Meet Dave

An odd stranger in New York (Eddie Murphy) seems to be from another planet—and in fact, he is. Only he’s not a person, he’s a humanoid ship; the real aliens are inside: a tiny captain (Murphy again), second officer (Gabrielle Union) and full crew. Here on a secret mission for their home planet, they get sidetracked into a budding friendship between the “ship” and a young widowed mother (Elizabeth Banks). Rob Greenberg and Bill Corbett’s script is just an overblown skit with a moderately clever premise, a lot of cornball gags and a wandering third act, and Brian Robbins’ slapdash direction doesn’t really pull things together (Robbins may well have been more concerned with staying out of Murphy’s way). Still, it’s pleasant and likeable, and certainly a step up from Norbit for both Murphy and Robbins.