Having captured a humanoid alien who had been feasting on Italian immigrants, a jaded American police detective is surprised to find that the law actually is not on his side in this quirky comedy with more to it than meets the eye. Yes, the premise is incredibly silly, however, while the film initially just seems to be a series of devouring scenes, things become very interesting once the alien is captured as he is treated with all the legal rights afforded to human beings. As the cop in question, Ron Silver gives some hilarious deadpan reactions as he is told by a psychiatrist that the alien is "cured (and) no longer a threat" since he now understands that what he did was wrong! Also, apparently carbon dating has proved that the alien is child in the eyes of the law, so he needs to be treated like a minor! The film does not explore all of this as deeply as it could (is he is old enough to make his own decisions about what he does in bed?) but either way, such thoughtfulness is both surprising and refreshing in such an ostensibly frivolous film like this and it more than makes up for the fact that several gags backfire (the short order cook who keeps deep frying his possessions is absolutely groan-inducing). That said, most of the humour does in fact work. Silver's penchant for narrating his life in third person is an especially good touch with lots of funny moments as other characters ask him what on earth he is doing. The constant cutting between his boss eating and obsessing with food (cake layers) and the alien devouring Italians adds some unexpected humour too.
