Mac and Me (1988)

An alien trying to escape from NASA is befriended by a wheelchair-bound boy.

Director:

Stewart Raffill

Writers:

Stewart Raffill, Steve Feke

Stars:

Christine Ebersole, Jonathan Ward, Tina Caspary

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christine Ebersole	...	Janet Cruise
Jonathan Ward	...	Michael Cruise
Tina Caspary	...	Courtney (as Katrina Caspary)
Lauren Stanley	...	Debbie
Jade Calegory	...	Eric Cruise
Vinnie Torrente	...	Mitford
Martin West	...	Wickett
Ivan J. Rado	...	Zimmerman
Danny Cooksey	...	Jack Jr
Laura Waterbury	...	Linda
Jack Eiseman	...	Splatter Car Driver
Barbara Allyne Bennet	...	Scientist
Richard Bravo	...	Mover #1
Gary Brockette	...	Doctor #2
Sherri Stone Butler	...	Checkout Girl

Storyline

An alien trying to escape from NASA is befriended by a wheelchair-bound boy.

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Plot Keywords:

alien stuck on earth | telepathy | back from the dead | mother son relationship | brother brother relationship | 

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Taglines:

Eric's new in the neighborhood. Mac's new on the planet.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

MGM [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 August 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mi amigo Mac

Filming Locations:

Calabasas, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$6,424,112

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mac and Me Joint Venture

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jennifer Aniston's film debut.

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Goofs

In the McDonalds scene, drinks are handed out and one falls off the table. The cup is clearly empty.

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Quotes

Ronald McDonald: Hiya, kid. How's it going?
Eric Cruise: It's fine.
Ronald McDonald: Nice teddy bear.
[laughs]

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Connections

Featured in Conan: The Devil Drives Stick (2011)

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Soundtracks

The Twilight Zone Theme
Written by Marius Constant

User Reviews

A very bad film.

I love kids movies. I have two children and have always enjoyed watching their movies along with them. I worked in an elementary school for several years and have seen a plethora of fantastic children movies.

But this movie was terrible. In fact, I rate it as the worst movie I have ever seen. Why? Several reasons...

1. It is a blatant attempt to ride the coattails of ET and similar alien-friend movies from this era. Unfortunately, I think it sat on the wrong coat.

2. The film used pity tactics to attempt to draw in your emotions rather than effective writing or visuals, and those tactics failed miserably.

3. The special effects were horrible even for the time. I can relate to chronological limitations in relation to special effects and can respect a film that meets or exceeds the effects available for it's time. But there were plenty of good sfx films out by the time this film was released and this one simply didn't bother with any sfx budget.

4. The dialog was awful. This is an example where no amount of good acting could compensate for the dialog.

5. In relation to reason #4, there was no good acting to attempt to overcome the bad dialog. That might not even be the blame of the actors themselves, as there are simply times when you can't rise above your surroundings.

6. The cheesy marketing and glaring promotions within the film take an already terrible movie and turn it into a true mockery.

7. I have seen B-Movies that were more enjoyable to watch. However, out of morbid curiosity, I watched this film from opening to closing credits.

From start to finish, from effects to acting, from dialog to directing - Mac and Me is a very bad movie. Just because a film is made for children does not mean it's OK to be terrible. Children's films, just like any genre, have a majority of moderately enjoyable films, a number of gems, and their share of stinkers. This is a true stinker.

And yes - my children thought this movie was horrible, too.