"You're no longer part of the System. You're above the System. Over it. Beyond it. We're 'them.' We're 'they.' We are the Men in Black."

In a universe so vast, so little understood, the prospect that Earthlings are not the only life forms that exist is certainly something that everyone has pondered from time to time. Well, let the pondering end. If there is one thing that Hollywood has taught us, it is that we are far from being alone. Not only that but, they are here, walking among us undetected. And thanks to a zany little blockbuster called Men in Black, we now know who is in charge of supervising all these visitors, who, as it turns out, look little like that cuddly E.T. dude we grew to love. Based on a somewhat obscure comic book created by Lowell Cunningham, this 1997 comedy paired Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith together in a most entertaining, if not strange, story.
 
Division 6, a little known part of the Immigration and Naturalization Department is where the mysterious men in black work. Their job is to oversee a herd of faraway visitors who secretly work or vacation on Earth, disguising themselves as ordinary run-of-the-mill humans. Without the disguises, they are multi-legged and adorned with assorted tentacles and flippers.

Generally these visitors behave and go unnoticed but occasionally one will choose to violate the established intergalactic law and end up standing out like a sore thumb. That’s when the men in black step in. Using a futuristic device called a Neuralizer, they are able to wipe the memory of potential witnesses who may have seen something that would disrupt the peaceful system in place.  

One such unruly creature has a close encounter with NYC police officer James Edwards (Smith) as it attempts to flee from being arrested. Soon, the men in black arrive to take a report – and ensure that the victim doesn’t remember what he reported. One of the agents on the scene, a weathered veteran named Agent Kay (Jones) decides that officer Edwards might just be a good recruit for the department.

Meanwhile a roving band of less-than-peaceful bug-like aliens arrives on Earth and proceeds to commandeer the body of a cantankerous farmer named Edgar. With their new identity in place, they travel to New York, hoping that they can assassinate an Arquillan Ambassador. Doing so would spark a major intergalactic war. The only ones who have a chance to foil this evil plot are Agent Kay and his new recruit, now going by his new moniker, Agent Jay. They pursue the bug creatures through the dark depths of NYC that culminates in a showdown at the ruins of the 1964 World’s Fair.

Besides being fast paced and filled to overflowing with zany humor, Men in Black also benefited from some masterful (and Oscar Award-winning) makeup work in the hands of Rick Baker, who created the colorful cast of strange characters from another world. And Will Smith not only starred in the film but also performed the hit title song, giving his career more than a little nudge in the process.

Men in Black was one of those films that appeals in some way to just about everyone, and that trait made the film into a blockbuster of epic proportions. It’s overwhelming popularity spawned a successful Saturday morning cartoon series on WB, and of course, a 2002 sequel, aptly titled Men in Black II, reuniting the original cast and doing respectable numbers at the box office in its own right.

Sometimes a film’s chemistry and flavor combine to create something irresistible, and in the case of this wacky tale of extraterrestrials run amok, Men in Black most certainly fit the bill.