By Jeffrey Harris Published Jul 16, 2026, 12:07 AM EDT Jeffrey is a freelance features writer at Collider. He is an MPA-accredited entertainment journalist and a Tomatometer-approved critic based in the LA area. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Radio, TV, & Film and a Bachelor of Arts in Theater.
In the 1990s, Brendan Fraser was the king of fish-out-of-water movies. From his first major role in 1992's Encino Man to his 1997 turn as the titular star of George of the Jungle , Fraser became known for his skill at portraying charming, lovable heroes who are truly out of their element. His talents for this kind of film reached a crescendo with 1999's unique genre mash-up Blast From the Past, now streaming for free on Tubi. An unusual comedic mix of a rom-com, sci-fi, and Cold War-era intrigue, Blast From the Past remains an infinitely charming movie that has only grown better with age .
Calvin and Helen Weber dance while their son Adam watches in Blast From the Past. Image via New Line Cinema In Blast From the Past , Fraser portrays Adam Webber, a 35-year-old man who was born and raised in his parents' nuclear-fallout shelter. His father, Calvin Webber ( Christopher Walken ), built the shelter at the height of the Cold War , believing a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union on the United States was imminent. At the peak of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Calvin and his pregnant wife, Helen ( Sissy Spacek ), take refuge in the bunker, right before a military jet crashes into their home, leaving them trapped inside. Calvin misunderstands the accidental crash as a nuclear apocalypse , and the family stays locked in the bunker for 35 years.
Helen eventually gives birth to their son, whom they raise and teach over the next several decades. Years later, the now-adult Adam ventures to the surface to get supplies for his family's shelter and possibly find a wife . The plot mixes the fears and paranoia of the Cold War era with a hilarious fish-out-of-water premise, as Adam struggles to learn about the modern world after a sheltered life with his parents' traditional, conservative 1950s values. Then, he inexplicably meets and falls in love with a single modern woman, Eve Rustikov ( Alicia Silverstone ), and high jinks naturally ensue. Blast From the Past's mixture of satire and light sci-fi was whimsical, and something we hadn't seen in a modern Hollywood rom-com at that point.
Helen Weber lays in bed after giving birth in Blast From the Past. Image via New Line Cinema Brendan Fraser and Alicia Silverstone in poster art for Blast From the Past. Image via New Line Cinema Calvin and Helen Weber dance while their son Adam watches in Blast From the Past. Image via New Line Cinema Image via New Line Cinema Close Helen Weber lays in bed after giving birth in Blast From the Past. Image via New Line Cinema Brendan Fraser and Alicia Silverstone in poster art for Blast From the Past. Image via New Line Cinema Calvin and Helen Weber dance while their son Adam watches in Blast From the Past. Image via New Line Cinema Image via New Line Cinema Brendan Fraser and Alicia Silverstone play off each other well as a classic opposites-attract rom-com pair. Silverstone brings a believable, witty, and modern sensibility to the role, showing increasing maturity as an actress following her iconic turn as Cher Horowitz in 1995's Clueless . Eve is initially confused and put off by Adam's starry-eyed wonderment and aw-shucks personali…