Movies in Brief: 'Meet Dave'

The scorecard for "Meet Dave" is promising for Eddie Murphy: He plays only two roles, the fat-suit poundage is zero, and there's only one wearying stereotype. After the aggressive obnoxiousness of "Norbit," Mr. Murphy scales back and tones down with a mild family confection brightened by his adroit physical comedy and an ambitious if underdeveloped premise. "Dave" is a man-shaped ship (Mr. Murphy) from outer space; a Lilliputian crew, led by its upstanding captain (Mr. Murphy again), pilots from inside. The aliens, as reasonable as Vulcans, seek a lost baseball-size meteorite that was last owned by a curly-haired moppet named Josh (Austyn Myers) in New York.

Following the time-honored formula, Dave is the fish, and the city is the place that is not water. Clad in a "Saturday Night Fever" disco suit, he struggles at first with walking, talking, and emoting like the natives. Spending time with Josh's war-widowed mother, Gina (Elizabeth Banks), humanizes him, as well as his internal crew members, who start to break out of their own molds. As Dave sticks around on Earth to feel out this thing called love, a cop (Scott Caan) begins to suspect him; meanwhile, inside Dave, the captain's control freak co-pilot (Ed Helms) stews.

Mr. Murphy is at his best when tackling Dave's rocky adaptation to human movement and social niceties. His staggered timing and the dementedly intense gaze of his unblinking eyes demonstrate superb technique, and they're reliably funny (except for the double entendres). The rest of the movie is on autopilot through occasionally incoherent messages of positivity, but as Dave, Mr. Murphy turns even weak scenes into fun-house reflections of ordinary behavior that can be illuminating without reaching for satire.

"Meet Dave" borrows freely and guiltlessly from genial science fiction, a tendency that, together with notes of slightly zany sweetness, I'd like to trace to co-writer Bill Corbett (Crow on "Mystery Science Theater 3000"). But it's fun to imagine what a director like Michel Gondry might have done with "Meet Dave," especially the confounding jealousy shown by the captain's pining no. 3 officer (Gabrielle Union) over Dave's pursuit of Gina. Still, the movie's premise alone should set the hearts of French theorists racing.