Zonad

A charming little burg on the Irish coast is the setting for Zonad, an entertaining meld of pseudo-sci-fi, satire, and sentiment from filmmakers John and Kieran Carney. The folks in Ballymoran are a typical assortment of oddballs and busybodies, and lots of nubile teenage girls. When the Cassidy family—including young hottie Jenny (Janice Byrne)—comes home one night and finds a guy wearing a pointy helmet and what might be a spacesuit passed out on the living room floor, they quickly surmise that he's an alien visitor. We soon discover that Zonad (Simon Delaney) is, in fact, a drunk who's on the lam from the “Royal Rehabilitation Institute”; but why should he disabuse these kindly, absurdly gullible folks of their notion that he's a spaceman—especially when the local pub is plying him with free alcohol and the girls (especially Jenny) are only too willing to show him how earthlings, uh, do it? Our man, whose name is actually Liam Murphy, is living large, until a fellow escapee/drunk (David Pearse)—who Liam abandoned in the woods—shows up, sees what's happening, and announces that he is Bonad, Zonad's alien boss. Boasting a kind of silly-sweet charm, this is recommended. (S. Graham)