*batteries not included (1987)
Steven Spielberg (producer of Innerspace, Back to the Future) served as the executive producer for *batteries not included, which is definitely inspired with the (at that time) Spielberg vision of friendly aliens beings, state-of-the-art special effects, and family fare. Although actually directed by Matthew Robbins, he sticks very closely to the Spielberg formula, although he falls a bit short of where Spielberg might have with the same material. The story was originally conceived of by writer and story editor Mick Garris as an episode of Spielberg’s TV anthology series, “Amazing Stories”, which had been ended its two-season run about a half-year prior to the release of the film (it was meant to be released right after the conclusion of the series in June, but the effects work was not quite completed, so they opted for a Christmas-time release instead), but Spielberg liked the idea so much that he commissioned the teleplay to be turned into a feature film.
One notable difference is the inclusion of elderly protagonists, instead of the usual staple of young kids, as well as some anti-corporate sentiment that seemed to be a backlash to the Reagan-era corporate greed that ran prevalent during the 1980s, though, to be fair, this is combined with another Reagan-era notion of traditional family values as another source of American pride. In contrast, the ‘good guys’ are the ones who believe in their own freedom to live their lives with values and dignity above greed or fear, and they end up befriending creatures from outer space who fix and recycle things to make themselves and their environs a better place in an era of expendable consumerism (as the film’s commercial-inspired title suggests, things work best when you keep your things replenished). Combined with the individual characters, the message driven home is that old, devalued, or broken things (or people), still have great worth, and can still greatly contribute to making the community a better place with acceptance, friendship, and love.
Real-life married couple Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy star as Frank and Faye Riley, the owners of a small diner in a dilapidated building that also houses their apartment in the slums of Manhattan. The rest of the tenants of the building are being paid off to evacuate ASAP, so that greedy land developers can take over and demolish the building in order to erect some high-rise corporate edifices. Those that refuse are being threatened with injury “or worse” by some local thugs that are also on the corporate payroll to scare the bejesus out of the remaining tenants. Without anyone to turn to, a desperate plea may have saved the day, as a couple of miniature flying saucers arrive, consuming metal materials and then fixing up damaged parts of the building. The saucers befriend the remaining tenants, although the thugs and land developers are determined to put an end to this new development even if it costs lives in the process.
*batteries not included is cute and charming in a way that will probably go down easy for those that like heartwarming family fare, though one has to get through the depressing hardships incurred by the protagonists and the supporting players within the run-down building before getting the first glimpse of optimism in the form of the helpful alien saucers. The spaceships have personalities of their own and are fun to watch in their own way, and they will no doubt captivate young children as well. If there is a downside, it comes in the form of some fairly intense violent scenes that occur as the story reaches its climax. Young children susceptible to easy fright may not be ready to handle the sometimes brutal turns of events, despite the film picking up with a predictable happy ending (if one can call it that).
Along those lines, parents should probably be warned that though rated PG, the film has a number of characters and events that aren’t quite typical for family fare. The bullying doled out by the thugs out to scare tenants to vacate their abodes is full of threats and violence (swinging baseball bats and such), and you may find yourself having to console them when they turn their attention on the benevolent and cute saucers. Elizabeth Pena plays a pregnant woman waiting for her man to return, though she gets into a romantic dalliance with a neighbor who is a struggling artist, culminating in a nude painting of her that really does push the boundaries of what a film like this can show, especially when PG-13 is an option. Hume Cronyn’s language is also harsher than you might be expecting from a film marketed as such genial fare.
*batteries not included proved to be a modest hit at the time of its release, garnering about $32 million dollars in North American theaters, and making about that in other markets worldwide, thanks to Spielberg’s name much more so than the box office appeal of any of its stars.
Featuring the first screenwriting credit from future sought after writer-director Brad Bird (who also produced Spielberg’s aforementioned, “Amazing Stories”), in addition to Brent Maddock and S.S. Wison (screenwriters to the similarly themed Short Circuit and its sequel), the storyline follows closely on “The Elves and the Shoemaker” fairy tale (there’s even a reference dropped to that story in the dialogue). By the end, that fairy tale makes way for another, somewhat inspired by “The Little House” by Virginia Lee Burton, where we learn that old values and new values, and people from all walks of life, can all have a place together in this society (though, apparently, no real punishment for the top antagonist of the story). Decent but quickly dated special effects by Industrial Light and Magic and solid performances from Cronyn and Tandy help bolster this otherwise slight story into a worthwhile experience. It may lack the magical fascination of its brethren — E.T., Short Circuit, and Cocoon — but it stands up well enough on its own due to being good-natured and amusing as a modest fairy tale for the sci-fi generation.
Qwipster’s rating: B-
MPAA Rated: PG for violence and some language
Running Time: 106 min.
Cast: Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Michael Carmine, Dennis Boutsikaris, Elizabeth Pena, Frank McRae, John Pankow, Michael Greene
Director: Matthew Robbins
Screenplay: Brad Bird, Matthew Robbins, Brent Maddock, S.S. Wilson