I had very low expectations of 'K-PAX'.  That's probably why I enjoyed watching 
it so much.

A man (Kevin Spacey) appears out of nowhere in Grand Central Station.  A woman 
is mugged near by.  As the police question the man, they find he has no 
identification and claims to be from another planet, K-PAX.  The man filters 
through the public psychiatric system until arriving in the offices of Dr. Mark 
Powell (Jeff Bridges).  The man calls himself Prot.  His "delusions" are 
unresponsive to medication, he can see ultra violet light, and he knows an awful 
lot about astronomy.  All these signs point to Prot, in fact, being from the 
planet, K-PAX.  But who's going to believe that?
 
I've always found Jeff Bridges to be one of those actors, like Bill Pullman, who 
are insidiously inoffensive.  I have no particular problem with him or his 
talent, but I can't remember a film in which he has truly impressed me...save 
one.  No, not K-PAX, sadly, but rather the Coen Brothers' bowling adventure, 
'The Big Lebowski'.  Kevin Spacey, on the other hand, has been riveting since 
'Glengarry Glen Ross'.  I expected the worst, but should have realized that 
these two veterans would remain undiluted and create a solid film.  

Solid is the most praiseworthy adjective I can give to 'K-PAX'.  There's nothing 
particularly wrong with it apart from a confining premise: Either Prot is an 
alien, or Prot is crazy.  Not much elbow room.  But there's also very little 
that's exceptional.  The cinematography may be the one special quality of the 
film, which has a visually stunning light motif used (but not overused) 
throughout.

I think what I mostly appreciated about 'K-PAX' was its modesty.  Movies that 
take place in a psych ward will forever be in the shadow of 'One Flew Over the 
Cuckoo's Nest'.  'K-PAX' keeps its crazies in check.  The patients are lovely 
and real, when they easily could have been gimmicky comic relief.  The dynamic 
between Spacey and Bridges works exceptionally well.  Like the dynamic between 
stripper and pole, both players know who does the swinging, and who gets swung 
on.