In Phenomenon John Travolta shakes off his musical image in favour of a more meaty role as an ordinary garage mechanic George Malley in small town America whose one aim in life seems to be to woo Lace Pennemin ( Kyra Sedgewick) a divorced single mother.
The opening showing a cute little kitten in a tyre doesn’t herald at all what is about to come.
Living on his own with his bloodhound for company George spends most of his spare time trying to keep a rabbit out of his veg patch to the extent that he has sunk the wire mesh 18 inches into the ground to stop bunny digging his way in. But bunny is still getting his food for nothing.
Malley joins all the townspeople at the local hop for a night out hoping that Lace will be there too even though she turned down his offer of accompanying her.
After the dance which just happens to be on George’s birthday he is stood in the town square three sheets to the wind when he sees a light in the night sky which comes straight for him, envelopes him and knocks him off his feet.
Recovering from this phenomenon George returns home and in the middle of the night suddenly realises that all his efforts to keep a rabbit out of his veg patch have been in vain because rather than keeping it out he has the fenced the animal in.
Next morning at work George suddenly finds himself speaking fluent Spanish, then as he is working on a car, the tool that he is feeling for, being out of reach, eases itself towards his groping hand.
Over the next few days George devours books of knowledge like there was no tomorrow and starts to get inventive. Bit by bit he gets too clever by half and slowly discovers that he has abilities that he never had before and this scares the townspeople and interests the FBI.
This film is not so much a sci fi movie as billed but a good old weepy love story that the girls will enjoy.
Star Trek TNG fans will have spotted Brent Spiner (Data) as one of the scientists testing George’s newfound powers.