedies I describe here (I might as well write them ALL down as there are only THREE - Evolution, Galaxy Quest, and Men In Black) do not mock the genre, they celebrate it by channeling universally-loved Sci Fi concepts into unique and generally relatable stories of adventure and humor. They don’t just marvel over how clever they are that they managed to visually translate some shallow aspects of science fiction onto a screen, without any point to them.

(Reluctant caveat to the above denunciation of Everything Everywhere All At Once – it is possible that there is something I don’t understand about this movie or that does not translate properly to certain people of a particular generation. A 25-year old daughter of a friend (a Gen-Z-er, if you will) told me she loved this movie, and I respect her opinion as she is as clever and accomplished as they come. That said, she does spend her free time doing things that I don’t pretend to understand, like voluntarily teaching spinning classes.)

So here I am again, just a grumpy elder goblin forced to write another love letter to the powers that be in Hollywood or Netflix – Science Fiction comedies are not going to make themselves. I’ve had enough of the Marvel movies, could we possibly channel about ¼ of the budget it would take to make one of those into some clever and original Sci Fi that is relatable and doesn’t take itself too seriously? I realize this is a tall order, as it will take some above-average clever and original writers to make this happen, but seeing as there is an absolute dearth of movies or series in this genre in recent decades, it may stand out from the usual muck-a-muck that is out there, and therefore do well at the box office or streaming office or whatever you call it.