K-PAX

In the ambiguously metaphysical K-PAX, Kevin Spacey plays a dulcet John Doe committed to a loony bin because he claims to be an alien. The plot is standard-issue stranger-in-a-strange-land stuff that allows Spacey to frolic in idiosyncrasies but doesn't give him much substance to chew on. As his shrink, Jeff Bridges begins to wonder if Spacey might really be from another world since he can see ultra-violet light (unlike humans), seems able to cure other patients and can draw a completely accurate diagram of his distant home solar system from memory. While K-PAX's spellbinding warmth and calculated ambiguity help it overcome a self-conscious lead performance, an overcooked screenplay, and heavy-handed sentimentality, director Iain Softley (Wings of the Dove) lets the movie dip into mawkishness and contrivance far too often. Optional. (R. Blackwelder)