*batteries not included (1987)

Director:

Matthew Robbins

Writers:

Mick Garris (story)
Brad Bird (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 December 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Comedy

Tagline:

Five ordinary people needed a miracle. Then one night, Faye Riley left the window open.

Plot:

Apartment block tenants seek the aid of alien mechanical life-forms to save their building from demolition.

Plot Keywords:

Grill | Baseball Bat | Flying | Memory Loss | Bulldozer

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Hume Cronyn	...	Frank Riley, Owner Riley's Cafe
Jessica Tandy	...	Faye Riley
Frank McRae	...	Harry Noble
Elizabeth Peña	...	Marisa Esteval
Michael Carmine	...	Carlos
Dennis Boutsikaris	...	Mason Baylor
Tom Aldredge	...	Sid Hogenson
Jane Hoffman	...	Muriel Hogenson
John DiSanti	...	Gus
John Pankow	...	Kovacs
MacIntyre Dixon	...	DeWitt
Michael Greene	...	Lacey, Real Estate Developer
Doris Belack	...	Mrs. Thompson
Wendy Schaal	...	Pamela
José Angel Santana	...	Goon #1 (as José Santana)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-10/7 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:6 | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

East Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Originally intended to be a story featured in the TV series "Amazing Stories" (1985). Steven Spielberg liked the idea so much he decided to make it a theatrical release.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the two machines first appear in the Riley apartment, the toaster is plugged into different sockets. In the first shot, it's in the bottom socket. In the second, the top socket.

Quotes:

Frank Riley: [a construction worker is driving a demolition machine towards the cafe] Hey! You ever hear of private property?
Gus: Just coming for a hamburger, Pop.
Frank Riley: Hah! You got alotta nerve. Get your food somewheres else.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Mac and Me (1988)

Excellent, light hearted science fiction

This film does, as suggested, bear semlence to Cocoon, however it contains a far richer storyline and a generally superior level of acting. This film while not specifically being a comedy tells a relativly amusing story of a group of residents of an old building, targeted for demolition, visited by alien 'devices' (the nature of which remain undisclosed throughout), who help them by fixing everything in their path in exchange for some power and spare parts. As for the level of comedy, well it depends on your sense of humour, I certainly found the funny bits, well, funny, and not in the usual 'in your face' american comedy style.