Phenomenon (1996)

Directed by Jon Turteltaub. Starring John Travolta, Kyra Sedgwick, Forest Whitaker, Robert Duvall, Jeffrey DeMunn, Sean O’Bryan, Michael Milhoan, Troy Evans, Tony Genaro, Richard Kiley, Bruce A. Young, Elisabeth Nunziato, Brent Spiner. [PG]

One night, amiable small-town mechanic Travolta sees a strange light in the sky that apparently transforms him into a telekinetic empath and genius, but is it a gift or a curse? Hokey, sweet-natured fable is gentle, sheltered and romantic—and far too dumb and contented for a movie about a person displaying super-intelligence and supernatural powers—but still fairly likable thanks to the appeal of the performers. Then the story takes an unfortunate turn in the last third that leads to a series of ill-conceived scenes of castigation and weepy pablum; as the local doc, Duvall is solid as a rock most the way, but even he can’t avoid embarrassment towards the end with his barroom rant and the line, “Now I know why you guys wear masks.” Interesting “Flowers for Algernon”-esque concept wasted by the filmmakers’ disinterest in pursuing the material in clever, unique or ambitious ways.

46/100