After watching Ivan Reitman's Evolution, it occurred to me that this guy must subscribe to the theory that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. After all, this picture is highly reminiscent of Reitman's own Ghostbusters with a dash of Men in Black thrown in for good measure.

In what way does Evolution resemble Ghostbusters you ask? In this new sci-fi comedy, David Duchovny and Orlando Jones play a couple of good hearted, goofball scientists awaiting the big break that will establish the credibility of their zany theories. Following a strange phenomenon involving a meteorite in the desert, this dynamic duo get their chance. Before long, it's up to our heroes to save the world from an alien disaster. Joining them on their adventure is firefighter Sean William Scott (an annoying Jim Carry wannabee that you may remember from American Pie and Road Trip), and the classy Julianne Moore as a fellow scientist.

Duchovny has some fun moments here (and is even so bold to grace us with his bare ass). He pretty much uses the same X-Files deadpan approach, that works well for Mulder but in Evolution it gets boring. Duchovny showed great promise as an actor in last year's highly underrated Return to Me. Here, he's just in cruise control. Jones and Scott get most of the comic relief. While Jones does emerge as a likable screen personality, Scott is as annoying as ever. Moore is the oddest of the cast however. Obviously this wonderful actress just wanted to let her hair down and have some fun, and while she has a few bright moments, she basically runs around bumping into things and falling down .

Reitman is a comedy director of considerable talent (see Ghostbusters, Stripes, and Dave), but lately he's stumbled (see the ludicrous Six Days and Seven Nights). I even liked this guy's collaborations with Arnold Schwarzenneger. Evolution does feature some vintage Reitman moments but not enough to recommend the film. Jones is a hoot while being violated by an alien and then returning the favor in the film's B-movie climax, but moments like this are scarce in Evolution. In fact, this picture is pretty much over before anything really happens. The special effects are good, but the story never evolves beyond squat. The biggest problem with Evolution is that we never really get a sense of danger. I know this is a comedy, but even in Ghostbusters and Men in Black you got a feeling that something was at stake. This is just a series of strange scenes strung together by a terribly thin thread of plotline.