Flying Saucers Meet ‘50s Bikers in the Absurdist Sci-Fi Comedy Alpha Gang
Riley Keough leads a committed cast in this slight, but strange, sci-fi comedy from the directors of Sasquatch Sunset.
Imagine trying to explain a fart joke to an alien. Why is it funny when a human expels air from their anus, especially when the buildup of said gas in the abdominal region can cause intense pain and discomfort? Alpha Gang is trying to figure this out. The latest feature from prankster brothers David and Nathan Zellner is about a group of aliens sent from goodness-knows-where to a war-torn pocket of what appears to be Communist Eastern Europe. Their mission is to conquer our planet, but the plan for how they’re going to do that is...less than clear. So, as the humans destroy themselves all around them, these visitors spend a lot of time contemplating the enigmas like the gastrointestinal mystery mentioned above.
The film thinks that this is all very funny, and stretches out its already-thin plot with dry comedic sequences where the members of the Alpha Gang muse on such questions as, “why do humans have names and not numbers?,” and “why are the lyrics to so many human songs about love?” Love, and emotions in general, are especially baffling to team leader Alpha One (Léa Seydoux), who calls feelings “the disease” and doesn’t understand why an organism would put its own survival at risk for such a fleeting sensation. The others, especially certified horndog Alpha Five (Doona Bae) and lonely heart Alpha Three (Kelvin Harrison, Jr), are more curious. And even Alpha One can’t deny her strange attachment to Alpha Two (Dave Bautista), with whom she shared a slow dance before the others showed up (beamed down, whatever).
None of this really relates to the plot, such as it is. It’s all window dressing — extremely stylish window dressing, but still. Instead of sci-fi thrills, the enjoyment here comes from appreciating the small details: The Alpha Gang’s medieval-style castle fortress. Their ‘50s-style biker wardrobes, topped with leather jackets whose squeaking is high in the sound mix. Musical numbers where the cast of extraterrestrials — which also includes Lily-Rose Depp, the first of the Alphas to give herself a name — sway to plaintive doo-wop and classic country numbers. The fact that they have their logo monogrammed onto everything.
Nathan and David Zellner with two of their cast members, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Lily-Rose Depp, at TIFF.
The costuming and production design in this movie are Wes Anderson-level specific, particularly the shift in period aesthetics when when Cate Blanchett and her sinister (and slightly more evolved) ‘70s-inspired Beta Gang enter the narrative later on. But the Zellners are a lot less finicky than Anderson, and their anarchic spirit and absurdist humor ensure that Alpha Gang remains a pleasant, if not particularly substantive, hang throughout. Eventually, we do get back around to the alien-invasion plot, but it comes in too late to really do much besides give this meandering movie an ending.
The Austin-based filmmaking duo’s last movie, Sasquatch Sunset, was similarly told from the outsider perspective of a family of Sasquatches bewildered by the encroachment of humans onto their wilderness territory. The star of that film, Riley Keough, returns here as Alpha Six, the newest member of the Alpha Gang; wearing a poodle skirt and tiny bangs that make her look like Kristen Stewart, Keough is as game here as she was in their last collaboration. The movie asks less of her, however, not just physically — Keough famously “gave birth” in a Bigfoot suit in Sasquatch Sunset — but emotionally as well.
The MVP of Alpha Gang is surprise seventh member Alpha Seven (Chris Pine), who shows up totally unexpectedly and gives the movie a comedic jolt with his unpredictable energy and committed physical performance. But while Pine’s goofy variation on the born-yesterday alien persona is fun, it’s not quite enough to overcome the inertia of the film’s slow first half, even when Pine drowns an aggressive local (played by co-director David Zellner) in an overflowing toilet. Yes, it all comes back to poops and farts, and all the other messy, embarrassing things that make us human. The fact that these are explored with alien-like detachment make this a lesser entry into the Zellners’ filmography. But if you dig their style of deadpan weirdness, Alpha Gang is still a flying saucer ride worth taking.
