Review: 'Jules' puts some good actors in service to a slight but sometimes funny story of an alien landing

A whimsical and slight comedy, “Jules” definitely benefits from a trio of veteran players — led by the always intriguing work of Sir Ben Kingsley.

Kingsley plays Milton Robinson, living a solitary life in a western Pennsylvania town, where his main activity is going to the city council meeting and repeating the same complaints during the public comment period. His wife died a bit ago. His daughter, Denise (Zoe Winters), checks up on him so he takes his meds and so on, but is often exasperated by his stubbornness. His son long ago moved to California, and they have little contact.

One night, Milton is awakened by a clatter in his backyard. He goes out and discovers a flying saucer has crashed into his garden, crushing his azaleas. Out of the ship emerges a small, gray, naked, hairless and genital-free humanoid (played by actor and stuntwoman Jade Quon), who needs help. Milton quickly figures out that the creature likes apples, so he buys a lot of them.

He mentions his new alien friend at the next council meeting, but no one believes him. Another frequent commenter, Joyce (Jane Curtin), even complains to Milton that such talk makes the other commenters look crazy. 

Yet another commenter, Sandy (Harried Sansom Harris), stops by Milton’s house, and meets the alien — and, after a momentary shock, befriends the creature and gives them the name Jules. Joyce starts spying on Milton’s house, and within a short time is part of the tiny conspiracy to help Jules get their spaceship working again. This, they ultimately figure out, involves cats.

Meanwhile, a secret government agency has detected strange energy waves from somewhere in western Pennsylvania, and is starting to close in on Milton.

Director Marc Turtletaub (who made the 2018 drama “Puzzle,” a minor hit at Sundance) and first-time movie screenwriter Gavin Steckler keep the humor in a calm, quiet register, with one off-putting exception that shows us the range of Jules’ powers. The laughs are mild chuckles, never hearty guffaws.

Kingsley deftly modulates his performance to fit the movie’s low-stress vibe. The standout comic performance is — and this is no surprise to anybody who remembers her “Saturday Night Live” days — is Curtin, who finds the rebel hidden under Joyce’s busybody persona. Her unexpected rendition of “Free Bird” is the movie’s biggest laugh, in a movie that could use more of them.

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‘Jules’

★★1/2

Opens Friday, August 11, in theaters. Rated PG-13 for strong language. Running time: 87 minutes.