*batteries not included (1987)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

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:

Apartment | Conflict | Memory Loss | Baseball Bat | Skyscraper

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 | USA:PG (Certificate #28866) | 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:

The building that housed Hume Cronyn's lunch counter was a unique old building that was the only one on the block. Twenty-five years earlier it was used for the Judy Holliday musical Bells Are Ringing (1960) with the block in the same condition.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the characters meet the aliens for the first time on the roof, in the shot immediately following Faye smashing the Frank's pocketwatch, a sunspot from a camera lens is visible moving around on the side of the shed.

Quotes:

Faye Riley: Hey Frank, guess what I did.
Frank Riley: What now?
Faye Riley: I named those little guys. Flotsam and Jetsam, isn't that cute?
Frank Riley: Yeah cute.
Faye Riley: Be nice, Papa.
Frank Riley: I'm always nice.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Muppet Babies: Muppets Not Included (#5.1)" (1988)

Good, escapist fun

This is a fun movie if you're not looking for heavy philosophy and just want some bubblegum for the eyes. Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy are brilliant - he as the husband who's watching his wife's mind deteriorate, she as the "living in the past" wife. My favourite part is when Carlos walks into the hut on top of the building. The expression on his face when he comes out is priceless.