Complications arise when exposure to Earth causes the Spock-like aliens to take on human characteristics - they dance, get drunk, fall in love, etc.
The captain, for instance, must deal with the jealous feelings of his first mate (Gabrielle Union), who thinks her boss is getting a little too involved in the life of his new human female pal (Elizabeth Banks).
Fans looking for a "Klumps"-ish display of Murphy's virtuosity will be disappointed. These aren't great roles for him - both the stoic robot and the straight-laced captain keep the versatile comedian in one-dimensional lockdown.
Nor does the story offer many surprises. "Dave" bonds with a single mom and her young son, yielding a scene in which the powerful robot accosts a bully who torments the boy. It's eerily similar to the bit we saw in "Hancock" just last week.
Still, "Meet Dave" does pick up speed in the final moments, when a lame storyline about a beat cop (Scott Caan) who spots Dave as an alien becomes, finally, kind of funny.
There's also some decent "Shrinking Man" stuff when tiny Murphy and Union leave their ship and spend a few perilous moments on the streets of Manhattan.
It's enough to keep smaller kids amused, and the ugly vibe that plagued "Norbit" is thankfully absent. *
Produced by Jon Berg, David T. Friendly, Todd Komarnicki, directed by Brian Robbins, written by Rob Greenberg, Bill Corbett, music by John Debney, distributed by Twentieth-Century Fox.
