When Foster does receive such a signal, instructing her to build some kind of machine, she finds herself center stage in a military-government nexus that would like her to go away. To me, as a constant moviegoer, that speech is more dazzling than any special effect in the movie, including the blending of no less than President Clinton into some policy scenes regarding the alien encounter. A dismal comedy about a little girl who gets a klutz as a fairy godmother. A sample of the film's dubious humor is when he turns an obnoxious thug into a rabbi instead of a rabbit. Presumably the mere sight of a religious Jew in prayer garb is supposed to be funny.
Special effects dominate any true humor or emotion.