The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human is a 1999 American mockumentary directed and written by Jeff Abugov, and starring David Hyde Pierce, Carmen Electra, Lucy Liu, and Mackenzie Astin.
Premise Hyde Pierce, acting out the role of an alien (credited as "infinity-cubed" in the opening credits), narrates a courtship in a late 20th-century American city, presenting findings and opinions as an extraterrestrial nature documentary. The relationship "footage" is played straight, while the voice-over (with its most often wildly inaccurate theories) and elaborate visual metaphors add comedy. Among other themes the film explores the possibility that, whenever describing their interpretations of other species' acts and feelings, humans may get everything wrong.
Plot Billy, a shy young man looking for a date, meets the beautiful Jenny Smith at a nightclub. They enter a relationship where Billy is bashful to tell Jenny that he loves her due to fear of being "trapped", and both paramours receive advice from their respective friends. The couple engage in sexual encounters while using barrier devices; during these encounters Billy is unable to reveal to Jenny his affection.
Then, one year after their first meeting, Billy and Jenny decide to take a vacation, and (hastily) sleep together without condoms or diaphragms. Soon after, Jenny discovers that she is pregnant, and argues with Billy, who accuses her of trapping him into marriage. The couple take bad consultations from their coworkers. Eventually, Jenny decides to go to a clinic to abort her unwanted child. Billy comes to his senses and stops her from doing so, resulting in the two confessing their love for one another.
The film ends with Billy and Jenny getting happily married and celebrating the birth of their child.
Cast David Hyde Pierce as Narrator (voice) Mackenzie Astin as The Male (Billy Waterson) Carmen Electra as The Female (Jenny Smith) Markus Redmond as The Male's Friend Lucy Liu as The Female's Friend (Lydia) Lisa Rotondi as The Female's Slutty Friend (Ian Calder) Sharon Wyatt as The Male's Mother Jack Kehler as The Male's Father Leo Rossi as The Female's Father Antonette Saftler as The Female's Mother Marc Blucas as The Female's Ex-Boyfriend Anne Gee Byrd as The Female's Boss Eric Kushnick as The Female's Brother Linda Porter as The Wise Old Woman Tyler Abugov as The Female's Fantasy Son
Reception Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the a score of 26 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.
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