Sheldon (Fred Ward) is a small time crook, loving whiskey, women and Waylon – Jennings, that is. He’s rather low on cash right now, so he’s drifting into the part of California where his old companion in crime Bud (Harry Dean Stanton) has set himself up as a faith healer and preacher. Bud has about as much of direct line to a godhood as I do, of course, but he does know how to give a good show. He also has a thing for clearly bad plans, so his preaching business soon not only involves carting Sheldon out to be fake healed, but also transporting stolen cars over state lines, and using them in his preaching circus.
While he is working with Bud, Sheldon falls for discount market cashier Arlene (Cindy Williams), and she right back for him. It is clear that this kind of actual straightforward love leading to an actual relationship has never happened to him before, and Arlene doesn’t seem to have ever been really lucky in love. As different as the very straight Arlene and the very crooked Sheldon are, they might be able to be pretty good for each other if and when they manage to meet in the middle between the wild and the too normal life.
Things become complicated when Arlene, fed on UFO mags and TV, has a vision – or something of this kind – and becomes convinced she has been contacted by aliens. She even starts her own little UFO cult (not the nefarious kind). Bud does see this a prize opportunity to make some money, of course, while Sheldon is mostly flabbergasted at this development in the initially very down to Earth woman he loves.
This really obscure comedy is the only feature film directed by John Binder. Despite including some elements – the UFO cult and the scamming preacher business – that are usually more connected to the cultural air of the 80s, UFOria otherwise has a very 70s kind of feel to it. Its narrative style is loose and leisurely, featuring an approach to characterization and plot that finds much space to let people and things just breathe in scenes that would either end up on the cutting room floor going by our contemporary rules of filmmaking or would be dragged out to eternity. The film at hand does neither, and instead trusts in Ward, Williams and Stanton to fill these spaces with personality and those small bits of actorly business that can either drag a film down or heighten it. Mostly, they manage to do the latter here. I also have to admit I find it difficult to argue when a movie starts with a scene of Ward relaxing feet up in his car while driving down the Highway, singing along with a Waylon Jennings number.
UFOria isn’t quite a smooth ride, however, for it loses some its charm once it really begins committing to the whole UFO business and the usual talk about the power of belief/faith. It might very well be just my personal taste speaking here, but I was rather more interested in if, how and why Arlene and Sheldon will manage to find the place where they are better together than alone, and less in the question if believing in UFOs is going to save me. Sorry, Agent Mulder.