Star Kid (1997)

Director:

Manny Coto

Writer (WGA):

Manny Coto (written by)

Release Date:

16 January 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi | Family

Tagline:

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

Plot:

Shy seventh-grader Spencer Griffith's life changes when the meteor falls into local junkyard and he finds a Cybersuit...

Plot Keywords:

Junkyard | Outer Space | Family Relationships | Surrealism | Crush

Cast

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

Also Known As:

The Warrior of Waverly Street (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for fantasy combat violence and language.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L (original rating) | Iceland:LH (video rating) | South Korea:All | Australia:G | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Manny Coto Productions

Trivia:

The science class's pet tarantula is named "Leo G.", a reference to Leo G. Carroll, star of Tarantula (1955). (Also, the school is called Waverly, which was Carroll's character's name in "The Man From U.N.C.L.E".)

Goofs:

Continuity: The dirt on Spencer's clothing after coming out of a garbage can changes when it switches to him entering the car.

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.

Movie Connections:

References "Sesame Street" (1969)

A fun little romp.

I remember seeing the preview to "Star Kid" when it came out in theaters and thinking, "Man, does that look dumb." Last night it came on one of the movie channels--at 10pm, strangely--so I figured I'd let it play in the background while I did some work. I ended up watching the whole thing, and guess what--I really enjoyed it. Sure, there are some inevitably silly scenes, but then, at 37, I'm way out of the target demographic.

I don't want to find fault with the movie because "it is what it is." The actors are all decent, the effects are better than I had expected, and best of all, it has heart. I'm building a library of movies for our kids (when we finally have some), and said movies will need to be wholesome family entertainment that I won't mind watching, too. I will definitely include "Star Kid."