‘Earth Girls Are Easy,’ a goofy alien comedy, turns 35

In 1989, aliens came to Earth- and the ladies could not resist them

Earth Girls Are Easy, which came out in 1989 — 35 years ago this month — is dated. 

But it’s not dated in the way that most dated 1980s comedies are. It’s not racist or sexist. It doesn’t feature humor or subscribe to attitudes that look retrograde to modern-day eyes. 

But it’s dated in the sense that just about every joke and physical gag is so specific to the late 1980s that the characters might as well be from (pardon the pun) another planet. Just about everything that happens in the movie is based on some pop culture ephemera — clothes, hair, era-specific nightclubs, designer house phones, a PC getting crushed by a bowling ball — that is highly era-specific. 

A lot of it is still funny, and the performances are charming. But if anyone born in 1990 or later watched this movie, they probably wouldn’t understand half of what happens.