My movie DVD viewing on 27 May 2021 was the docu-comedy movie Alien Autopsy, in which the extraordinary saga of the controversial Ray Santilli/Alien Autopsy footage was reconstructed.
Hitting the world's headlines in August 1995 when it was publicly screened globally on TV (click here to view it on YouTube; NB – age verification is required by Google), this silent b/w 17-minute footage allegedly constituted the filmed autopsy in 1947 at a secret American military base of a dead alien entity lately retrieved from a crashed spacecraft at Roswell, New Mexico. However, the footage was later revealed to be a hoax, or, as Santilli claimed in 2006, a staged recreation of some genuine footage from 1947 that he had viewed and purchased while visiting the USA in 1992, but which had subsequently deteriorated chemically to the point of becoming completely unwatchable.
Directed by Jonny Campbell, and released by Warner Bros Pictures in 2006, Alien Autopsy stars in their movie debuts those two Geordie rascals Ant (McPartlin) & Dec (Donnelly). If I'm honest, I wasn't expecting a great deal, as my own prior familiarity with this British TV duo's work as adults had tended to involve their reading off autocues and looking rather pleased with themselves, with Ant's default TV persona being the more adventurous, cheeky, outward-going member of the pair, and Dec's being the more reined-in, precise, uptight member.
Consequently, I was taken totally by surprise to discover that in this movie they completely reverse these tried and trusted roles, with Dec playing Santilli as an unshaven, risk-taking wide boy (in reality he is a TV and record producer) and Ant playing his law student friend and collaborator Gary Shoefield (in reality a TV producer) as a very cautious, punctiliously methodical, absolute non-risk-taker who is only very reluctantly drawn into the Alien Autopsy footage affair by Santilli. And what's more, it works!
Dec in particular is a revelation, totally believable in this wholly atypical role for him. So much so, in fact, that from now on, whenever I see him standing on the right of Ant on stage delivering some well-rehearsed lines from an off-camera 'idiot board' (as they call autocues in the States), I shall never not be able to see his stubble-faced wheeler-dealer Santilli alter ego lurking just beneath his clean-shaven face, ready at any moment to break through and regale Ant with another dodgy deal. Moreover, in a noteworthy departure from their TV partnership's normal alphabetically-ordered 'Ant & Dec' joint name, it was Dec by himself who received top billing in this movie's cast list – and rightly so (Ant received separate, second billing).
Just in case you're wondering how Ant & Dec came to make their film debuts in such an ostensibly unlikely, unusual vehicle for this event: back in the early 2000s, their manager had received a number of film scripts submitted for their consideration to star in, but none had attracted their interest, until the script for Alien Autopsy came their way. Dec in particular was very intrigued by it, because not only was it based upon a true story but also it included two male leads – and the rest, as they say, is history.
Alien Autopsy has to be one of the most pleasant movie surprises that I've experienced for a very long time, and albeit in a light-hearted vein it charts quite closely the remarkable real-life story of the Alien Autopsy footage. But above all else, it shows that Ant and (especially) Dec are capable of much more than their TV presenting roles would ever suggest. A great shame that they haven't invested more time in movies, because they clearly have the talent to do well not just on the small screen but also on the big one. Highly recommended!!
Worth noting is that the DVD of Alien Autopsy includes among its extras some deleted scenes, including one quite extensive section featuring a dramatic falling out, but subsequent reconciliation, by Shoefield with Santilli, conveyed very effectively by Ant & Dec. In my view, this thoroughly deserved to have been included in the movie, as indeed, for that matter, did most of the other deleted segments. Incidentally, the real Santilli and Shoefield actually make a 'blink and you'll miss them' cameo in Alien Autopsy – but I'll leave you to discover where!
If you'd like to get a taste of the remarkable role-reversals by Ant & Dec on display throughout Alien Autopsy, be sure to click here in order to view on YouTube a compilation video for this very engaging and thoroughly entertaining movie.
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Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly
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