UFOria (1981)

Cindy Williams, Harry Dean Stanton, Fred Ward, Robert Gray, Darrell Larson ... see more  , Beverly Hope Atkinson , Alan Beckwith , Harry Carey Jr. , James Deeth , Diane Diefendorf , Gene Edwards , Jordon Hahn , Ted Harris , Pamela Lamont , Herman Lee Montgomery , Mindy Sterling , Erik Stern , Charlotte Stewart , Esther Sutherland , Joe Unger , Terry Wilson , Andrew Winner , Kedric Wolfe , Hank Worden , Morgan Ames , Rodney W. Bergen , Terry Brannon , Tony Braunagle , William Callaway , Frank de la Rosa , Oma Drake , Nick Edwards , Kirk A. Francis , McAdoo Greer , James Hartley , Rolaine Knight , Stefanie Kohl , Wayne Kruse , Phil Lee , Dennis MacArthur , Marji Martin , Russell L. Matheny , Perry Mathews , Angela Newell , Sharon Rae Oberg , Constance Pfeifer , Cris E. Reese , Ashley Robb , Jennifer Robb , Gray Rowles , Sally Russell , Tony Santoro , Claudia Sloan , Dwayne Alexander Smith , Torben Torp-Smith , Snuff Walden , Robert A. Weisler , Monalisa Young , Terry Young , Peggy McKay , Karen Stern

A small California town is gripped by UFO fever in this well-acted, surprisingly rich comedy. At the center of the mania is Arlene, a grocery store clerk and born-again Christian fascinated with flyin... read more g saucers. This interest soon evolves into a full-blown obsession when Arlene is visited by a visionary dream, which she believes predicts the imminent arrival of a vessel from outer space in the nearby desert. Not even the doubts of her skeptical boyfriend, a good-hearted petty thief named Sheldon, are enough to dissuade her from her new role as prophet of the coming spaceship. At first hesitant and awkward, Arlene soon blossoms into a confident leader, and Sheldon puts aside his disbelief to revel in their sudden fame. Indeed, two have soon attracted enough of a following to pique the interest of Reverend Bud Sanders, the local revivalist preacher. Soon, Reverend Bud has joined in the crusade, and a good portion of the town has gathered to anxiously await the spaceship's arrival. Rather than resorting to easy ridicule, director John Binder creates an unexpectedly sympathetic, yet still comedic, portrait of the UFO believers, neither condemning their faith nor denying the fine line between belief and gullibility. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi