Pete's Meteor 2002 Horror Movie Review

Between his first two Austin Powers comedies, Mike Myers changed pace for 54 and Pete’s Meteor, a little-seen Irish drama with a hard edge and a soft heart. Myers is earnestly cast here as Pete, the errant friend of a Dublin family torn by loss and uplifted by the landing of a meteorite in their tiny back yard. Orphaned 12-year-old Mickey (well played by Ian Costello) sees the meteorite as a heavenly message from his dead parents, and is determined to retrieve it from the nerdy astronomer (Alfred Molina) who removed it for study. This grief-laden drama provides a tortured and touching role for Brenda Fricker as the boy’s alcoholic grandmother, while Myers (slightly uneasy with his Irish accent) gets into trouble with the Irish mob. Writer-director Joe O’Byrne awkwardly combines elements of The Butcher Boy and Into the West, but this blend of tragedy and pathos is blessed by sensitive performances and the hopeful resilience of children. —Jeff Shannon