The trippy B-movie film was nearly eight years in the making and tells the story of the first Christmas on a newly colonized Mars. Coyne plays a Martian, and all of the Flaming Lips make appearances, too, including Steven Drozd, who stars as the discontented Major Syrtis. The band also contributed the ambient, instrumental soundscapes for the soundtrack. Other notable actors include Adam Goldberg and Fred Armisen — Saturday Night Live's current Obama impersonator as well as an established drummer who once played in a band with Drozd.
As Coyne’s fantastical world threatens to devolve into madness, characters lament that "human beings were not meant to live in space." The film is assuredly kitschy and weird, but if you need some relief from all the treacle we're usually drenched in at Christmastime, Christmas on Mars will certainly deliver. It screens tonight at 8 p.m. at the Boulder Theater, 2032 14th Street in Boulder. Doors open at 7:30, and tickets are $10; for information, visit www.bouldertheater.com or call 303-786-7030.
Wed., Dec. 10, 8 p.m., 2008
