Star Kid (1997)

Shy seventh-grader Spencer Griffith's life changes when a meteor falls into a local junkyard and he finds a Cybersuit - an exoskeleton with AI from another galaxy. Spencer puts on the ... See full summary »

Director:

Manny Coto

Writer:

Manny Coto

Stars:

Joseph Mazzello, Richard Gilliland, Corinne Bohrer

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joseph Mazzello	...	Spencer Griffith
Richard Gilliland	...	Roland Griffith
Corinne Bohrer	...	Janet Holloway, Science Teacher
Alex Daniels	...	Cyborsuit
Joey Simmrin	...	Manfred 'Turbo' Bruntley
Brian Simpson	...	Broodwarrior
Ashlee Levitch	...	Stacey Griffith
Jack McGee	...	Hank Bruntley
Arthur Burghardt	...	Cyborsuit (voice)
Danny Masterson	...	Kevin, Stacey's Boyfriend
Lauren Eckstrom	...	Michelle Eberhardt
Christine Weatherup	...	Nadia
Yumi Adachi	...	Mika
Alissa Ann Smego	...	Burgerworld Girl
Fred Kronenberg	...	Officer #1

Storyline

Shy seventh-grader Spencer Griffith's life changes when a meteor falls into a local junkyard and he finds a Cybersuit - an exoskeleton with AI from another galaxy. Spencer puts on the Cybersuit and becomes a different kind of person.

---

Plot Keywords:

junkyard | firework | mistake | expression taken literally | bully | 

---

Taglines:

You know what they say, if the cyborsuit fits, go kick some alien butt!

---

Genres:

Adventure | Sci-Fi | Family

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for fantasy combat violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Warrior of Waverly Street

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£79,008 (UK) (22 May 1998)

Gross:

£774,247 (UK) (10 July 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Manny Coto Productions, Trimark Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The science class's pet tarantula is named "Leo G.", a reference to Leo G. Carroll, star of Tarantula. (Also, the school is called Waverly, which was Carroll's character's name in "The Man From U.N.C.L.E".)

---

Goofs

When Spencer tells a joke to the robot, he says, "What do you call a cow with no feet? Ground beef." Which makes no sense. But later when the robot repeats part of the joke back to Spencer on entering his room for the first time, the robot says, "A cow with no legs." Which makes sense. So Spencer clearly mis-told the joke at first and it was just never corrected.

---

Quotes

Spencer Griffith: [wondering how he can eat a burger whilst trapped in the Cyborsuit] How am I supposed to eat this thing?
Cyborsuit: Insert nourishment into food processing cepticle.
Spencer Griffith: Here it goes.
Cyborsuit: [processes burger into compact size] Stand by to receive nourishment.
Spencer Griffith: I'm supposed to eat that?
Spencer Griffith: [feeling disgusted] What is this?
Cyborsuit: One synthesized nebular burger. All non-essential compounds have been filtered out.
Spencer Griffith: I'm eating a Cyborsuit turd.

---

Connections

References Sesame Street (1969)

User Reviews

Fun kids film with it's tongue in it's cheek

Far away from Earth the Trelkins are defending their planet from the invading Broodwarriors. On earth Spencer has his own problems - too shy to talk to girls, ignored by his single parent Dad and bullied at school. When a Trelkin Phase 1 Cyber Assault Suit lands in a nearby junk yard in need of bio-organism to interface with, Spencer concedes and finds himself in control of a 8ft robot. However when a Broodwarrior comes to capture the suit to help their invasion Spencer finds himself in a situation where he must face his fears.

Yes, it's a kid movie where the `geek' comes good. The difference here is that it is actually pretty good fun for kids and adults. The story mainly revolves around the relationship between the suit and Spencer. This is handled well with the usual mis-communications (the suit responds to `this is cool!' by starting to heat the internal area to 1000C) and fish out of water jokes. The chemistry between the two is good and keeps the film fun. The other element where the Broodwarrior comes in, is also great. The fight between the suit, two kids and a huge alien may not be realistic but it's handled very well and is very enjoyable.

Mazello manages to play the kid without being too feeble or too annoying (a rare thing in children!) and is very good throughout. Daniels is good as the suit despite being lumbered by a mechanical voice. The only weaknesses here are the poor suit effects - it looks like it was designed to be liked by children - and the inevitable showdown is a little unlikely. Mind you, most of the fights are really good and the Broodwarrior, although clearly a man in a rubber suit, looks great and is well designed.

Overall it's very entertaining. It's not clever but the humour, spectacle and sense of fun save it from being for kids only.