THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE (1991)

THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE (PG-13) Midway through the film version of her extraordinary one-woman show, Lily Tomlin does an extended sketch about a young wife and mother restlessly seeking fulfillment during the feminist '70s. The sketch is built around a treasure trove of satirical trivia, and Tomlin has such empathy-such a luminous gift for merging with a character's heart-that it becomes a profound and exultant piece of theater. In the rest of the film, Tomlin and her collaborator, Jane Wagner, make a misguided attempt to ''open up'' The Search. Tomlin now alternates between enacting her characters on a bare stage and doing them with sets and costumes. The arbitrary cutting between the two modes destroys the show's rhythm; it's become just another jumble of sketches. Still, when she gets rolling, there can be little doubt that Lily Tomlin is one of the sublime actresses of our time. B

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